Howard's Wood

Howard's Woods stands on what were two steeply sloping, east facing fields on the side of the Tamar Valley at Timbrelham south of Launceston. The wood was partly planted in 1987 with Oak, Ash, Lime, and wild cherry with a shrub/minor tree element of hawthorn, field maple and rowan around areas of existing wood with semi-mature Oak and sycamore and natural regeneration of oak and thorn it overlooks the upper Tamar Valley. While the ground flora is not rich it is dense in places, especially in the northern area where there is a dense population of dog's mercury and bluebells with numerous orchids developing.
As it is small and steep wood in a very rural area Howard's Wood offers very limited public access but is used by a small number of neighbours on a regular basis. Despite this it does, however, form an important part of the local landscape adding to the existing wooded appearance of the valley and extending the area of native broadleaved wooded onto which it joins. It helps fulfil the Trusts objectives of creating new native woodland and creating and enhancing woodland biodiversity.
Public access is via an unlocked management gate in the eastern boundary off the country lane close to the neighbouring houses. The path is immediately steep and covered with ground flora or bare earth where shade has limited growth. After a steep gradient the path levels as it follows the west boundary before sloping steeply back to the entrance.