Good access is important for efficient woodland management and to allow people to enjoy woodlands. Well managed access provision is the best method of ensuring that such recreation takes place in a way which minimises adverse effects on the woodland.
Woodlands can absorb high numbers of visitors without seeming crowded, and zoning can ensure that different recreation requirements can be fulfilled within a single area of woodland.
Most visitors feel safer with clearly-signed routes and defined paths to follow. The fear that many people have of woodlands needs recognising so that steps can be taken to encourage access for all. Most people like wooded landscapes, woodland edges and glades, parklands and views of trees, but do not necessarily like feeling enclosed by trees.
Bridges, steps, handrails and other built features must be properly constructed and maintained in a safe condition. The landowner must take every reasonable precaution to avoid situations which may endanger visitors. This requires regular inspection of trees close to car parks, paths, picnic sites and play areas. Removal of unsafe limbs or other work may be necessary to ensure such trees are not a danger to visitors.
Woodlands are very variable, and provision for access will depend on many factors, including the type of woodland, its location in relation to housing and areas of public access, its size and so on. Woodlands with existing public access within or close to residential areas tend to be heavily used, especially by dog walkers and children. Direct routes and other paths through the woodland are likely to be well worn and no inducement is needed to encourage recreation. Management is likely to be aimed at managing access in a way that lessens damage to the woodland.
Large areas of conifer plantations or dense woodland may have little appeal for recreation, and if the aim is to encourage use, management will have to be directed into construction of car-parks, clearance of paths, waymarking and other provisions. There is a great demand for recreational cycling on traffic-free routes, a demand which can be well met by commercial conifer forests, which tend to be too monotonous and large-scale for interesting walking, but make an ideal landscape for cycling through, where suitably surfaced tracks are provided.
Ground conditions have an important role in access provision. Woodlands on well drained soils with an absence of steep slopes are relatively easy to manage for recreation. Woodlands on damp ground or steep slopes have obvious physical restrictions which will make access provision more difficult.
Before work is undertaken on rights of way, to create new roads or tracks wide enough to take a vehicle, or to make other access provisions it is essential that local authorities are consulted. There may also be implications for water resources, conservation and archaeological interests, which will require consultation with nature conservation and other agencies. The ‘winning’ of stone from borrow pits is normally permitted on an agricultural unit, provided it is used only on that unit and is not transported elsewhere. However, the local planning authority must be informed and a ‘determination’ sought as to whether prior planning permission is required (England and Wales). If access tracks are part of a Woodland Grant Scheme application or similar, consultation with local authorities and other bodies is automatic. Construction of tracks which improve access for management work may be eligible for grant aid. Access work or recreational activities must not disturb badger setts or other protected sites.
The information in this chapter relates to woodlands where management for access and recreation are a priority, and are not general recommendations for all woodlands. Ancient woodlands, those in remote locations or woods of particular nature conservation value may be best left mainly unvisited.
