Kirkless Wood lies to the north west of the village of Pennington Green near Wigan, Greater Manchester. The site was acquired and planted by the Woodland Trust in 1997. The woodland extends existing secondary woodland known as Woodshaw Ruck, which is owned by Wigan Council. Funding for the acquisition and management of the site came from Red Rose Forest, The Countryside Commission, Wigan Council, The Forestry Commission and private individuals.
The site was planted with 10,126 trees and consists of 4.0 hectares of young mixed native broadleaved trees. Species such as oak, ash, birch, cherry, hazel, rowan, hawthorn, guelder rose and dog rose along with 0.5 hectares of conifer planting (scots pine) which is interspersed with the broadleaved planting. The site also has approximately 2.98 hectares of open ground consisting of rides, meadow areas and a small pond.
The site was planted as part of the Woodlands On Your Doorstep project (WOYD), which created 200 new woodlands in England & Wales to mark the millennium. Local people were involved in the design of the site and asked to suggest a name for the site Kirkless Wood was chosen as it was the most popular name with local people. Kirkless is the name of the district, which is well known for its iron works. All WOYD site have a millennium feature, and a pond was chosen to be the millennium feature at this site.
The land use around the site is at present pastoral with some arable farming and woodland. The site is bounded to the west by arable farmland and to the north and east by Woodshaw Ruck. The south of the site is bordered by a small reservoir, which is owned by a local angling club and a private house. A public footpath runs along the full extent of the sites western boundary, however only the lower half is within our boundary. This footpath links directly into Woodshaw Ruck and the wider countryside. The site also contains a network of approximately 1000 meters of informal, circular mowed footpaths. The site is well used by local people and is within easy reach of local housing.
The Woodland Trust has strived to involve local people with the site from the beginning. The design of the woodland was developed in consultation with local people, many of whom also attended a community tree planting event. The site formed part of the Woodlands On Your Doorstep, which created 200 new community woodlands throughout England and Wales.
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