Gaunt's Wood

Wood, Forest in Essex Epping Forest

England

Gaunt's Wood

Beeches on Ambresbury Banks Ambresbury Banks is an Iron Age hill fort, situated at one of the highest points of Epping forest. — Beeches on Ambresbury Banks Credit: Eleanor Dann

Gaunt's Wood is a picturesque woodland located in the county of Essex, England. It is a part of Epping Forest, one of the largest areas of ancient woodland in the country. The wood covers an area of approximately 120 hectares and is managed by the City of London Corporation.

The woodland is known for its diverse array of trees, which include oak, beech, birch, and hornbeam. These majestic trees create a dense canopy, providing a habitat for a wide range of wildlife. Visitors to Gaunt's Wood can expect to see an abundance of bird species, such as woodpeckers, owls, and various songbirds.

The forest floor is carpeted with bluebells and other wildflowers in the spring, creating a stunning display of colors. There are also several walking trails that wind through the wood, allowing visitors to explore its beauty at their own pace. These paths offer a tranquil escape from the hustle and bustle of city life, and many people visit Gaunt's Wood for recreational activities such as jogging, dog walking, and picnicking.

The wood has a rich history, with evidence of human activity dating back to the Iron Age. It was once part of the royal hunting forest of Waltham, and remnants of old boundary banks and ditches can still be seen today. Gaunt's Wood is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to its unique flora and fauna, and efforts are made to preserve its natural beauty and protect its ecological importance.

Overall, Gaunt's Wood is a remarkable woodland that offers a peaceful retreat for nature lovers and a valuable habitat for a diverse range of plants and animals.

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Gaunt's Wood Images

Images are sourced within 2km of 51.666941/0.087779128 or Grid Reference TQ4498. Thanks to Geograph Open Source API. All images are credited.

Beeches on Ambresbury Banks

Ambresbury Banks is an Iron Age hill fort, situated at one of the highest points of Epping forest.

Eleanor Dann

Centenary Walk near Epping Thicks

The Centenary Walk is a broad path, running for many miles through Epping Forest. The photo was taken on the descent from Ambresbury Banks towards Epping. This area has many old beech pollards, coppards and other variations on mature beech. This is an unusual tree; it doesn't look like most old pollards, but I don't know how it came to be this way.

Eleanor Dann

Epping Forest: minor stream

The forest covers an undulating landscape with many minor streams such as this feeding a few larger watercourses.

Stephen Craven

Epping Forest: log pile with fungi

A pile of logs that has been left by the roadside, possibly intentionally, for biodiversity. They had sprouted a fine crop of fungi.

Stephen Craven

Epping Forest: Ambresbury Banks

Another winter view of TL4300 : Beeches on Ambresbury Banks. According to the information board, the Banks are believed to have been built around 500 BCE, and been in use as animal corrals until at least the Roman invasion in 55 BCE. Local legend apparently claims the site as that of the death of the Queen Boudicca, though the story has no historical basis.

Stephen Craven

Ambresbury Banks

Hidden among the beech trees at the northern end of Epping Forest, are earthworks believed to date from around 500BC. They may have been built as animal folds or possibly as a lookout or boundary marker between the territories of rival tribes. What is known for certain is that , despite local legend, this is not where Queen Boudicca was defeated and killed.

Stephen McKay

Epping Forest

Winter sunshine on the beeches near Lodge Road. Lodge Road would once have provided an impressive long approach to the now ruined Copped Hall.

Andrew Dann

Debden streetscene

The Western part of this square has changed totally in the last 70 years. It is covered by housing and schools, but with some recreational open space. This photograph was taken in Willingdale Road, near the entrance to the playing fields. The brook, which runs from the forest down towards the Roding, is one feature which remains from the 1940s map.

Eleanor Dann

Beeches near Theydon Bois

This is an odd cluster of beeches, close to the Theydon Loop ride and Wormleyton pits. I think that they are really one tree, coppiced long ago. This area is dominated by beech, so there is not much undergrowth, apart from holly in places. Some areas nearby have new growth of silver birch - possibly filling in clearings from old fires (1976 perhaps ?).

Andrew Dann

Epping Forest

This is the green ride (shown on maps as the Centenary Walk) near Furze Ground, a gorse covered slope, which rises from the Tippa Burn and Hangboy Slade. Some of the old beeches here have fallen and birch is taking over in a few places. This is a good place for children to tip-toe along fallen tree trunks.

Andrew Dann

Hillyfields

This open space is at the border of Loughton and Debden, in suburbs close to Epping Forest. This area has been planted as a Millennium Remembrance Grove, including exotic trees in memory of those who died in far-flung parts of the world.

Andrew Dann

Deer Sanctuary near Theydon Bois

Taken from the wood to the South East of the sanctuary, one of the less visited parts of Epping Forest.

Andrew Dann

horses in a field

horses near Theydon Bois in Essex

Linda Craven

Motorway bridge- M11

Public footbridge on right of way crossing the M11 in Essex near Loughton.

Linda Craven

Cemetery gates

Well kept cemetery with attractive entrance

Linda Craven

Landfill site

The public footpath from Theydon Bois to Theydon Garnon is not officially diverted but meets this soil barrier and "Danger" notice where it crosses the landfill site, so we went no further.

Stephen Craven