Poppy Wood

A unique woodland where you can glimpse the future of The National Forest has been created near Melbourne, on the northern edge of the Forest.

The woodland features six demonstration areas where different species of trees are being grown to show their potential for timber throughout the wider Forest.

New interpretation boards explain how the trees are being grown, how they will be harvested and used – whether it is walnut grown for quality veneers, or willow grown for cricket bats. All the featured species are grown on a larger, commercial scale elsewhere in the 200 square miles of The National Forest. Generous funding from Lafarge Aggregates Limited, Derby and Derbyshire Economic Partnership and East Midlands Tourism has enabled the National Forest Company to transform 66 acres of arable land into this attractive and innovative woodland.

The new information boards, along with attractive picnic benches and tables, are all constructed locally out of oak grown in the Forest. They have been installed as part of The National Forest’s Visitor Infrastructure Project, funded by East Midlands Tourism through its Public Realm Challenge Fund.

The woodland lies alongside the A514. Access onto the site is excellent, with surfaced trails making it easy to explore if you have pushchairs, buggies or use a wheelchair. A permissive trail has been created for horse riders at the edge of the wood, beside a stream edged with cricket bat willow and sweet chestnut.