Parkhurst Forest
Encyclopedia
Parkhurst Forest is a woodland
to the north-west of Newport
, Isle of Wight
(United Kingdom
).
The site is partly a site of special scientific interest
. It consists of both ancient woodland
, relict heathland and plantation
woodland. The woodland is freehold owned and managed by the Forestry Commission
. It is 395 hectares in area and the second largest forest on the Isle of Wight. It is open to the public.
It is much used as recreational land and is a haven for wildlife including the Red squirrel
and many species of bird such as garden warbler
, nightjar
, woodcock
, green, great spotted woodpecker
and long eared owl.
An industrial area is located off Forest Road within the Forest itself. Factories were located in this way during the Second World War to avoid German bombers. James I
hunted deer in the forest. There are no longer any deer wild on the Isle of Wight.
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
to the north-west of Newport
Newport, Isle of Wight
Newport is a civil parish and a county town of the Isle of Wight, an island off the south coast of England. Newport has a population of 23,957 according to the 2001 census...
, Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
(United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
).
The site is partly a site of special scientific interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
. It consists of both ancient woodland
Ancient woodland
Ancient woodland is a term used in the United Kingdom to refer specifically to woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England and Wales . Before those dates, planting of new woodland was uncommon, so a wood present in 1600 was likely to have developed naturally...
, relict heathland and plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
woodland. The woodland is freehold owned and managed by the Forestry Commission
Forestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....
. It is 395 hectares in area and the second largest forest on the Isle of Wight. It is open to the public.
It is much used as recreational land and is a haven for wildlife including the Red squirrel
Red Squirrel
The red squirrel or Eurasian red squirrel is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus common throughout Eurasia...
and many species of bird such as garden warbler
Garden Warbler
The Garden Warbler, Sylvia borin, is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe into western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in central and southern Africa...
, nightjar
European Nightjar
The European Nightjar, or just Nightjar, Caprimulgus europaeus, is the only representative of the nightjar family of birds in most of Europe and temperate Asia.- Habitat and distribution :...
, woodcock
Eurasian Woodcock
The Eurasian Woodcock, Scolopax rusticola, is a medium-small wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Eurasia. It has cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with reddish-brown upperparts and buff-coloured underparts...
, green, great spotted woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
The Great Spotted Woodpecker , Dendrocopos major, is a bird species of the woodpecker family . It is distributed throughout Europe and northern Asia, and usually resident year-round except in the colder parts of its range...
and long eared owl.
An industrial area is located off Forest Road within the Forest itself. Factories were located in this way during the Second World War to avoid German bombers. James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
hunted deer in the forest. There are no longer any deer wild on the Isle of Wight.