Swinley Forest

Swinley Park once surrounded Swinley Lodge where the King kept the Royal Staghounds in Georgian times. It was at the centre of Swinley Walke, one of the sub-divisions of Windsor Forest. In the 18th century Daniel Defoe - writing in the fashion of the time of regarding uncultivated land as wild and forbidding - described Bagshot Heath as , given up to barrenness, horrid and frightful to look on [...] much of it is a sandy desert [...] This sand indeed is checked by the heath, or heather, which grows in it [...] but the ground is otherwise so poor and barren that the product of it feeds no creatures, but some very small sheep, who feed chiefly on the said heather [...] nor are there any…

At Gormoor on the Nine Mile Ride, on the northern edge of Crowthorne Woods, is The Look Out Discovery Centre, operated by Bracknell Forest Borough Council. This is a hands-on science exhibition and nature discovery centre, which also acts as a visitor centre for the forest, providing maps, car parking and bike hire. Most of the self-guided walks and bike trails start and end at the centre.