Wildwood Discovery Park

Wildwood's history can be traced back to the 1970s when Terry Standford, Operations Director of English Woodlands, created a woodland nature reserve which grew into a small wildlife park in a woodland setting. This evolved into a small zoo called Brambles. Following major reinvestment from Terry Standford and his business partners Peter and David Rosling ‘Wildwood Discovery Centre’ started life in 1999 as a visitor centre, with the vision to educate local people about the need to conserve native wildlife and their habitats. After three years of Wildwood being open Derek Gow, its then owner, decided its future was best ensured by it becoming a charitable trust. A Charitable Trust was formed…

A twisting trail winds through 42 acre of natural ancient woodland which is attached to the Blean, one of the largest areas of ancient woodland in southern England. The woods have been managed by humans on a coppice rotation, harvesting trees between 5–20 years, allowing the stools to regenerate. Parts of the Blean woods are a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to the presence of habitats and species of national importance. Heathy areas provides an important habitat for the rare heath fritillary butterfly Melitaea athalia, a UK BAP priority species, historically linked with traditional woodland coppicing. The caterpillar’s food plant, common cow-wheat is abundant in the woodland.…