Lyde Wood, near Basingstoke - Sold

Lyde Wood with almost 200 metres of river frontage on the upper reaches of the river Lyde is a wildlife gem. Polaroid glasses will greatly help with seeing any fish in the river; it's typical of fast flowing Hampshire streams and is reputed to contain wild brown trout. In spring quiet observation of the river will see fry in shoals breaking the surface, and as the season progresses the now larger fish will be feeding on the abundant aquatic invertebrates such as caddis, mayfly nymphs, gammarus, blood worms and alder fly larvae etc.  Later in the season wildfowl will descend on the river including a host of mallard and teal. A description of the river Lyde and all it contains can be found HERE.

Bushcrafters Heaven: The vendor has these past few years built several facilities including a forest store with cooking and sleeping facilities, a shepherd's hut set by the river and shelters suitable for various uses including bushcrafting, wild camping, wild cooking, forging and archery.  Much use has been made of these by groups discovering the pleasures of outside living. See how others have used the wood, CLICK here.

What's included:  the forest store, the shepherd's hut, one hot tub (there are two) What's not included but available by separate negotiation, all the various bits and pieces, the caravan, one hot tub.

Firewood is plentiful and on the ground there are rush, sedge, iris, grasses, dogs mercury and the more robust wood spurge. Wetter areas alternate with dryer higher ground in the centre and along the river bank.

About 40 years ago several shallow ponds were formed to attract winter wildfowl for shooting. Since then the wood has grown up with alder as the main species now some 30 feet high. With these are silver birch, ash and some oak. Hazel is also present. Large poplars look down on the alder and as the wind blows they emit a typical rustling sound with a thousand leaves oscillating in the breeze. The shallow water in the pond is ideal heron-feeding habitat and along the eastern boundary is a large heronry with these birds nesting high in the neighbouring Norway spruce.

Some cleaning would be beneficial to maximise the pond's potential - removing some of the marginal trees to allow more light in and taking out some of the accumulated sediment. 

Boundaries   Are shown by mauve markings on free standing posts and on boundary trees. They are as follows: along the western side a line of free-standing posts; to the north it's the centre of the River Lyde; along the eastern side the boundary is (from the south) the track edge - then free standing posts - then the low bank with bankside trees marked in mauve up to a point where a small stream enters the river.

Covenant  There is a covenant on the wood designed to ensure the quiet and peaceful enjoyment of this and adjoining woodlands, click HERE to read and download.

Access   From Greywell Road the byway leads down to the main gate and from here there is a private right of way as far as the entrance to Lyde Wood. Vehicles may be parked in the open area just before the entrance and in dryer weather they can be taken as far as the wood.