Wytham from a Geographer’s perspective
This has been created for Geography PGCE training at Wytham. Also useful for Geography teachers considering bringing their students to Wytham for field trips.
1. The Wytham Estate is centred on a hill at the edge of the Thames Valley to the west of Oxford. It has been owned by Oxford University since 1944. It consists of 1000 acres of woodland, two tenanted farms, one conventional, one progressive (FAI), and an outdoor education centre (Hill End); 3000 acres in total.
2. The previous owners, the ffennell family, bought the estate from the Earl of Abingdon in 1920. As well as using it for hunting and farming, they used it as a place to bring children affected by TB, and by the wars for outdoor education. The ffennells entrusted the land to the University to maintain its beauty, and continue with ecological research and education.
3. The top of the hill is limestone, then sandstone, then Oxford clay. The Thames takes a loop round the north of the hill. Farmoor reservoir is to the west(upstream). Huge pipes take water through the hill to Oxford. The river water quality is affected by the sewage outflows and run off from the farms.
4. The Woods have areas of ancient woodland, semi natural woodland (previously arable), old plantation (planted in the 1950’s and never harvested), meadow grassland, limestone grassland, and a fen. Large trees which were planted as parkland specimens in C18 are surrounded by much younger trees that have grown up around them. There are areas of old coppice.
5. The Woods are believed to be the most intensively researched piece of woodland in the world. Wytham is famous for long ecological data sets going back to the 1940s. Today, research is a variety of dirty hands, and high tech monitoring.
6. The Woods are affected by human activities. Nitrate pollution affects soils here as throughout the UK. Several tree species are affected by disease, most notably Ash which makes up around a third of the canopy. The impacts of climate change can be seen in the timings of spring events and the effects on various plant and animal species, particularly illustrated by the famous Wytham tit study: Our Research — Wytham Tits
7. The Woods are managed for research so is as little touched as possible. But trees are taken out when they pose a risk to researchers and visitors. Some wood is sold as firewood. Some is left as dead wood as it is a valuable habitat. Deer cause a lot of damage in Woodlands so their numbers are kept down at Wytham. The Conservator strikes a careful balance between the needs of researchers, wildlife and visitors.
8. The two farms give a good contrast between industrialised and regenerative farming approaches. Little research has been done on the farms: wildlife, soils and ground water quality, but there are obvious visual differences in vegetation cover, invertebrate abundance, and soil management. The FAI farm is attempting mob grazing of cattle which is a way to improve soil structure, sequester carbon and improve biodiversity.
9. The Wood is open to local people who have a walking permit. Anyone can apply and get one. The demographic of visitors appears to be majority white middle class, middle aged plus. In spite of proximity to Botley, and reasonable walking access from there, few people seem to come to the Woods from that area. There is an hourly bus service from the centre of Oxford to the Village, but the majority of visitors seem to drive, with a few cyclists. During the pandemic visitor numbers shot up and put pressure on the parking and the Woods team, and then dropped as soon as pandemic protections were removed. NB no dogs.
10. Hill End Outdoor Education Centre which was established by the ffennells has been used by local schools but funding issues for Hill End and for schools have affected the number of children visiting over recent years.