Fineshade Wood in the north of Northamptonshire is the largest surviving remnant of Rockingham Forest. Most of the wood is managed by Forestry England. It includes ancient mixed broadleaf and areas of former conifer that are being allowed to regenerate. There are over 20 ponds, a stream, glades, swallow holes and a disused railway line. Please visit Friends of Fineshade website for more details - www.fineshade.org.uk.
FE have for years been operating an Ancient Woodland Project here and have recently embarked on a ride-widening project. In 2017 it became the central site for one of the Back from the Brink projects: Roots of Rockingham successfully re-introduced the Chequered Skipper and protected many other threatened species. The wood is on Natural England’s list for possible future designation as a SSSI.
In 2014, the wood was the subject of an unsuccessful application by Forest Holidays and FC to create a holiday village in the least disturbed part of the wood. It emerged during that application process that many of the historic ecological records collected by FC had been “lost”, so the Friends of Fineshade have been promoting the recording of the rich variety of wildlife that is found here. Please get in touch if you can help.