11/02/2026
Fry's Wood is one of the last living fragments of the Ancient Selwood Forest, a great wildwood that once stretched across Wessex. Legend tells that in the days of Alfred the Great, after suffering defeats at the hands of the Vikings, he slipped into these very woods to regroup and rebuild his forces before striking back to secure a lasting peace.
Over a millennium later, in the immediate aftermath of WW1, the Forestry Commission was established to restore the nation’s depleted timber reserves. In the rush to create a home-grown timber supply, softwood plantations were integrated into fragments of ancient woodland, altering their character and reducing the rich biodiversity that had developed over centuries. Fry's Wood became dominated by a monoculture of Norway Spruce, which, while economically valuable, offered little for the wildlife that once thrived in the ancient forest.
Today, Fry’s Wood tells a new chapter in its long history. If you visit during your stay, you will see that we are now working to remove the non-native Norway Spruce. While this may, at first, appear brutal, our long-term intention is to restore a traditional, mixed broadleaf woodland and re-establish a fully functioning, native ecosystem.
We plan to replant with prime native species such as oak and hornbeam, along with rarer natives. Over time, natural processes, like the activity of birds and other wildlife, will help re-establish a thriving understory of smaller trees, bringing Fry’s Wood closer to the rich, resilient woodland it once was.
As a result of this work, 42 acres have been pre-selected for the Government’s “Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier” program to support the restoration of woodland on an ancient site.
For more on this and our broader nature-restoration and species re-introduction work, please visit: https://www.42acres.com/our-story/rewilding/
