Woolmer Forest

Woolmer Forest is a royal hunting forest. It lies within the western Weald in the South Downs National Park, straddling the border between east Hampshire and West Sussex. Covering an area of some 1293.9ha, it is both a Special Area of Conservation and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Historically a largely treeless heathland on sterile sandy soils, the forest was traditionally managed, like other royal forests, as "wood pasture" in which deer would be kept for hunting by the aristocracy for sport and for venison, and where commoners were permitted to graze their livestock. The forest today consists of both dry and humid lowland heath. It contains the largest and most diverse area of lowland heathland habitats outside the New Forest and is considered to be the most important area of heathland in the Weald of southern England; it is the only site in England known to support all twelve known native species of reptiles and amphibians, and it supports a nationally important heathland flora with associated birds and invertebrate fauna.Woolmer village lies within the confines of the forest.