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Milton Keynes Parks Trust | |
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Linford Wood was bought by the Milton Keynes Development Corporation in 1971. It is a wood with great historical & ecological importance because of its rich flora and fauna. It is also one of our most valuable conservation sites although the wood is poorly drained, having 3 ponds and frequent wet spots. This all adds to the variety.
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When the wood was taken over it was quite neglected & somewhat derelict, the last coppice had been done back in the 1920's. A major programme was begun in 1974, the objective for this being to provide an attractive woodland with recreational aspects for the public to enjoy as well as learn about the wood and its flora & fauna along with the conservation side, with out the wood being damaged by the attention it would get. | |
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The earliest map from 1678 shows that the wood is in more or less its present form. It also indicates that a 14 year coppice was the main form of management. | |
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In 1993 a survey was conducted by the Milton Keynes Parks Trust, which covered the Furzton/Emerson Valley, the Ouzel Valley Park and Linford Wood, also included in the data was the results of a school children's questionnaire, Some of the results were quite interesting:- 10% of the visitors were on their first visit, 47% used the park regularly. 55% "just knew" of the parks, 14% heard of them through personal recommendation, but only 6% heard of them through publicity. 25% of people visited the parks to walk in 14% with their dogs, and I'm pleased to report that 92% of the dog owners believed that they should clear up after their dogs, 16% used the park for taking their children out, 6% were for peace & quiet, 7% for short cuts through, 6% for picnics, 5% for cycling. The use of Linford Wood is fairly evenly split between male 52% & female 48% users, most of its visitors arrive on foot and it is used on a regular basis, the average length of the visit is short, less than 1 hour, and high proportion of its visits were from school children going to or from Stantonbury Campus or Leisure Centre. The reason given for visiting Linford Wood on the whole is for the peace and quiet and for the obvious one of walking the family dog. |
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