Burnham Beeches National Nature Reserve

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Overview

Burnham Beeches NNR is a well-loved and much-filmed area of beech and oak pollards and wood pasture, with pockets of heathland and sphagnum bog, located close to London, and owned and managed by the City of London. The 540-acre reserve is best known for its ancient beech and oak pollards and the range of flora and fauna associated with old trees and decaying wood. They provide insect food for summer migrants such as pied flycatchers and wood warblers and birds such as the tawny owl, treecreeper and nuthatch nest in the larger holes. Bats also roost in the cracks in the bark, and insects include the rose chafer and the bright red cardinal beetle. Burnham Beeches includes large areas of acidic heathland progressing into mire and bog. It is dominated by heathers and grasses, along with many large juniper bushes. Birds here include the rare Dartford warbler and redstart. Mushrooms and toadstools, such as the rare oak polypore, coral fungi and chicken-of-the-woods, play an important role at Burnham Beeches by breaking down dead and decaying material.

Location

Farnham Common

About the area

Buckinghamshire is a land of glorious beech trees, wide views and imposing country houses, such as Stowe and Waddesdon Manor, set amid sumptuous gardens and dignified parkland. The Vale of Aylesbury is a vast playground for leisure seekers, and rising above it are the Chiltern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty where you can also find the woodland rides of Burnham Beeches.