Cabilla and Redrice Woods facts for kids

Cabilla and Redrice Woods is a special nature reserve. It is managed by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust. You can find it about 3 miles (5 km) east of Bodmin. This beautiful area is in Cornwall, England. It is a large forest with many different types of trees.

Exploring Cabilla and Redrice Woods

This nature reserve covers about 77 hectares (190 acres). That's like 190 football fields! There is a fun walking trail for visitors. This trail lets you explore different parts of the forest. Be ready for some steep hills along the way.

What to See in Cabilla Wood

Cabilla Wood is a very old part of the forest. Some trees here have been coppiced for hundreds of years. Coppicing is a way of cutting trees so they regrow from the stump. This helps certain plants and animals thrive.

You can also find a peaceful pond in Cabilla Wood. This pond is home to many creatures. Look for amphibians like frogs and newts. You might also spot colorful dragonflies and other insects.

Deep within the wood is a large adit. An adit is a tunnel that goes into a mine. This one is from an old lead and silver mine called East Wheal Jane. Today, it's a safe home for bats. Two types of bats live here: the greater and lesser horseshoe bat. You can also see an old building from the East Wheal Jane mine.

Discovering Redrice Wood

Redrice Wood is just across a stream from Cabilla Wood. It is mostly filled with sessile oak trees. These oaks were also coppiced a long time ago.

In Redrice Wood, you can see old charcoal burning platforms. From the Middle Ages until the late 1700s, people used these platforms. They would burn the coppiced oak wood here to make charcoal. Charcoal was very important back then.

There is also a newer area of oak trees. These trees were planted to grow into large timber trees. Keep an eye out for a very special insect here. The blue ground beetle lives in Redrice Wood. This beetle is very rare and found in only a few places in Britain.