Stoke Park Wood
Stoke Park Wood to the north-west of the village (a remnant of the Forest of Bere) lies partly in Fair Oak and partly in the neighbouring parish of Bishopstoke. With many bridlepaths running between the two villages via the woods, it is possible to walk from one village to another without setting foot on any other public highway. After a string of murders in the late 1970s the woods were given the nickname "Reaper's Wood". However residents quickly reverted back to its original name as families of the victims found it distressing. The woods cover some 207 hectares (510 acres) and are primarily of evergreen trees; the sandy soil and long grass is home to wildlife including dormice, grey squirrels, pine martens, deer and adders. This forest is the biggest in Eastliegh an has many rivers too.
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Famous quotes containing the words park and/or wood:
“Linnæus, setting out for Lapland, surveys his “comb” and “spare shirt,” “leathern breeches” and “gauze cap to keep off gnats,” with as much complacency as Bonaparte a park of artillery for the Russian campaign. The quiet bravery of the man is admirable.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“It is remarkable what a value is still put upon wood even in this age and in this new country, a value more permanent and universal than that of gold. After all our discoveries and inventions no man will go by a pile of wood. It is as precious to us as it was to our Saxon and Norman ancestors. If they made their bows of it, we make our gun-stocks of it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)