By Steve Aylward
Legacy stories: Captain's Wood
Captain’s Wood is a place of wild beauty and the largest surviving piece of a medieval wood-pasture that once covered many hundreds of acres. The open landscape with its drifts of bluebells, ancient pollards and herds of fallow deer offers an experience of nature which is unique in Suffolk.
Wood-pastures are exceptionally important for their ecological, landscape and historic heritage. The gnarled oak pollards, some thought to be more than 500 years old, are a direct link to the past.
The purchase of Captain’s Wood in 2005 was made possible by a legacy from Gloria Ford which provided the foundation for our successful application for funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
In the fields alongside the wood we have planted a new generation of oaks grown from the acorns of the oldest trees. By making it possible for us to buy
this beautiful woodland, Gloria has saved it for future generations to treasure.