14 Tranquil Wood

Tranquil Wood is a twelve-acre fragment of ancient woodland clothing the shallow valley of Slough Brook, on the boundary of Betchworth and Buckland parishes, south of the A25. Ancient woodland — is defined as land continuously wooded since at least 1600 — covers less than two and a half percent of England's land area. Its soils, seed banks, fungal networks and hydrology carry ecological histories that modern planting cannot replicate. Once lost or degraded, it cannot be recovered within any meaningful human timescale. It is, in the truest sense, irreplaceable. But part of this wood was landscaped during Georgian and Victorian times when new plants, shrubs and trees were introduced. This is what makes this woodland ecologically distinctive.

The woodland is currently (June 2026) in private ownership so it it not accessible. Betchworth Parish Council is undertaking due diligence with a view to purchasing the woodland as a community asset. Once acquired the intention will be to extend the Nature Trail through the wood providing a wonderful new experience for those walking the trail.

The photographs provide a flavour of the experience - which includes snowdrops in February, wild garlic and bluebells in April and woodland ferns in the summer and autumn.