Leigh Woods

Leigh Woods
The woods in early autumn
Type	Open access woodland
Location	Near Bristol, England
Coordinates	Coordinates: 51°27′47″N 2°38′21″W / 51.4631°N 2.6392°W / 51.4631; -2.6392
Area	2 square kilometres (490 acres)
Operated by	National Trust, Forestry Commission
Status	Open all year

Leigh Woods is a 2-square-kilometre (0.77 sq mi) area of woodland on the south-west side of the Avon Gorge, close to the Clifton Suspension Bridge, within North Somerset opposite the English city of Bristol and north of the Ashton Court estate, of which it formed a part. Stokeleigh Camp, a hillfort thought to have been occupied from the third century BC to the first century AD and possibly also in the Middle Ages, lies within the reserve on the edge of the Nightingale Valley. On the bank of the Avon, within the reserve, are quarries for limestone and celestine which were worked in the 18th and 19th centuries are now derelict.

In 1909 part of the woodland was donated to the National Trust by George Alfred Wills, to prevent development of the city beside the gorge following the building of the Leigh Woods suburb. Areas not owned by the National Trust have since been taken over by the Forestry Commission. Rare trees include multiple species of Sorbus with at least nine native and four imported species. Bristol rockcress (Arabis scabra) which is unique to the Avon Gorge can be seen flowering in April; various species of orchids and western spiked speedwell (Veronica spicata) are common in June and July. It is a national nature reserve and is included in the Avon Gorge Site of Special Scientific Interest,

The woods, which cover an area of 2 square kilometres (0.77 sq mi), are on a ridge which mainly consists of limestone, with some sandstone which runs from Clifton to Clevedon, 10 miles (16 km) away on the Bristol Channel coast. At the southern end of the woods is Nightingale Valley (one of several thus named in the area), a dry valley which is cut into the side of the gorge. Its area slopes from the highest point nearly opposite the north gate of Ashton Court to the River Avon beside the western buttress of the Clifton Suspension Bridge. The woods are on the Monarch's Way long-distance footpath.