Bernwood Forest

Shabbington Woods Complex is a 305.6-hectare (755-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest ((SSSI) between Horton-cum-Studley and Worminghall in Buckinghamshire. It comprises Shabbington Wood, Bernwood Forest, Hell Coppice, Oakley Wood and York's Wood. Shabbington Wood is owned by the Forestry Commission, and a small area of 7.5 hectares called Bernwood Meadows is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.The site is the largest remnant of the former Royal Forest of Bernwood. Other remnants are SSSIs in Oxfordshire. In this site only a small area of ancient woodland survives, and the main interest is the rich insect fauna. There are also two unimproved meadows, bounded by mature hedges, and several ponds. Over forty species of butterfly have been recorded, including the rare Duke of Burgundy.

Bernwood Meadows is a 7.5-hectare (19-acre) nature reserve near Oakley in Buckinghamshire. It is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.This traditional hay meadow has over 100 plant species, including lady's bedstraw, green winged orchids and cuckooflowers. It also has many species of butterfly, such as orange tip and rare black and brown hairstreaks. other wildlife includes brown hares, kestrels and moths.There is access from the road between Stanton St. John and Oakley.

Horton-cum-Studley is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about 6+1⁄2 miles (10.5 km) northeast of the centre of Oxford and bordering Otmoor, and is one of the "Seven Towns" of Otmoor. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 455. A majority of residents in the village work in the Healthcare and Educational Sectors.

Studley Priory was a small house of Benedictine nuns, ruled by a prioress. It was founded some time before 1176 in the hamlet of Studley in what is now the village of Horton-cum-Studley, 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England, at 1 Horton Hill Road. In 1176, the priory received a grant from Bernard of St. Walery. The nuns were unhappy to be served poor beef and new beer on Thursday and Sunday nights, and no mutton. The priory was declared closed by 1536, but appears to have experienced a brief revival before its suppression in 1539. The priory lands were sold to the Croke family. The family built the house now known as Studley Priory, which still stands in its 10 acres (4.0 ha) of grounds, in 1587; a member of the Croke family was a judge in the 1649 trial of Charles I. The house and its estate (which comprised most of the village of Horton-cum-Studley) was owned by the Croke family until around 1870 when it was sold to the Henderson family, who occupied it until World War II. During the war, it was a sanatorium for Royal Air Force officers. In 1947 the priory was leased by Raymond and Tessa Bawtree, who (with their partner, Wilma Hessey) ran it as a country-house hotel for the next 14 years. During that time, many eminent guests stayed there (including Adrian Boult, Gilbert Murray, Beverley Nichols and Sandy Wilson; it was a favourite hostelry of C.S. Lewis, who came regularly for a Sunday-morning beer after church and in later years stayed there with his wife Joy. The Bawtrees did not renew their lease in 1961; that year the Hendersons auctioned off their estate, including the priory. The priory was bought by the Parke family, who continued to run it as a hotel until 2004 when the business was placed in receivership due to mounting financial losses. The business failed to find a buyer and the Priory was sold for reconversion to a private house.The monastery is mentioned in the historical novel Blanket In The Dark by John Buchan who lived at nearby Elsfield. It was used as a filming location for the exterior of Sir Thomas More's Chelsea home in the 1966 version of Robert Bolt's A Man for All Seasons (interior shots were done in a studio, not at Studley Priory).

Honeyburge is a hamlet in the civil parish of Boarstall in Buckinghamshire, England. The hamlet is on Dane's Brook next to Boarstall Wood. Honeyburge is less than 0.5 miles (800 m) south of Boarstall village and about 8 miles (13 km) by road south of the market town of Bicester in neighbouring Oxfordshire. It has nine 9 houses, soon to be 12 (depending on planning permission).

Waterperry Wood is a 137-hectare (340-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) east of Oxford in Oxfordshire. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and is owned and managed by the Forestry Commission.This wood has been designated an SSSI because it contains a diverse and important insect fauna, with many nationally uncommon and rare species. There are nineteen species of nationally uncommon hoverflies, including five which are listed in the British Red Data Book of Insects, many nationally uncommon beetles, thirty butterfly species and several rare moths.

Whitecross Green and Oriel Woods is a 63-hectare (160-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Oxford and Bicester in Oxfordshire. It is owned and managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust under the name Whitecross Green Wood.These ancient woods are part of two former royal forests, Shotover and Bernwood. They are crossed by herb-rich and grassy rides, some of which are bordered by ditches, and there is also a pond and a marsh. Twenty-four species of butterfly have been recorded including the nationally rare black hairstreak.

Boarstall Tower is a 14th-century moated gatehouse located in Boarstall, Buckinghamshire, England, and now, with its surrounding gardens, a National Trust property.Until March 2020, the National Trust offered tours on Wednesday afternoons. The tower was closed during the Covid pandemic but recently reopened for selective dates in the summer.

Boarstall is a village and civil parish in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire, about 12 miles (19 km) west of Aylesbury. The parish is on the county boundary with Oxfordshire and the village is about 5.5 miles (9 km) southeast of the Oxfordshire market town of Bicester.

The Boarstall Duck Decoy is a 17th-century duck decoy located in Boarstall, Buckinghamshire, England, and now a National Trust property. The system took advantage of a two-acre lake with pipe-cage tunnels running out of it.At one time a common sight in the English countryside, only four duck decoys now remain. The Boarstall Duck Decoy is still in working order, and is surrounded by 13 acres (53,000 m2) of natural woodland. The intent of the decoy was to catch large numbers of waterfowl. A decoy or fake duck was used to attract birds onto a small patch of water. The pond was equipped with a long cone-shaped wickerwork tunnel. A "decoyman" with a trained dog then herded the birds into the tunnel. Once the birds had been trapped in the tunnel, they could then be caught as required. Originally, the birds trapped here were a source of food. The advantage over simply shooting the birds was that ducks caught by this method did not have pellets or lead shot in their bodies that would have to be removed prior to consumption, allowing them to command higher prices. Today, the National Trust organise demonstrations, and any birds caught are ringed for ornithological study. One duck apparently traveled as far away as Turkey.

Holly Wood is a 25.6-hectare (63-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-east of Oxford in Oxfordshire.This ancient wood is a small remnant of the medieval Royal Forest of Shotover. It is coppice with standards on Oxford Clay with a varied invertebrate fauna. There are several uncommon butterfiles such as the black hairstreak and purple emperor.

Holton Wood is a 50.6-hectare (125-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Oxford in Oxfordshire.This ancient wood was formerly part of Bernwood Forest, which was a medieval hunting forest. It is semi-natural coppice with standards, with fine oak standards of varying ages. It has a rich invertebrate fauna, including 27 species of butterfly, with uncommon species such as white admiral and purple emperor.