Shabbington Woods Complex

Bernwood Forest is a forest in England. Historically it was one of several forests of the ancient Kingdom of England and was a Royal hunting forest. It is thought to have been set aside as Royal hunting land when the Anglo-Saxon kings had a palace at Brill and church in Oakley, in the 10th century and was a particularly favoured place of Edward the Confessor, who was born in nearby Islip. From about 1217 through to the 17th century the forest went through a gradual period of deforestation. King Henry II (reigned 1154–1189) prepared a map of the forest at the time which is an invaluable tool in helping define its ancient boundaries; however, his purpose for drawing up the map was to divide the forest amongst his nobles. By the 16th century, another map of the forest had been drawn up by which time it had been reduced greatly in size. Again, the map was drawn up under the aegis of the Crown as an audit to what revenue could be made from selling off the forest. By the reign of King James I (reigned 1603–1625), the forest had lost its Royal status and had completely disappeared. Today the name refers to the area of Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire where the forest was at the time of King Henry II, covering 400 km². The approximate boundaries of the designated area today fall within the River Great Ouse, the Padbury Brook, the Claydon Brook and the River Thame. The small modern Bernwood Forest in Buckinghamshire is approximately 1 km² and is contiguous with Hell Coppice, York's Wood, Oakley Wood and Shabbington Wood. A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) called Shabbington Woods Complex, it supports a wide variety of wildlife and is one of the most important butterfly sites in the United Kingdom. Its manager, Forestry England, originally had a more commercial approach. Aerial spraying of pesticides occurring up until the late 1960s:firstly DDT to control Hylobius abietis then 2,4,5-T to clear broad-leafed plants (including oak saplings) before planting commercial pine stands. Holly Wood, Holton Wood, Stanton Great Wood and Waterperry Wood, all in Oxfordshire, and Ham Home-cum-Hamgreen Woods in Buckinghamshire, are also remnants of Bernwood Forest which are SSSIs. Another fragment in Buckinghamshire is Rushbeds Wood, an SSSI which is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

RAF Oakley is a former Royal Air Force satellite station between Oakley and Worminghall, Buckinghamshire, England. It was located in a flat, damp wooded area.

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.

Oakley is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It has an area of 2,206 acres (893 ha) and includes about 400 households. The 2011 Census recorded the population as 1,007.At one time it was thought Oakley held a rare (and possibly unique) double distinction, in that a Victoria Cross recipient, Edward Brooks, and a Medal of Honor recipient, James J. Pym, were both born in the village. However, the latter, a namesake of a contemporary James Pym from Oakley, has been found to be from Garsington, a village 10 miles (16 km) away in Oxfordshire. In 1963 Oakley was centre of national and international news, when Leatherslade Farm, near Oakley, was used as a hideout by the criminal gang involved in the Great Train Robbery.