The Pound Wood Pages

• The Pound Wood Opening PageHome
• The History of Pound Wood down the agesHistory
• How the woods contributed to the local EconomyEconomy
• Birds, Butterflies, Trees, Flowers and much other WildlifeWildlife
• How the woods were managed in the past, and how they are managed todayManagement
• The Geology of the woods, and the climatic environmentPhysical
• How to get to Pound WoodAccess
• Charcoal Burning in Pound WoodCharcoal
• The areas that have been coppiced over recent yearsCoupes
• Maps of the wood: physical, cultural and vegetationMaps
• Newsletter items about the wood over the yearsNewsletters
• The Interactive Pound Wood Trail GuideTrail Guide
• About these web pagesAbout
• The Essex Wildlife Trust WebsiteEssex Wildlife Trust

Keith’s Glade

Keith’s Glade is a small area of about 0.2 hectares where Wilkin’s Path crosses Miles Brook. There are rustic seats available for the visitor to rest. It also features the rustic bridge known as Codger’s Crossing. The name is from the mostly-retired volunteers who built this bridge.

The timber for the bridge came from a number of chestnut trees in the vicinity. When they were felled for the bridge, the management decided to keep the area clear as a glade.

The reason for building a fairly large bridge over a rather small stream is that every so often, the Essex and Suffolk Water Company flushes out its reservoir that drains into Miles Brook just here. This creates a very wet and deep gully that cannot easily be crossed dryshod.

In addition to the bridge, the glade also features a small dam across the Miles Brook. This is to generate a more permanent damp area in the glade. This patch feature a rather scarce sedge, the Bristle Scirpus, Isolepis setosa. The scarcity of records for this species is probably a reflection on its rather nondescript appearance!