Fineshade Wood
Fineshade Wood is a large wooded area in the county of Northamptonshire in the English East Midlands region. The wood is managed by the Forestry Commission and is part of the former royal hunting forest of Rockingham Forest. Part of the wood is publicly owned and part leased by the Forestry Commission. Top Lodge at Fineshade Wood is a visitor centre and houses Forestry Commission offices.
Fineshade is in East Northamptonshire District and is roughly 25 miles from Rushden, the largest town of the district, and about 15 miles from Thrapston, the administrative centre of the district. Its closest town is Stamford in Lincolnshire.
Fineshade is known for its population of red kites.[1] It also has a regionally important population of adders and other reptiles as well as scarce breeding birds including nightingale, nightjar, woodcock, grasshopper warbler, tree pipit, marsh and willow tits. Dormice have recently been recorded together with great crested and palmate newts. The wood is located east of the A43 road between Stamford and Corby. The site has a caravan park which is open from Easter to October.
In 2015 a planning application by Forest Holidays and the Forestry Commission to build a holiday camp in part of the publicly-owned wood was unanimously rejected by the Planning Committee of East Northants Council. The plan had been opposed by all the local Parish Councils and many conservation groups because of the damage it would cause to the biodiversity and character of the wood.
In 2016 the wood was protected by a new local planning policy which places the wood within an "Area of Tranquillity".
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Coordinates: 52°34′46″N 0°32′36″W / 52.57945°N 0.54327°W