About the reserve

Quietly secluded, this mature deciduous woodland is a mix oak, ash, silver birch, hawthorn, holly, rowan and abundant hazel coppice stools.

On the northern boundary, the shallow Cong Burn provides wet woodland rich in alder trees.

There is a wide range of flora across the site, from bluebells to broad leaved helleborine and marshy areas where meadowsweet is abundant.

Mosses and ferns grow in wet gullies and the large adjacent large reed bed (created in 1999 by the Coal Authority and DWT) purifies mine water from the workings of the former Edmondsley Colliery before it flows into the burn.

An ancient woodland site, Edmondsley Wood is part of the woodland corridor that runs along the steep Cong Burn Valley, making it an ideal starting point for a woodland walk. Spring and early summer, when the abundant bird life and wild flowers can be seen together, are the ideal time to visit.