This guide deals with the management of the semi-natural oakwoods of western and northern Britain, which grow mostly on acid, often shallow, leached brown earth soils in a cool, wet and windy climate, from southernmost Cornwall to north-west Scotland. In parts of Exmoor, Snowdonia, Lake District, Argyll and elsewhere they form important elements of the finest landscapes. There are estimated to be 60,000–70,000 ha of ancient semi-natural woods of this type.
