Michael's Wood burial area is approved
by the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and is located within the rural
parish of Cholderton, a small village on the Hampshire Wiltshire
borders, in the middle of a beautiful, family owned, organically
farmed Estate. Michael’s Wood was planted in the Victorian
era. Parts of the wood were damaged by the Great Storm, and these
areas have now been cleared and landscaped. The outer fringe of
the wood forms a dense screen of Hawthorn, Blackthorn and Hazel
and overlooks the fields of the Cholderton Estate.
Michael’s Wood is owned and
managed by the Cholderton Estate with assistance from the Wiltshire
Wildlife Trust who receive a donation from every burial. A representative
of the Wildlife Trust sits on the management board of Michael’s
Wood.
The management of the Estate has
been geared towards the conservation of wildlife for many years
and the woodland burial site is run along the same lines. No chemicals
are used and wild flowers and butterflies constantly encouraged
by careful management techniques.
Over 70 species of birds breed
on the Estate, many of these in the Michael’s Wood area.
Roe Deer and Brown Hare live in
the wood and graze over the grassy areas.
It is a
place of beauty, peace and tranquillity.
