Hidden Secrets in Old Sulehay Woods
For many years I have enjoyed walking through Old Sulehay woods especially in the spring with its wonderful carpet of bluebells, wild garlic and quirky trees. I was unaware of the secrets hidden on the forest floor.
Old Sulehay Woods is part of the ancient Rockingham Forest, a royal hunting forest that extended from Wansford to Kettering. The area has been exploited for its limestone, ironstone and silica clay. Around the woods you can see railway track beds and sidings which were used to transport the quarry products. You can see how the quarrying has changed the local landscape surrounding the woodland.
On walking around the footpaths in the woods you can also see remnants of buildings, which formed part of German POW Camp 702. Over 19,000 German prisoners passed through the camp from when it opened on the 5th March 1946 on their way to one of the other 240 RAF stations as they only stayed for a few days. This made it one of the Primary Repatriation centres for Luftwaffe personal. Most of the buildings have been lost to the quarry, but remnants of the admin block still exist and form part of the forest floor.
Written by Lindsay Stuart
