Spotley Wood is part of the Compton Estate (or Castle Ashby Estate) and was leased to the Forestry Commission many years ago. In 2010 the Forestry Commission gave up the lease and it therefore reverted to the Estate.
In 1972, a license was granted to Castle Ashby District Scouts to use part of the wood as a Campsite and this license was taken over by Grafton District in 2005 when the Castle Ashby and Hazelborough District’s merged to form Grafton.
Before being used as a campsite, the building was used as a Hen House or Pheasant rearing shed and therefore naturally had to be cleaned out considerably in 1972!
As you can image, the site was pretty basic when Castle Ashby first took it on and the toilets were added on shortly after it became a campsite. Since 1972, we’ve refitted the kitchen at least 4 times!
Over the years, both the site and the facilities have been improved and added to when both time and funds permit. In recent years, we’ve added a Hammock area to make it easier for people to sleep in hammocks should they so wish. A lot of time has been spent improving the drainage too so that the site doesn’t get too waterlogged and can still be used.
Our thanks go to the Compton Estate who support the use of the site for the benefit of young people.