Witch Wood is a detached residue of 'The Big Wood' which once formed the western and southern boundary of Lytham Hall Home Park. In 1963, the Clifton estate was acquired by the Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance Company and a housing estate was developed. The local council did not wish to take responsibility for the remaining derelict wood along the north side of the railway and it was gifted to the Civic Society for development as a woodland walk for the benefit of the local community.

The Society cleared the undergrowth and introduced paths. A strip of land, approximately 40 ft wide was leased from British Rail (now Network Rail) to provide a continuous walk from Ansdell to Lytham. The woodland was opened to the public by Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, in 1974.

The wood is protected a by tree preservation order and part is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The area owned by the Society is marked in black in the figure below, and the narrow light grey strip running alongside to the north of the railway is that part rented from (now) Network Rail

The wood was named after a favourite Clifton family horse, 'The Witch', which is thought to be buried there. The grave marker stone states ‘The Witch 1888’. Witch Wood is accessed by entrances at its eastern and western extremities, and from the path that is the remains of Church Drive, used by the Cliftons to attend St Cuthbert’s Church via a bridge over across the railway, known locally as ‘Middle Bridge’.

The Civic Society has continued to maintain the wood, utilising advice and grants from the Forestry Commission. Some 200 deceased elms had to be removed in the early days and, more recently, much sycamore, which grew in the open spaces, has been removed and replaced by native species such as oak and beech. In 2001, Railtrack contractors removed sycamores from its land along the side of the railway, planting small leaf tree varieties in their place.

The walk through the wood became steadily more popular and, with regular use, the pathways became very muddy in winter. It was decided in the early 1990s, with some reluctance, to lay broken paving slabs to give firmer footing, but, with time, the main path became very uneven and it was felt necessary in April, 2003 to close the wood to the public for safety reasons. The main path was then resurfaced with Top Trek by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust Environmental Task Force (LWTETF), and the cost, over £5,000, was borne by the Society as it was wished to re-open the wood as soon as possible, rather than wait for a grant to be obtained. The work used recycled material and was undertaken by trainees.

Further improvements have recently been made with the Task Force of Lancashire Wildlife Trust completing the new section of path by the school fence opposite the cricket field. The cost of this work was covered by a grant from the Lancashire Environmental Fund. This new section of path completes the hard path throughout the length of the wood from Lytham to Ansdell. It is much appreciated by walkers and allows full access for wheelchairs. There is still a small amount of work to be carried out by the Task Force in respect of repairs to the existing path and we are hoping that this will be done before the end of 2006..

Above - Witch Wood before the Hall Park housing estate Right - After completion of housing estate