"Bitholmes Wood is 28.67 ha of predominantly ancient semi natural woodland bought by the Woodland Trust in October 1997. It lies on the west side of the Don Valley between Sheffield (3 miles) and the Peak District National Park (1 mile). The valley sides are steep and the wood contains several significant crags of sandstone and gritstone which have been extended by quarrying over the last several centuries. The whole area has been a focus of mining, quarrying and industrial activity since the early days of the industrial revolution and large steel works are still present at Stocksbridge two miles upstream. In addition to the quarrying for stone, pot clay has long been worked in the wood as far back as the late middle ages and the wood is littered with old coal workings of unknown age. During the great depression in the 1920s the upper reaches of the woods were unofficially worked for coal by desperate workers in search of free fuel, although these attempts were mostly futile." (Woodland Trust 2004, 4) Present woodland area is cut across by the Sheffield Huddersfield Turnpike built 1805 (Smith 1997) and a corridor cleared of trees for a high voltage transmission line built between 1967 and 1987. Legibility of previous character types is uncertain as we have no evidence as yet for earlier landscapes.