Roxanne Matthews, Director of Treow Woodland Project, runs the activity programme at Wrongs Covert, an ancient woodland site covering 25 acres along the River Wensum. Here, Roxanne explains all about it
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Roxanne Matthews and I’m the Director of Treow Woodland Project, a community interest company that seeks to connect people of all ages back to nature (and each other!). We run a regular programme of workshops, gatherings, experiences, tours, mentoring and conservation, all held in the beautiful ancient woodland of Wrongs Covert.
How long have you been involved in running the activities programme at Wrongs Covert Woodland and what is your background?
I started running forest school sessions at Wrongs Covert in September 2025 and just fell in love with the site. It’s a working farm woodland that runs along the river Wensum, and feels very untouched, becoming a haven to many rare and endangered species of birds, animals and plants. It also has a rich history, with an Anglo-Saxon road running through it that we think would have been a pilgrim path between Walsingham and Norwich, as well as a route for those ferrying cattle and goods into the city. There’s a Neolithic flint pit on site, which makes the perfect protected spot for archery.
My background is in art history, so learning more about the history has been fascinating. Currently I’m on the trail of St Edmund, because we’re becoming increasingly convinced that the end of his life happened right on our doorstep, or amongst our reed beds and two fields beyond our site, more specifically!
For those unfamiliar, what is the Treow Woodland Project and where exactly is Wrongs Covert?
Treow began life as a forest school for children and young people and has now expanded to offer activities for all ages. As well as giving people the opportunity to spend time in nature, we are also passionate about heritage crafts. Many of our workshops share skills such as woodworking, leather work, printmaking, and working with natural materials found here in the woods. Wrongs Covert itself slightly defies postcodes, which is part of what makes it so magical and untouched. The woodland covers 25 acres and is just 12 miles NW of Norwich between Lenwade and Lyng.
What sort of activities take place there?
Most of our activity programme runs from spring – autumn when the woodland is at its greenest and driest. This includes heritage craft workshops and courses, kids forest schools’ experiences and camps, as well as seasonal gatherings for families and story-based tours of the site. Wrongs Covert has a beautiful wooden stage, fire pit, camping area and has hosted small festivals, gatherings and performances. We also welcome charities and community groups onto the site. A great example is Circus Head, a non-profit organisation focusing on the mental health and well-being of frontline ambulance staff who regularly host well-being days in the woods. There’s also a lot of conservation that happens on site, supporting the ecology and to study some of the amazing species we have here.
What makes it a special place, do you think?
I think because it feels so unspoilt, you can really tell that the woodland has been allowed to flourish here, I guess these days we would call it rewilding. Because of that we are all very mindful of respecting the ecosystem around us when we’re on site, recognising everything that we do here has an impact on the ecology. It also makes you slow down, to really notice everything around you, whether it’s the call of a bird, the abundance of butterflies and moths this time of year, or the wind through the trees.
What’s happening there over the summer that families can get involved with?
We’ve got a whole week of nature activities for children and young people running from Monday 17th August, from woodworking to printmaking and pond dipping. There’ll also be a story and music night. If you’ve got any budding young historians, they are always welcome on one of our history tours, where we explore the site, learning about the glacial chalk stream that created it, right through to how it was used in medieval times and beyond!
Where can people find out more?
You can head to our website at treowwoodlandproject.co.uk to find out more and see what’s on, and you can also keep up to date with us on our Instagram and Facebook.
Any plans you can share?
This is our first year of activity at Wrongs, so we’re excited to see it grow and to welcome more people into the woods. We’ve got some exciting plans for more workshops in the summer and autumn including spoon carving, foraging and making teas and tinctures, and working with the natural clay on site. As well as more gatherings, including a very special one to commemorate Samhain (Halloween) in October, and a festive Yule celebration in the run up to Christmas.
Wrongs Covert is an ancient woodland site covering 25 acres along the River Wensum 12 miles NW of Norwich In East Anglia, UK. History tour. To find out about the summer activities, visit wrongscovert.com. Also, visit treowwoodlandproject.co.uk.
Featured image of Roxanne Matthews by Milly Kirby
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