Bagley Wood, one of the largest woods around Oxford, is an ancient woodland steeped in history and known for wildlife. Owned by St John’s College, its 550 acres — a mosaic of natural oak and coppiced woodland, plantations, experimental plots and specimen trees — are usually off limits for the public.

But on Sunday, June 21, for the annual Bagley Wood Fun Run and Walk, anyone can come along and enjoy Bagley Wood in the springtime, and help Kennington’s unique charity drive.

The village of Kennington is squeezed into a narrow tract of land between the River Thames and Bagley Wood.

The ancient woodland was first mentioned in an Abbey Charter of 955, by which King Eadred granted certain lands, including Bagley Wood, to the Abbot of Abingdon Abbey.

It must have been a lawless place in the 13th century, as men were frequently assaulted and sometimes killed in Bagley Wood.

In 1327, the prior of the abbey was carried off into the wood and threatened with a horrible end unless he did his captor’s bidding.

After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Bagley Wood was bought by St John’s College, in 1619, for the princely sum of £600.

Access to the woods has not been without conflict in the past. Local historian Robert Sephton gives an account of one incident in his booklet Thomas Pratt is shooting rabbits in Bagley Wood.

Mr Sephton said: “Kennington and surrounding villages adjoining Bagley Wood claimed rights of common, allowing them to collect ‘underwood, furze and fern’ on which they depended for fuel.

“But at the beginning of the 19th century, St John’s College began to prosecute them for trespass by going into the wood.

“In 1835, the villagers found a leader in Thomas Pratt, a wine and tobacco merchant of St Aldates who had taken a smallholding in South Hinksey.

“Matters came to a head in December 1838 when the college hired men to go into the wood with carts to remove any underwood cut by the locals.

“The villagers armed themselves with bill hooks and hatchets and drove them off.

“The college held Pratt responsible and obtained a warrant for his committal to prison, but he disappeared from the area. In 1848, the college obtained an Act of Parliament to enclose the wood.”

Although it is now more peaceful and law-abiding, Kennington today is still an independent-minded place and every year villagers raise money for an overseas development project.

Through Kennington Overseas Aid (KOA), 41 projects have been funded in the same number of years. This year will see the opening of two KOA projects — a secondary school library in Benin and a preschool-cum-community-centre in KwaZulu-Natal.

The Bagley Wood Fun Run and Walk is an established part of KOA’s fund-raising calendar, and a good opportunity for everyone to see the sights of Bagley Wood today.

Nowadays Bagley Wood is used for commercial timber production, teaching, research, and amenity by members of the college.

The business employs two men in the woods and two in a sawmill off the old Abingdon Road. Terry Treadwell manages the sawmill and lives in the wood.

He said: “Our most popular product is cordwood for log-burning stoves.

“We also sell some hard wood, mostly oak, and the soft wood such as larch and spruce.

“A fire in 2004 destroyed the old sawmill, but it was replaced by a new building two years later.”

Terry is familiar with the abundant wildlife in the woods, including muntjac, roe deer, badgers and foxes.

He said: “The birdlife is superb, and sometimes buzzards and even goshawks are seen hunting.

“About 180 nest boxes were put up in 1990, and 320 more in 2007, for long-term ecological studies of great tits and the relationship of their density to the habitat in the woods.

“University biologists take regular blood samples and use nest box cameras to study what the birds feed their young.”

Kennington resident Sylfest Muldal, who has a permit to visit Bagley Wood, is another keen visitor.

“It’s a lovely wood, with very diverse wildlife — ancient woodland flowers like yellow archangel and early purple orchid, all sorts of woodland birds including redpolls and crossbills in the winter, and some beautiful oak and bluebell glades.

“As the organiser of this year’s fun run, I wanted to provide some interest for everyone who takes part — from the serious racers who start first, to the people who just like to keep fit, to the children and families and anyone who just wants a nice stroll.

“So, we’ve made a nature challenge puzzle, spread along our fun run course, with some wildlife-gardening prizes for the best entries.”

This year’s Bagley Wood Fun Run and Walk starts at 11.30am at Forest Side, Kennington, on Sunday, June 21.

You can just turn up on the day, if you arrive reasonably early. To download an advance entry form for the fun run, visit the Kennington Overseas Aid website at www.koa.org.uk, or contact Sylfest Muldal (01865 735995).

Not being a long course, it is a good family event with various prizes for runners, improvers and a nature challenge.

Family entry (up to four entries) is £10.