Spring Wood is an ancient woodland, a County Wildlife Site and a Local Nature Reserve. Forming the heart of the Belstead Brook Park, it is adjacent to Millennium Wood LNR, Bobbits Lane LNR and the threatened Kiln Meadow. As well as the wide range of native tree species for such a relatively small wood, it is important for its spring flowers: first Anemones and then Bluebells, Red Campion, Stitchwort, and Wood Spurge can produce some impressive displays. It also provides habitat for a wide range of birds and animals including Nightingales, Weasels and a huge colony of toads.

The wood appears on a 1676 tithe map as “New Fell’d Wood” and this tells up about its name and function: the wood has clearly been coppiced for many centuries and the new growth or “spring” - from which the wood gets its name - which produces a large number of thin straight poles, used to provide tools and materials for generations of local people. Coppicing also creates valuable habitat for many woodland plant and animal species, and can extend the life of many trees in the process. It is a traditional method of managing woodland, and has been carried out in Britain for thousands of years.