Sandlings Forest

{{Short description|Woodland in Suffolk, England}}

{{Infobox SSSI

|image= Pond, Rendlsham Forest - geograph.org.uk - 911599.jpg

|image_caption = Pond in Rendlesham Forest

|name= Sandlings Forest

|aos= Suffolk

|interest=Biological

|gridref={{gbmappingsmall| TM 363 512 }}

|area= 2,483.8 hectares

|notifydate= 2000

|map=[http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%272000433%27 Magic Map]

}}

Sandlings Forest is a 2,483.8 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in two large blocks, Rendlesham Forest and Tunstall Forest, and two small ones, between Woodbridge and Aldeburgh in Suffolk.{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteDetail.aspx?SiteCode=S2000433&SiteName=sandlings&countyCode=&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |title=Designated Sites View: Sandlings Forest | series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|accessdate = 7 June 2017}}{{cite web|url= http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%272000433%27|title=Map of Sandlings Forest|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|accessdate= 7 June 2017}} It is partly in the Sandlings Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.{{cite web|url= http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/SPA/UK9020286.pdf |title=Special Protection Areas under the EC Birds Directive. Sandlings. |publisher=Joint Nature Conservation Committee|accessdate= 4 May 2017}}{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteGeneralDetail.aspx?SiteCode=UK9020286&SiteName=sandlings&countyCode=&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |title=Designated Sites View: Sandlings | series= Special Protection Area|publisher=Natural England|accessdate = 10 May 2017}} It is in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.{{cite web|url=http://www.suffolkcoastandheaths.org/assets/AONB-Management-Plan-20132018.pdf|page=76|title=Suffolk Coast & Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Management Plan 2013–2018|publisher=Suffolk Coast & Heaths AONB |accessdate= 6 August 2016}}

These commercial coniferous plantations are designated an SSSI for their internationally important bird populations. Surveys in the 1990s found 81 singing nightjars, around 2% of the number in Britain, and 71 woodlarks, approximately 5% of the British population.{{cite web|url=http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/2000433.pdf |title=Sandlings Forest citation|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|accessdate= 7 June 2017}}

There are public footpaths through the woods.

Most of the land within Sandlings Forest SSSI is owned by the Forestry Commission, although the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds also own some patches of land within this protected area.{{Cite web |date=2020-10-06 |title=Mapping the habitats of England’s ten largest institutional landowners |url=https://whoownsengland.org/2020/10/06/mapping-the-habitats-of-englands-ten-largest-institutional-landowners/ |access-date=2024-11-02 |website=Who owns England? |language=en}} Suffolk Wildlife Trust has a management role for parts of this protected area and has restored habitats to bring greater connectivity.{{Cite web |title=Sandlings Heaths & Forest Nature Reserve {{!}} Suffolk Wildlife Trust |url=https://www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/nature-reserves/sandlings-heaths-forest-nature-reserve |access-date=2024-11-02 |website=www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org |language=en}}