The woods are situated on the eastern side of the River Don between the village of Oughtibridge and the Sheffield suburb of Middlewood.

The woods cover an area of approximately 150 acres (60 ha) and slope up quite steeply from the river gaining around 230 feet (70 m) in height before ending at farmland.

[1] The other public footpath runs the length of the upper wood at its highest point; there are many other paths not marked on the OS map.

In late 1898 the Duke of Norfolk's forester planted Beeley Wood with 60 acres (24 ha) of timber trees such as ash, elm, sycamore, birch, lime, sweet chestnut and beech.

[3] In 2011 the Forestry Commission approved funding for a five-year plan to improve the unmanaged habitat of the wood; under the scheme an area of 9.6 acres (3.9 ha) will be coppiced and a further 2.7 acres (1.1 ha) will be thinned to allow more light and warmth into the wood and therefore improve conditions for wild flowers, insects and birds.

Ganister was the material that was mined; this is a type of hard sandstone used in the manufacture of silica bricks used to line industrial furnaces.

There is other industry on the eastern (Middlewood) fringes of the wood with the Beeley Wood Works situated at the end of Clay Wheels Lane, this is currently occupied by the Abbey Stainless Steel Company but has a long history dating back to 1749 when it was known as the Nova Scotia Tilt Company.