It is part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the local planning authority is Dacorum District Council.

Plants that are abundant include woodruff, wood anemone and dog's mercury, and there are a variety of woodland birds.

Stands of beech are intermingled with others where common ash and pedunculate oak predominate.

[1] Rides and trackways provide some open spaces and there is about 85% closed canopy, with regeneration of trees being largely limited to ash, sycamore and hawthorn.

[4] The many resident and migratory birds include the tawny owl and the greater spotted woodpecker.