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Peter's vale was purchased in 1988 for the sole use of 2nd Witham Boys' Brigade in order to broaden the programme and enhance the experiences of young people.
The site was previously used as a pig farm, that had been split into lots to be sold separately. The site initially comprised of a 9 acre field and 9 acres of ancient, wet, woodland made up of Hazel, Ash, Willow and Oak, amongst other species. It was decided that the site would be dedicated to the preservation of nature and the species on site. Part of the site is a designated Local Wildlife Site (LoWS), called Ansell’s Grove/Ash Ground. The site has a wide range of wildlife habitats, including grassland, woodland (including newly planted woodland) and wet woodland), Twinstead Brook and ponds.
The woodland has largely been left untouched, except for the on-going creation of the "Nature Trail" and removal of fallen and dangerous trees. Some planting has been carried out to replace trees lost to storm damage or disease.
The field, although also home to rare plant species is used for recreational purposes such as camping and sports. In 2017, a kitchen was installed on site in a converted shipping container, as well as compostable toilets. A low ropes challenge course was designed and built in an area of the woodlands that had not successfully grown and more recently, we began construction of several glamping pods on the camp site.
In 2002, planning permission was secured to build a pond in the woodland. Ecological surveys were carried out to ensure that this would have a positive impact on the area and a site was carefully chosen. Around the same time, the hillside of the field was planted with native trees. This added a further 2 acres of tree planting and these trees are now maturing to create a layered woodland.
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