In the early part of the Mesolithic period, lowland England was covered with woods made up of birch, pine and hazel trees. Willow trees grew on the boggy ground by the edges of lakes and rivers. However the uplands and parts of northern Britain were still open country, dominated by grasses. Larger animals such as elk and wild cattle thrived in these less wooded environments.

In the later part of the Mesolithic period forests became denser, dominated by trees such as oak, lime, elm and alder. These woods were less suited to elk and wild cattle, but would have been populated by red deer and roe deer, while acorns would have provided good food for wild pigs. Smaller animals included pine-marten, hedgehogs and squirrels, which were preyed on by carnivores such as wolves, bears, badgers, wilds cats and foxes. Fish such as salmon swam in the rivers along which beavers built their dams.

The deer and the wild pigs would have been prime targets for the Mesolithic hunters to add to the other rich plant resources that these forests provided.