2.1 England
2.1.1 Region
2.1.2 County
2.1.1 Region
N England
W.I33-  BORROWDALE WOODS, CUMBERLAND  
Grade I*
(a) Castle Head Wood
NY 2722.    8 ha 
(b) The Ings NY 2622.    4 ha
(c) Great Wood NY 2721.    43 ha
(d) Lodore-Troutdak Woods NY 2618.    370 ha
(e) Johnny's Wood NY 2514.    35 ha
(f) Seatoller Wood NY 2413.    85 ha
Borrowdale probably contains a greater extent of native woodland than any other of the Lakeland valleys, and from the road it can appear that almost the whole dale is forest clad on its lower slopes - an impressive effect. Most of the woods are of the hanging type, on steep slopes ranging from c. 75 to 370 m, and covering all aspects, but The Ings and Castle Head Wood lie on the floor of the valley: the latter on a small hill. The parent rock is almost entirely the Borrowdale Volcanic Series, which generally gives acidic soils, but contains calcite bearing beds (and fault shatter belts) in many places, as at Lodore and in Seatoller Wood. The slopes within most woods are variably covered with block scree. These are composed of rocks of all sizes. Many woods have outcrops which vary in size from small faces to high cliffs around Lodore. These woods lie within a very sharp rainfall gradient ranging from about 178 cm annually at Castle Head Wood to about 318 cm at Seathwaite.
There are fine stands of high forest sessile oakwood in Great Wood, Johnny's Wood and Seatoller Wood, and smaller coppice in Troutdale. A shrub layer is generally absent and there are merely scattered individuals of birch, holly and rowan. Ash-hazel wood occurs in all sites except The Ings, but forms a large part of Seatoller Wood and its juxtaposition here with sessile oakwood illustrates the same kind of edaphic separation of woodland types as that found in the lowland situation with slate and limestone in Roudsea Wood. The ashwood contains a good deal of wych elm, and there is usually an understorey of hazel, plus a greater variety of shrubs such as Primus padus, P. spinosa, Crataegus monogyna and Rubus fruticosus. The respective field communities are of Deschampsia flexuosa- Anthoxanthum odora-tum, with sparse bilberry and much bracken on leached brown earths under oak, and Brachypodium syhaticum-Geranium robertianum with numerous other basiphilous herbs on base-rich loams under ash-hazel. Rare herbs include Festuca altissima at Lodore and Great Wood, Impatiens noli-tangere in Great Wood and Circaea alpina in several localities; the last two species have their British headquarters in Lakeland.
Castle Head Wood differs from the others in a number of respects. It is well-developed sessile oak over hazel woodland surrounded by farmland and not open to the upland fell. This has reduced grazing pressure, which in turn has enabled some natural regeneration to take place and accounts for the relatively strong development of field and shrub layers.
By the shore of Derwentwater near Lodore, a fringe of alder, willow, reed and sedge completes the ecological zona-tion of the catena from the top of the hanging oakwoods to the lake shore. Alder woodland near the lake is an important feature of Great Wood and is exceptionally well-developed in The Ings. This site, although small, is ungrazed, and the good field layer varies according to the mineral/humus component of the substratum which may depend on variations in silting from the inflowing stream.
Fern communities are well developed, especially on block scree and include Dryopteris filix-mas, D. dilatata, Athyrium filix-femina, Thelypteris oreopteris, T. phegopteris, T. dryopteris and Blechnum spicant. The rare Asplenium septentrionale grows on rocks in one place. There is a general carpet of bryophytes composed of the common species appropriate to oak and ash-hazel woods, but the most important feature is the strong representation of the Atlantic element. These woods, including the famous cascade ravine of Lodore Falls, together constitute the most important locality in England for Atlantic bryophytes and in richness they rival those of north Wales and the western Highlands. The Hymenophyllum wilsonii-Scapania gracilis-Plagiochila spinulosa community on blocks is well developed, and there is local abundance of mosses such as Hylocomium umbratum, Hypnum callichroum, Bartramia halleriana and the northern Ptilium crista-castrensis, and Sematophyllum novae-caesareae. The notable hepatics include Radula valuta, R. aquilegia, Jubula hutchinsiae, Colura calyptrifolia, Plagiochila tridenticulata, Frullania germana, F. microphylla, Marchesinia mackaii, Adelanthus decipiens, Sphenolobus helleranus and Jamesoniella autumnalis. Borrowdale appears to be especially rich in moisture-loving species not only because of its western position and heavy rainfall, but also because of the apparent historical continuity of woodland cover in places. Seatoller Wood faces south-east and it is difficult to account for the abundance of moisture-loving bryophytes, including several species with very limited powers of spread, except in terms of continuous Post-glacial woody cover.
The Borrowdale Woods are equally important for oceanic lichens; the main interest lies in the presence of a corticolous association, characterised by the co-dominant Parmelia laevigata and P. taylorensis. A total of 111 species have been recorded from Seatoller Wood, which include species such as Bacidia affinis, B. isidiacea, Lecides berengeriana, Lopadium pezizoideum, Micarea violacea and P. plumbea which are all very rare in Britain.
Great Wood is one of the best localities in England for arboreal lichens, including large foliose species such as Lobaria pulmonaria, L. laete-virens, Sticta sylvatica and S. limbata.
The woods nearer the dale head were once, and perhaps still are, the haunt of the pine marten, and they have the red squirrel, now reduced and local. The more notable breeding birds include common buzzard, pied flycatcher, wood warbler and grey wagtail.
These Borrowdale Woods are a key station in the internationally important series of western hill woodlands with rich Atlantic floras, and as a group they are clearly in the first echelon of grade i sites.

W.I34.  KESKADALE AND BIRKRIGG OAKS, CUMBERLAND
NY 208195, NY 215205 and NY 220205.    9 ha        
Grade i
These two small areas of woodland are situated on the southern slopes of two adjacent mountain ridges. The Birkrigg area extends from 350 to 430 m and the Keskadale Oaks from 300 to 460 m. A shallow acidic soil is formed by the weathering of the shaly rock of the Skiddaw Slate Group.
These woods are almost completely of sessile oak with a few scattered rowans. The oak in both areas is low and springs from multiple stems and at least in the Keskadale Wood coppicing has probably taken place. However, coppicing is not the sole reason for the growth form, as factors such as fire, grazing, disease and bruising of the tree base all contribute. The woods apparently differ in that there is much more active scree in and near the Birkrigg Oaks whilst the Keskadale Oaks have a more stable as well as more grazed appearance. Both woodlands are wind-pruned, with stature of the trees decreasing to that of scrub at the upper edges, especially in the Keskadale wood.
The field layers in both woods are similar and open as the thin fine soil layer tends to get broken and eroded. Bilberry is dominant together with bracken and heather, the heather becoming dominant where the canopy is open. Other species common in the field layer include Blechnum spicant, Des-champsia flexuosa, Potentilla erecta, Agrostis canina, Galium saxatile, and Oxalis acetosella. Bryophytes are abundant and Dicranum scoparium, Hypnum cupressiforme and Pleurozium schreberi occur frequently. Epiphytic bryophytes and lichens clothe most of the trunks, with Ulota sp. common on the upper twigs.
These woodlands represent relict fragments of high-level sessile oakwood and may be near the altitudinal limit for oak woodland in western Britain.
See also U.27-

W.I35-   ORTON MOSS, CUMBERLAND
NY 3454.    50 ha
Grade i
These very mixed woods are developed partly on a former peat moss, possibly of the raised mire type but probably grading into valley mire. Areas of Scots pine are periodically cut and replanted, but this tree regenerates very freely naturally. Pinewood has a typical bilberry-moss community, but Dryopteris dilatata is locally abundant. The pine stand felled around 1958 had a good colony of Goody era repens, but this has not been found in other areas of pine. A good deal of sessile oak is scattered through the woods, usually mixed with Scots pine and birch, and birch also forms pure stands of different ages with some trees reaching a large size. There is also much rowan, hazel and holly, and more locally, alder buckthorn. In one place, old peat diggings in the original ombrotrophic peat carry an acidophilous mire vegetation with a Sphagnum carpet and Myrica gale, Andromeda polifolia, Oxycoccus palustris, Carex curta and Osmunda regalis.
Heathery clearings on dried out peat have gradually developed a subspontaneous growth of Scots pine and birch during recent years. The former valley mire which floods during winter has a poor-fen with a great deal of Carex rostrata, Calamagrostis epigejos and Dryopteris spinulosa. In this part of the woods there is a much mixed willow (mainly Salix «'»eraz)-alder-birch swamp woodland with a Sphagnum recurvum-S. auriculatum floor. Pyrola minor is frequent in these damper areas. While the soils are mostly acidic, a few areas of more basic loam occur on which grow herbs such as Geum rivale, Circaea lutetiana, and Sanicula europaea. Ivy and polypody commonly occur as members of the field community on dry acidic soils.
Orton Moss is especially interesting for the old hay meadows which occur around the edges, especially on the south and west sides. These unploughed and herb-rich meadows grade into the woodland, and, because of the abundance of Succisa pratensis, the larval food plant, are celebrated as the haunt of the marsh fritillary Euphydryas aurinia. The whole area is extremely rich entomologically and rates highly on this account. Ornithologically, it is important as the breeding haunt of at least three pairs of sparrowhawks, and it also contains a good range of other woodland bird species.

W.I36.   WHITBARROW AND  WITHERSLACK  WOODS, WESTMORLAND
so 4487.    160 ha  
Grade i
The area contains two main blocks of woodland. On the west side in a slight valley, below the west-facing Carboniferous Limestone scarp of Whitbarrow Scar (see L.I36), is a large stand of high forest, grading into scrub as the slope steepens. On the eastern, dip slope of Whitbarrow Scar, is a much more heterogeneous woodland with a mosaic of coppice, scrub and planted conifers on discontinuous limestone pavement.
The high forest, extending from Pool Bank to Wither-slack Hall, consists of a mixed sessile oak-ash wood, becoming purer oakwood near the road, where the rock changes to Silurian slate. This wood is important for its relatively large area of tall, well-grown oak, a relatively rare feature in this district where so much of the woodland has been coppiced. Although the wood is ungrazed, the field layer is not species rich, and the influence of the limestone is not particularly obvious until the slope of the Scar is reached. Rubus fruticosus is dominant locally, though R. saxatilis is also abundant near the road. There is local abundance of Mercurialis perennis and Brachypodium sylvaticum but the herb flora is not large. Thelypteris phegopteris is locally luxuriant. Birch is quite abundant, there are patches of hazel thicket, and dense ash regeneration occurs in places. Wych elm is frequent and small-leaved lime occurs here in one of its northernmost localities.
On the slope falling from Whitbarrow Scar there is a belt of pure yew-   wood and above this a lower growth of oak, ash and hazel, passing on the scarp to scrub with juniper, yew, hazel, birch, buckthorn and Sorbus lancastriensis. There are old records of Daphne mezereum.
To the west of the road there is a change to ashwood on and beneath a second, smaller, and east-facing limestone scarp. The flora here is richer than that of the oakwood, with most of the typical ashwood species, and more local plants such as Ophrys insectifera, and the shady rocks have an abundance of calcicolous bryophytes.
The native woodland on the dip slope is mainly a scrubby ash-hazel growth, grading into sessile oak locally, and the field layer contains much Brachypodium sylvaticum and Sesleria caerulea, with Carex ornithopoda and Melica nutans quite plentiful. The grikes have Phyllitis and Dryopteris villarii, and Epipactis atrorubens occurs in more open places, while interesting bryophytes include the northern Rhytidium rugosum and the southern Atlantic Marchesinia mackaii. There was formerly a native colony of Allium schoenoprasum near Rus Mickle. Basiphilous woodland herbs are well represented and there are all transitions to open pavement with its characteristic flora (see under Lowland Grasslands, Heaths and Scrub). Despite conifer planting, which clearly causes surface acidification and impoverishment of this interesting flora, it is apparent that there will always be a patchy occurrence of native scrub and associated field/ ground communities on the rockier, unplantable ground, and this eastern area is included in this important grade i site for its great botanical interest.

W.I37-   BIRK FELL, WESTMORLAND
NY 4018.    ioo ha  
Grade i
This is the most extensive continuous stand of juniper in Lakeland, and equals or exceeds that of Upper Teesdale in size. Unlike juniper scrub considered under the lowland calcareous habitats it grows on leached skeletal brown earths over Borrowdale Volcanic rocks and has few basi-philous associates, though there are some patches of richer soil locally. The relationship with woodland is fairly close and this juniper scrub passes below into a stand of birch-wood which occupies the base of the slope. Towards the edges of the wood, the junipers are smaller, probably as a result of grazing by sheep and red deer. The individual trees of the Tynron Juniper Wood have a generally greater stature, but Tynron Wood covers a much smaller area than the Birk Fell juniper wood. In the Highlands juniper scrubs mostly occur as the shrub layer of pine and birch woods, and stands on open moorland tend to occupy damp hollows rather than dry slopes as in Lakeland.
The birchwood may be a serai derivative of sessile oak-wood, for it occupies the habitat held by the latter elsewhere in the Ullswater valley. The field layer of this wood is virtually identical with that of the other Lakeland oakwoods on acidic soils, and the bryophyte communities are also typical, but with poor representation of Atlantic species. The filmy fern Hymenophyllum wilsonii occurs sparingly.

W.I38.   HELBECK AND  SWINDALE  WOODS, WESTMORLAND
NY 7816-8016.    135 ha
Grade i*
This is the northernmost of the internationally important series of ashwoods on the Carboniferous Limestone and lies on the Eden valley scarp slope of the Westmorland Pennines, above Brough. Helbeck Wood is on the frontal slope which rises in ridges and tiers of limestone scar towards Little Fell at the southern end of the Cross Fell range, while Swindale is the adjoining deep and cliff-lined valley cutting this slope at the eastern end. The ashwood is fairly pure in places, but there is locally a good deal of wych elm, and towards the edges more open birchwood with hawthorn takes over. Oak is scattered and there are varying amounts of hazel, aspen, rowan, holly, gean and bird-cherry. Southern species of tall shrubs are represented: Crataegus oxyacanthoides occurs sparingly here, its northern limit; buckthorn is recorded; and there is a small amount of spindle. The northern willow Salix phylicifolia occurs alongside Swindale Beck. Non-native species such as larch, sycamore and beech are present, but in rather small quantity, and they thus add to the diversity of the woods rather than detract from their quality.
Parts of the woods are ungrazed or lightly grazed, and there is a rich development of herbaceous communities, with the usual Allium ursinum-Mercurialis perennis types conspicuous, but also a variety of others associated with more open conditions, especially on screes and outcrops. The more local herbs include Myosotis sylvatica, Cepha-  lanthera longifolia, Convallaria majalis, Vicia sylvatica, Paris quadrifolia, Aquilegia vulgaris, Campanula latifolia, Epipactis helleborine, Rubus saxatilis, Geranium lucidum, Cirsium heterophyllum and Polygonatum officinale. On steep rocks are Hippocrepis comosa and Car ex ornithopoda. The two rare horsetails Equisetum pratense and E. hyemale grow within the site.
Other field communities include the grassy type, dominated by Brachypodium sylvaticum and there are also transitions to the Sesleria albicans and Festuca grasslands of the open hillside. In places there is dominance of bluebell with bracken, especially around the lower edges of Swindale. Within Helbeck Wood is a small tarn, with fringing calcareous marsh of sedges and 'brown mosses', with an abundance of Primula farinosa and Valeriana dioica. Altogether, the diversity of habitat and floristics, and the gradation into other important upland communities, make this a most important site. It is contiguous with the Appleby Fells grade i upland site (U.22).

W.I39-  ROUDSEA WOOD, LANCASHIRE
503382.    n8ha
Grade i
This exceptionally diverse woodland lies almost at sea-level (0-20 m) on the east side of the Leven Estuary at the head of Morecambe Bay. It merges to the east into the northern end of an estuarine raised mire complex (the Holker Mosses) and to the west and north into salt marsh flanking the Leven Estuary. The wood itself covers two ridges of contrasting
geology separated by a shallow valley which contains a valley mire and small tarn.
The east ridge is of Carboniferous Limestone and carries an ash-oak wood with some small-leaved lime, gean and birch. The oak is mainly pedunculate but sessile and intermediate forms occur. Characteristic limestone shrubs include purging buckthorn, spindle, blackthorn and guelder rose, and there are also hazel, holly and hawthorn. The field layer of this ash-oak wood is markedly calcicolous, with a general predominance of Brachypodium sylvaticum and Mercurialis perennis, local abundance of Convallaria majalis, and a wide variety of species. The more local herbs include Allium scorodoprasum, Aquilegia vulgaris, Anacamptis pyramidalis, Brachypodium pinnatum, Campanula latifolia, Carex digitata, Hypericum montanum, Inula conyza, Lathraea squamaria, Lithospermum officinale, Neottia nidus- avis, Ophrys insectifera, Ornithogalum umbellatum, Rubus saxatilis and Sesleria albicans.
The west ridge is composed of greywackes of the Ban-nisdale Slate Series, with small areas of slate, and carries a contrasting sessile oakwood with birch and some rowan and hazel. The field layer is acidophilous, with dominance of Deschampsia flexuosa and Pteridium aquilinum, or Molinia caerulea where there is an overlying peaty alluvium.
The valley mire between the ridges has a fairly eutrophic fen vegetation, with Phragmites communis, Carex paniculata, C. vesicaria, C. diandra, C. disticha, C. pseudocyperus, Juncus subnodulosus, Calamagrostris canescens, Thalictrum fiavum, Thelypteris palustris, Lycopus europaeus, Lythrum salicaria and Lysimachia vulgaris. The tarn has species such as Baldellia ranunculoides and Alisma plantago- aquatica. There is a scattered growth of birch and alder on this wet ground. The greatest rarity of Roudsea Wood, Carex flava (here in its only known British station), occurs on the transition from dry limestone soils to peat, and flourishes along the rides in this habitat.
Where the limestone ridge passes into the raised mire system, there is a change to birchwood over peat, with rowan and some Scots pine. Where the canopy is open, there is dominance of bracken, but with deeper shade this is replaced by bilberry. Alder buckthorn is a conspicuous shrub in this transitional woodland. There is then a change to the open mire surface, somewhat dried by cutting, draining and burning, but still with characteristic plants such as Andromeda polifolia, Narthecium ossifragum and Drosera rotundifolia. The larger area of the adjoining Deer Dike and Stribers Mosses are a grade i peatland site (P.4y), and form with Roudsea Wood a single composite grade i site.
On the western and northern side there is a transition from oakwood through alderwood to estuarine salt marsh, a sequence seen in few other places, though the oak is on higher rocky bluffs and is not a serai development from salt marsh. The brackish transition zone is marked by the presence of such plants as Carex distans, C. extensa, C. otrubae, Samolus valerandi, Oenanthe lachenalii, Centaurium littorale and Scirpus maritimus.
This site contains an unusual range of habitats, and the flora of the Roudsea Wood site contains at least 340 vascular 90   Woodlands
species. The woodland and the adjoining mosses are also very rich in Lepidoptera, and this is a station for the rare white-marked moth Cerastis leucographa.

W.I40.   GAIT  BARROWS, LANCASHIRE
so 4877.    31 ha
Grade i
The most important feature of this site is the massive central exposure of Carboniferous Limestone pavement, which is probably the finest example in Britain of this extremely local habitat. The vegetation of the pavement is described under lowland grasslands (L.I34). There is a patchy distribution on the pavement of a tall scrub with yew, hazel, juniper and young ash, and this has associated shrubs such as purging buckthorn, spindle, dogwood, privet, holly, small-leaved lime and Sorbus lancastriensis. This type of scrub grades into taller woodland on more broken and dissected pavement around the edges of the central mass, and there is a general increase in stature of species such as ash and hazel on deeper soils, where pedunculate oak also appears. This rather low and open type of woodland has a rich limestone flora, with species such as Convallaria majalis, Epipactis atrorubens, Atropa belladonna, Hypericum montanum, Rubus saxatilis, Carex digitata, Polygonatum odoratum and Melica nutans.
The pavement woodland passes into a broad peripheral zone of taller forest, though this varies in height and structure according to past differences in management. In general, there is a dense coppice of hazel, with standards of pedunculate oak, ash and sycamore. There are also thickets of silver birch, and hornbeam and beech occur locally, though both were probably introduced. The drift-derived soils in this part of the wood vary from basic to moderately acidic, and there is a lesser abundance of markedly calci-colous species than in the limestone woodland. Bramble is widespread throughout the coppice, and the field layer characteristically has Mercurialis perennis, Endymion non-scriptus, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Primula vulgaris, Sani-cula europaea, Circaea lutetiana and Viola riviniana.

W.I4I.   ROEBURNDALE WOODS,  LANCASHIRE
so 6066.    35 ha
Grade i
This has been chosen as an example of a northern mixed deciduous woodland, and lies mainly on the east side of a deep glen draining the northern side of the Bowland Fells. It lies on Carboniferous shales and sandstones which give a range of soils from highly acidic to strongly basic, and it is ungrazed. The most acidic brown earths have typical sessile oakwood with Vaccinium myrtillus, Luzula sylvatica and heath mosses. This grades into a mixed oak-birch wood on slightly less acidic soils, and the field layer here is of Holcus mollis and Endymion non-scriptus, with Stettaria holostea, Athyrium filix-femina and Pteridium aquilinum. On wetter ground this type changes to alder-birch wood, with Deschampsia cespitosa, Carex remota, C. laevigata, C. sylvatica, Dryopteris spinulosa, D. austriaca and Ranunculus repens. On the most basic soils there is a mixed ash-oak-wych elm-hazel wood, with grass-herb communities of the Brachypodium sylvaticum-Deschampsia cespitosa and Mer-
curialis perennis-Allium ursinum type. Species of particular interest include Stellaria nemorum, Carex pendula, Festuca altissima, Phyllitis scolopendrium, Polystichum setiferum and P. lobatum.
Although this is a woodland developed on the steep sides of a glen, it extends over more level ground on top of the east bank, and covers a larger area than many gorge woods.

W.I42.   RIBBLEHEAD  WOODS, YORKSHIREGrade I
(a) Colt Park
so 7778-7776.    9 ha
(b) Ling Gill SD 8078.    5 ha
These sites are regarded as fragments of a once more extensive subalpine ashwood covering much of the lower slopes of the Craven Pennines and have survived by virtue of physical features; a limestone pavement in the case of Colt Park and a steep-sided ravine at Ling Gill, both of which afford protection from grazing. Both woods are on Carboniferous Limestone; Colt Park is developed over a pavement of limestone at about 340 m whilst Ling Gill is cut into the upper part of the Great Scar limestone, at a similar elevation, 3 km to the north-east.
The tree layer in both woodlands is composed mainly of rather open and somewhat stunted ash. In Ling Gill the ash tends to be more abundant on the crags and gill sides. In both woodlands a shrub layer is present and contains hazel, hawthorn, bird-cherry and rowan. Wych elm, birch and (in Ling Gill) aspen are also to be found scattered throughout the canopy in places. Both areas have a rich flora as a result of the calcareous substratum and lack of grazing. Tall-herb communities are well developed and contain Trollius europaeus, Geranium sylvaticum, Cirsium heterophyllum, Actaea spicata, Crepis paludosa, C. mollis, Geum rivale, Angelica sylvestris, Campanula latifolia and Paris quadrifolia. Gagea lutea is less frequent. Submontane plants include Potentilla crantzii, Galium boreale and Asplenium viride. In Ling Gill podsolic soils above the rocky ravine slopes have an acidiphilous field layer with Pteridium aquilinum, Molinia caerulea, Potentilla erecta and Galium hercynicum.
The moist atmosphere and shade of Ling Gill ravine and the grikes at Colt Park have led to the occurrence of a rich bryophyte flora on the limestone.
See also OW-50 and 11.23.

W.I43-   CONISTONE  OLD  PASTURE AND  BASTOW WOOD, YORKSHIRE
SD 9867.    380 ha  
Grade i
The site occupies part of the Carboniferous Limestone escarpment on the eastern side of upper Wharfedale. Great Scar limestone, divided into two main blocks by a narrow gorge, outcrops as pavement, scar and associated scree. Much of the soil is thin humus-carbonate occurring in patches on the exposed limestone, but on the valley sides and in depressions a deeper clay has developed, and in some places acid, sandy loam. The more southerly of the blocks is wooded; closed woodland mainly of ash, wych elm, and hazel with calcicolous shrubs such as privet, buckthorn, and whitebeam, considerably invaded by sycamore, characterises Grass Wood, while in the contiguous Bastow Wood birch is predominant over much of the area and forms an open canopy. This difference is probably related to site history, in addition to somewhat greater elevation, for Bastow Wood overlies a Celtic field system, and the contrast is now being accentuated by re- forestation of Grass Wood, mostly on a shelter wood system, but locally by clear felling and replanting with conifers. Dib Scar, descending steeply into the gorge drained by Dib Beck, forms the northern limit of this block, beyond which rises the complementary limestone grassland and pavement of Conistone Old Pasture, characterised by typical close-cropped species- rich swards and a grike flora. Ecologically this site belongs partly with the lowland calcareous grasslands, and gives an interesting comparison with the more distinctly montane limestone communities in Cowside valley and the higher slopes of Malham-Arncliffe (U.24).
The main feature of interest is the herbaceous flora which is outstandingly rich. The woods of the area are known as a locality for the very rare Cypripedium calceolus, which has been reduced almost to extinction by plant collectors. Herbs still present include Polemonium caeruleum, Thalictmm minus, Geranium sanguineum, Polygonatum odoratum, Paris quadrifolia, and Origanum vulgare. More open ground in the area has Draba incana, Arabis hirsuta, Polygala amara, Saxifraga hypnoides, and Sedum telephium, while flushes and damper pastures have an abundance of Primula farinosa and Parnassia palustris. The afforestation programme may ultimately reduce the variety to some extent, but most species and the general richness of the habitat are expected to survive.

W.I44-   RAINCLIFFE WOOD, YORKSHIRE
SE 9888.    130 ha  
Grade I
The east side of the valley has been partly felled and replanted but it still shows a fine gradation from alder in the valley bottom through ash-wych elm woodland with a basiphilous field layer to pedunculate oakwood with an acidophilous field layer near the top of the slopes. Scarwell Wood on the west side has an alder-ash woodland with willow and a very varied and well-developed field layer on the valley bottom. Above this there is ash-elm woodland with sycamore and extensive Mercurialis perennis and Allium ursinum communities. A feature of this zone are the well-developed tufa areas with a characteristic calcicolous moss flora. The upper slopes carry oak- sycamore woodland with some elm, birch, rowan and hazel over a less calcicolous field layer of Rubus fruticosus, Lonicera periclymenum, Endymion non-scriptus, Anemone nemorosa, Oxalis acetosella, etc., with patches of Luzula sylvatica.

W.I45-  SHIPLEY   WOOD, DURHAM/YORKSHIRE
NZ 0021.    60 ha
Grade i
These woods occupy the rocky gorge of the River Tees cut through the Carboniferous Series, 6.4 km above Barnard Castle. The lower parts of the wood are high forest of wych elm, ash, pedunculate oak and alder, with yew, hazel, holly, rowan and bird- cherry locally. There is a wide range of age classes, but some of the elm has been coppiced or pollarded. At the southern end where the wood was once cut-over, birch, hawthorn and willow dominate. These woods are on limestone, but the upper levels over acidic rocks are dominated by oak and birch. The ground flora of the lower levels is particularly rich with abundant Myosotis sylvatica, Geranium sylvaticum, Geum rivale, Paris quadrifolia, Chrysosplenium spp., Allium ursinum, Luzula sylvatica and numerous ferns. The bryophyte flora is quite rich, both in calcicolous elements on the damp boulders lower down, and in calcifuge species on the acid loamy soil and rocks higher up. The wood is, however, outstanding for its flora of epiphytic lichens, which includes the relict forest species Lobaria pulmonaria, L. laetevirens and Baccidia affinis: this is the first definite British record of the last-named lichen.

W.I46.   SCALES  WOOD, CUMBERLAND    
NY 1616.    30 ha
Grade 2
Scales Wood lies between 100 m and 250 m on a fairly steep slope of Ennerdale Granophyre facing north-east. From its position on the lower slopes of the High Stile range in the high fells of western Lakeland, the wood receives a heavy rainfall of about 203 cm annually, and the shaded aspect enhances atmospheric humidity. The parent rock gives mainly acidic soils and the lower part of the wood is a well-grown stand of high forest sessile oak with few undershrubs since there is sheep-grazing throughout, though scattered birches fulfil this role in places. The upper part of the wood consists of fairly pure birchwood, though this is probably serai as it lies well within the altitudinal range of oak. The ground is generally block littered and there is a luxuriant fern and bryophyte flora, with abundance of Atlantic species such as Hymenophyllum wilsonii, Plagiochila spinulosa, Scapania gracilis, Hylocomium um-bratum and the rare moss Sematophyllum novae- caesareae, unknown elsewhere in England outside Borrowdale. At the upper edge of the wood the grassy field layer grades into bilberry heath with a high cover of Sphagnum capillaceum and S. quinquefarium. There is an old record of Festuca altissima, probably referring to the ravine of Far Ruddy Beck, where calcareous rocks bear a more varied flora.
This site could be regarded as an alternative to Johnny's Wood (W.i33(e)), but is too small and limited in range of habitat, vegetation and flora to take the place of the Borrowdale Woods as a whole.

W.I47-  LYNE WOODS, CUMBERLAND
NY 4569.    115 ha  
Grade 2
These consist of a series of ungrazed lowland gorge woodlands along the course of the River Lyne. The lowest section, near Kirklinton, has only thin fringes of ash-oak-wych elm-hazel wood, and is interesting mainly for its crags of New Red Sandstone, which is here moderately calcareous in places and supports species such as Myosotis sylvatica, Carex pendula, Phyllitis scolopendrium, Polystichum lobatum and Equisetum hyemale. There is a rich bryophyte flora. The section above Waingatehead is cut mainly through acidic beds of Carboniferous sandstone; it has more oakwood and is notable for the abundance of Atlantic bryophytes. There is an isolated small colony of Hymenophyllum tunbrigense. The basic soils have a field layer with Mercurialis perennis, Primula vulgaris, Sanicula europaea, Stellaria nemorum and Carex sylvatica on drier ground, and Ranunculus repens, Chrysosplenium oppositifolium, Filipendula ulmaria and Carex remota where it is wet. The acidic brown earths have an abundance of Luzula sylvatica, Vaccinium myrtillus, Oxalis acetosella, Dryopteris austriaca and D. filix-mas.
The upper section, below Kinkry Hill, is cut through Carboniferous sandstones and shales, and has a mixture of the acidic and basic woodland types described above. Another distinctive type on a wet river terrace here is an ungrazed alderwood, with wet mull soils carrying Carex acutiformis, C. paniculata, Equisetum telmateia, Paris quadrifolia and Phalaris arundinacea. Through all sections, the high flood level of the river produces a zone of enrichment which supports numerous basiphilous vascular plants and bryophytes, and these include Trollius europaeus and Geranium sylvaticum in the upper section, which is closer to the source of the river on the Bewcastle Fells of north Cumberland.

W.I48.   GOWBARROW PARK, CUMBERLAND
NY 4120.    85 ha
Grade 2
The southern edge of Gowbarrow Park around Yew Crag consists of a mixture of woodland, grassland and heath on steep slopes and bottom lands overlooking the northern shore of Ullswater, at 150-275 m. Two distinct kinds of woodland occur. On the low-lying ground at the foot of the slopes the woodland is dominated by alder with a few ash. In Dobbins Wood and higher up the valley of the Collierhag Beck, much of the alder is open - in Dobbins Wood it was coppiced within the last decade and has been kept open by grazing - but in the area south and west of Yew Crag it mostly forms a closed canopy. The soil here is a flushed silty material with boulders at the base of the slopes, mildly acid or neutral in reaction and slightly gleyed. The ground flora is extremely rich with numerous marshland species especially in the open alder areas.
On the steep south- and east-facing slopes most watercourses and rocky bluffs are occupied by open irregular woodland in which wych elm, ash and hazel are abundant. Many other species occur there including bird cherry, yew and sessile oak. This kind of woodland is best developed on Yew Crag, whence it grades westwards into a distinct variant, resembling in some respects the woodland of calcareous soils south of the Lake District. This lies on the steep south-facing slopes immediately above the oak, and is characterised by the presence of pedunculate oak, small-leaved lime and spindle and the absence of sessile oak in the mixture which includes wych elm, ash and hazel. The soil on the craggy slope varies considerably in depth, stability,
base-status and wetness, but seems mostly to be mildly acid or neutral. The rock outcrops belong to the Borrowdale Volcanic Series and vary from strongly acidic to markedly calcareous.
The alder woods thin out below Collier Hagg to open, acidic, flushed grassland and bracken on drier areas. Between the patches of crag woodland and on the hillside above are heathland communities ranging from bracken to a mixture of Vaccinium myrtillus, Calluna vulgaris, Erica cinerea and Nardus stricta.
The lichen flora is rich, both in the lower alderwoods and on the steeper wooded slopes and cliff's. Gowbarrow supports a fine assemblage of relic forest lichen species within which Lobaria spp. are particularly well developed.

W.I49-   NADDLE  LOW FOREST, WESTMORLAND
NY 5015.    no ha
Grade 2
Naddle Low Forest is situated at 200-400 m on the slope overlooking the lower end of Haweswater and on both sides of a re-entrant valley joining the main river just below the foot of the lake. The aspect is mainly north-west, but on the spur between the two main sections varies through north to east. The parent rock belongs to the Borrowdale Volcanic Series, and contains calcite in places, so that the soils vary from acidic to basic brown earths, while the slopes are generally steep and locally precipitous. The poor soils of steep ground have sessile oakwood, but birch locally replaces oak, evidently through selective extraction of the latter. Ash-hazel wood is well developed on the richer soils, and where the slope flattens to the river, beyond the dam, there is a good mixed deciduous wood, and alder-Care* swamp in places. The slopes are thickly strewn with blocks and here there is a profusion of ferns and bryophytes. Lightly grazed sections of the wood have herbs such as Geranium sylvaticum and in open places there are soligenous mires with Juncus acutifiorus and Primula farinosa.
Naddle Low Forest shows much the same range of habitat and vegetational variation as the Borrowdale Woods, but is regarded as a second choice for the following reasons.
(i) There is a much lesser representation of good oak and a correspondingly greater amount of probably serai birch.
(ii) There is a smaller extent of ash-hazel wood.   .
(iii) There is a lesser range of aspect.
(iv) Though luxuriant and rich, the bryophyte flora is much poorer in Atlantic species, probably because of the eastern position of Naddle Low Forest.
Naddle Low Forest has the advantage of being in two almost continuous blocks and probably contains a few herbs not present in the Borrowdale Woods.

W.I50.   LOW   WOOD, HARTSOP, WESTMORLAND
NY 4013.    50 ha
Grade 2
Low Wood is situated about half way between the Borrowdale Woods and Naddle Low Forest, on a moderate to steep and east- to south-east- facing slope of Borrowdale Volcanic rock at 150-400 m, overlooking Brothers Water. Both oakwood and ash-hazel wood on acidic and basic soils are well represented here, and many of the trees are tall and well grown. The field communities of the Borrowdale Woods are mostly represented, but the drier aspect gives a much lesser abundance of bryophytes, particularly of the moisture-loving Atlantic species.
This site has too limited a range of aspect, communities and flora to rank as an alternative to the Borrowdale Woods, but is regarded as an important example of hill oak and ash-hazel wood in Lakeland. .
See also U.IQ.

W.I5I.   SMARDALE  WOODS, WESTMORLAND
NY 7207.    30 ha
Grade 2
This deep gill, draining through the Carboniferous Limestone belt west of Kirkby Stephen at 200-260 m, has a fairly extensive ashwood, grading to open hazel and hawthorn, with rich grasslands containing much Sesleria caerulea, Helianthemum chamaecistus, Poterium sanguisorba and Geranium sanguineum. There is, however, less diversity than in the Helbeck-Swindale Woods, and the prevailing field layer is of Mercurialis perennis with Brachypodium sylvati- cum. Above the railway the wood is mostly a mixture of birch, hazel and hawthorn. See also U.25-

W.I52.   LOWTHER PARK, WESTMORLAND
NY 5223.    105 ha
Grade 2
This is a park woodland of great antiquity lying on Carboniferous Limestone south of Penrith at around 230 m. The park is reputed to be over 1000 years old and was probably enclosed from the open waste. Most of the ancient trees are oaks, some very large indeed, with a number of old ash and wych elm. The former deer park stretches for several kilometres and includes ancient avenues of yew, with elm, oak, sweet chestnut, lime and other avenues of more recent date. The epiphyte lichen flora has been subject to only a cursory examination, but even this revealed 59 species, one of the richest of such assemblages in northern England. Two river valleys cross the park, and these contain woodland with a basiphilous field layer.

W.I52.   LOWTHER PARK, WESTMORLAND
NY 5223.    105 ha
Grade 2
This is a park woodland of great antiquity lying on Carboniferous Limestone south of Penrith at around 230 m. The park is reputed to be over 1000 years old and was probably enclosed from the open waste. Most of the ancient trees are oaks, some very large indeed, with a number of old ash and wych elm. The former deer park stretches for several kilometres and includes ancient avenues of yew, with elm, oak, sweet chestnut, lime and other avenues of more recent date. The epiphyte lichen flora has been subject to only a cursory examination, but even this revealed 59 species, one of the richest of such assemblages in northern England. Two river valleys cross the park, and these contain woodland with a basiphilous field layer.

W.I54-   BURTON WOOD, LANCASHIRE
SD 5466. 18 ha 
Grade 2
The site is on a steep slope at 15-140 m over rocks of the Bowland Series, which consist of a mixture of sandstone, mudstone and calcareous shales. The soils vary from shallow acid podsols through brown earth types on ridges to deep sandy mulls (pH 6.5) on the slopes of the two shaly ravines. The canopy, which appears to be uneven-aged, is dominated by sessile oak and ash; also present are birch, Scots pine, and gean. Wych elm and small-leaved lime are locally abundant. The shrub layer is only developed to any extent in the ravines and includes hazel, hawthorn, elder, rowan and guelder rose.
On the podsolic areas the ground flora is a Deschampsia flexuosa- Vactinium myrtillus dominated community, whilst Mercurialis perennis takes over on the neutral mull soils. Also present in the field layer are Endymion non-scriptus, Lonicera periclymenum, Primula vulgaris, Geranium roberti-anum, Oxalis acetosella, Holcus mollis and Luzula pilosa. Polystichum setiferum is abundant in the ravines and the very local liverwort Lophocolea fragrans occurs here.

W.I55-   HAWKSWICK  WOOD, YORKSHIRE
SD 9471. 12 ha 
Grade 2
This Littondale ashwood has a rather open growth of medium-sized trees on a south-west-facing slope of Carboniferous Limestone with scree and scar at 200-300 m. There are rich brown loams, supporting a varied herbaceous field layer with mixed grasses and forbs, including Brachypodium syhaticum, Allium ursinum, Anemone nemorosa, Endymion non-scriptus and Mercurialis perennis as the chief dominants. Other abundant species include Primula vulgaris, Fragaria vesca, Potentilla sterilis, Viola riviniana, Prunella vulgaris, Circaea lutetiana and, more locally, Paris quadrifolia and Convattaria majalis. This wood is evidently only lightly grazed, and is probably the best remaining limestone wood of the Wharfedale area, the rest having been ecologically degraded in recent years by felling or sheep-grazing.

W.I56.   SCOSKA WOOD, YORKSHIRE
SD 9172.    35 ha       
Grade 2
This is a second Littondale ashwood but lies on the opposite, north- east-facing slope to Hawkswick Wood, and is more heavily grazed in places. The rock is again Carboniferous Limestone and the altitude 250-370 m. The wood also contains some sycamore, a few larch and spruce, and birch is locally abundant. The shrubs include hazel, hawthorn and willows with bird cherry and Ribes sylvestre in places. The middle level of the wood is broken by a line of low scar and scree, and here, since grazing is less heavy than at the margins, the field layer is very rich. A wide range of mesophilous and calcicolous species is represented and includes Actaea spicata, Paris quadrifolia, Sesleria caerulea, Cirsium heterophyllum and Asplenium viride. Grazing has increased within the wood in recent years and there has been modification of the field layer communities, with grasses spreading at the expense of forbs. See also U.24.

W.I57-   THORNTON AND  TWISLETON  GLENS, YORKSHIRE
SD 6974, SD 7074.    45 ha 
Grade 2
These two valleys north of Ingleton lie at 120-200 m on strongly contrasting rock types, namely Carboniferous Limestone which is confined to the western glen, and Silurian slate in the eastern and part of the western glen. The limestone woodland has pedunculate oak, wych elm, ash mixtures with a range of age classes, but over the slates sessile oak is dominant, with rowan, birch and, beside the stream, small-leaved lime. Though the vascular flora reflects the strong contrast in underlying lithology and is rich in aggregate, the site is more important for its outstanding bryophyte and lichen floras. The bryophytes include many species of calcareous habitats, but also a number of moisture-loving oceanic species surviving in an area of relatively low rainfall and calcareous rocks. After the Lodore Falls in the Borrowdale Woods (W.I33), this is probably the best locality in northern England for Atlantic liverworts characteristic of damp, waterfall glens at low elevations. Some of these species are unknown elsewhere in the Pennines, for they avoid limestone. The site owes this bryological richness, unusual also in an area of relatively low rainfall, to its western position, the presence of relatively acidic rocks and the probable historical continuity of tree cover in these glens. The lichen flora includes a number of rare species of old forests, notably Thelotrema lapadinum, Normandina pulchella, Lobaria laetevirens and Opegrapha rufescens.

W.I58.   ASHBERRY AND  REINS  WOODS, YORKSHIRE
SE 5685.    80 ha
Grade 2
These form part of an extensive group of woodlands at 90-150 m on the steep sides of upper Rye Dale near Rievaulx, one of the deep glens draining the south-western part of the North York Moors.
The woods lie on the west slope of this valley and on both aspects of the ridge bounding the east side. Soil conditions range from acidic to strongly calcareous, and from dry to permanently water- logged. On the acidic soils oak and birch dominate over a field layer of Rubus fruticosus, Pteridium aquilinum, Vaccinium myrtillus, Lonicera peridymenum and Luzula sylvatica. On calcareous soils, mixed deciduous woodland of ash, field maple, wych elm, hazel and small- leaved lime grows over Brachypodium sylvaticum, Des-champsia cespitosa and a rich variety of herbs including Actaea spicata and Ophrys insectifera. The lower 15 m of the valley are occupied by fragments of alderwood and more extensive Juncus-Carex calcareous marsh and wet grassland, with an unusual number of rare and local species, notably Primula farinosa, Trollius europaeus, Epipactis palustris, Schoenus nigricans and Carex aquatilis. Adjacent to the mixed deciduous woodland is limestone grassland with numerous herb species (e.g. Cirsium eriophorum) showing invasion by hawthorn. The whole forms an important woodland-grassland-mire complex of great floristic interest.

W.I59-   BECKHOLE  WOODS, YORKSHIRE
NZ 8202. 170 ha  
Grade 2
Here there is ash-elm-small-leaved lime-oak woodland in a ravine with a very mixed field layer including acidophilous and basiphilous communities in the valley bottom. The woodland further up the slopes loses some of its diversity and consists mainly of oak over a Vaccinium-Melampyrum-Deschampsia flexuosa field layer.

W.l6o.  BEAST CLIFF, YORKSHIRE
SE 998999-TA 005988.    20 ha 
Grade 2
This coastal site, about 11 km north of Scarborough, is on a system of slipped Jurassic strata of considerable size and contains steep scrubbed-over areas that are accessible only with great difficulty. The area is apparently undisturbed by man and an extensive undercliff woodland complex of oak and ash within which much scrub has developed. Shrub species present include rowan, willows, hawthorn, birch, broom, gorse, rose and sycamore. The ground flora list is extensive and contains a wide range of species including those of coastal habitats. Under the best-developed woodland dog's mercury, bramble and bracken are dominant; in other flushed areas Luzula sylvatica and fern species form the main cover whilst some rocky outcrops are colonised by Calluna vulgaris and Succisa pratensis. Additional habitats are provided by two pools colonised by Scirpus lacustris and Potamogeton spp. surrounded by a fringe of Salix spp. See also C.68.

W.l6l.   KISDON FORCE  WOODS, YORKSHIRE
NY 9000.    12 ha
Grade 2
These woods are on Carboniferous Limestone of the Yore-dale Series in steep gorges associated with the west-east-flowing River Swale and its small north-south-flowing tributary, East Gill, near Keld. While forming an ecological unit, they are physically separated by a field in the angle of the junction of the rivers. The altitude is 270-350 m, so that the woods have a submontane character.
The woods are dominated by ash, particularly fine specimens occurring on the south side of the Swale. Birch is important as a constituent of the canopy toward the upper woodland edges whilst wych elm is locally abundant near the rivers and alder follows some small side streams on the south side of the Swale. Hawthorn, bird- cherry, blackthorn, and rowan are present as understorey or shrubs; hazel occurs, and is particularly well developed on some relatively open and more level ground south of the Swale. Though variable, the average height of the tree canopy is about 8 m.
The ground flora varies according to the substrata which range from limestone to acidic sandstone and, alongside East Gill, to base-rich alluvium, but in general reflects only moderately base-rich conditions. A disused lead mine tip with Minuartia verna forms a scree, cutting through the wood on the north side of the Swale. The range of forbs includes such species as Brachypodium sylvaticum, Mer-  curialis perennis, Allium ursinum, Primula vulgaris, Sanicula europaea, Filipendula ulmaria and Viola spp. In East Gill, Campanula latifolia and Cirsium heterophyllum also occur at lower levels and the woodland ground flora gives way to a small piece of attractive, wet, calcicolous meadow flora between wood and river. Ferns, notably Athyrium filix-femina, are prominent on the south side of the Swale among the bigger trees. A range of bryophyte communities is also represented.

W.l6z.   CASTLE  EDEN  DENE, DURHAM
NZ 4339.    210 ha  
Grade 2
This is the best remaining example of the steep-sided wooded valleys which run through boulder clay-covered Magnesian Limestone to the coast in this region.
Two main types of Magnesian Limestone of the Middle Series, Shell Limestone Reef and Bedded Limestone, are exposed in cliffs up to 30 m high. The soils are derived from variable boulder clay and are mainly alkaline but leaching of sandy soil produces acid conditions locally.
Pedunculate oak and ash occur together with some yew, elder, hawthorn, hazel, rowan and rhododendron. The field layer is composed mainly of Pteridium aquilinum, with Anemone nemorosa, Mercurialis perennis, Deschampsia cespitosa, Holcus lanatus, Endymion non- scriptus and Blech-num spicant. Festuca ovina occurs on the leached sandy soils.
Beech has been planted in some areas and sycamore has established itself. There are also a number of mixed conifer plantations and some plantations of hardwoods. Cypripedium calceolus and Ophrys insectifera formerly occurred but are now thought to be extinct. Other notable species still occurring are Pyrola rotundifolia and Convallaria majalis.
The northern brown (Castle Eden) argus butterfly Aricia artaxerxes occurs here.
See also C.yo. 

W.l63-   HOLYSTONE  WOODS, NORTHUMBERLAND
NT 9201, NT 9301, NT 9401.    30 ha  
Grade 2
This site has four separate units, three being composed principally of sessile oak woodland and the fourth a mixture of habitats including woodland and moorland in which juniper scrub is a significant feature.
The small sessile oakwoods occupy mainly the south-facing slope of a glen draining from the Carboniferous gritstone moorlands of the Harbottle Moors, south of the main Cheviot range. They are examples of this woodland type in a much drier climate than that of Lakeland or north Wales. They adjoin young conifer plantations and are now less grazed by sheep than formerly. In Holystone Burn there is open growth of medium-sized spreading oaks, some of which are large for a hill wood. North Wood consists in the main of twisted, many stemmed trees suggesting former coppicing. Underscrub is absent, and field communities are of the type found in Lakeland sessile oakwoods on acidic soils. There is an abundance of bracken in open places, and the field dominants include Deschampsia flexuosa, Vaccinium myrtillus, with much Galium saxatile, Potentilla erecta and Melampyrum pratense. Heath mosses cover part of the ground but Atlantic bryophytes are very few. The northern
herb Trientalis europaea is abundant. The steep opposite bank has birchwood with tall heather and a luxuriant carpet of heath mosses and Sphagnum which is the habitat of Lister a cor data.

W.l64-   MONK WOOD, NORTHUMBERLAND
NY 7856.    20 ha
Grade 2
Monk Wood and its surroundings are part of the ancient Whitfield Park, lying in the sheltered valley of the River West Alien. The parkland is open, old woodland of ash, wych elm and sycamore, with the richest epiphytic lichen flora known in north-east England. The main block of woodland, estimated at 250-300 years old, is an almost pure stand of sessile oak with only occasional beech, birch and rowan. The shrub layer is not well developed except towards the foot of the slope where rhododendron is abundant and hazel and hawthorn are locally common.
Where not shaded out by rhododendron, Luzula sylvatica forms a continuous carpet. While the variety of field layer species is not great, the presence of Vicia sylvatica is noteworthy. There is a luxuriant epiphytic lichen flora in which Lobaria pulmonaria is locally abundant. Although the wood has not been thoroughly examined it is already known to be an important site for epiphytic species.

W.l65-   HESLEYSIDE  PARK AND  HARESHAW  LINN, NORTHUMBERLAND 
NY 8183, NY 8484.    45 ha 
Grade 2
Two woods, Hesleyside Park and Hareshaw Linn, Northumberland, lie within 5 km of each other near Bellingham. Hesleyside is partly ancient parkland woods and partly a ravine woodland which, like Hareshaw Linn, is pedunculate oakwood over acid soils, grading to wych elm woodland on calcareous soils. The parkland area of ancient oaks and beech has a rich epiphytic lichen flora, including Parmeliop-   sis hyperopta and Haematomma elatinum.
Hesleyside has marginally the richer cryptogamic flora of the two sites.

W.l66.   BILLSMOOR PARK AND   GRASSLEES  WOOD, NORTHUMBERLAND
NY 9496.    175 ha  
Grade 2
The site lies in a small valley fed by branches of the Grass-lees Burn. The woodland, mainly on shallow peat of gleyed alluvial soils, occupies the bottom and lower slopes of the valley and extends up the tributary glens. Alderwood occupies the area near the stream and this is surrounded by oak-hazel or birchwood on the higher, better- drained slopes. The alderwood is pure and contains a good spread of age classes from old senescent trees to young regeneration stages. The oak-hazel woodland contains many old hazel shrubs carrying good epiphyte communities. The ground flora under the alder is dominated by Juncus spp. including J. effusus, jf. articulatus and Agrostis stolonifera; also present are Mentha aquatica, Carex pendula, C. remota, C.paniculata and Sphagnum spp. A glade containing Myrica gale, Eriophorum latifolium, Parnassia palustris, Angelica sylvestris and Viola palustris is present. The bryophyte flora is rich and alkaline runnels contain species such as Fissidens osmundoides, Bryum pallens, Cratoneuron commutatum, Ctenidium molluscum and Mnium punctatum. The epiphyte flora of lichens and bryophytes is varied, because of the high humidity, and the species recorded include Antitrichia curtipendula, Pyrenola sp. and Arihonia spp. The area is also of ornithological interest. See also U.z8..
SW England
W-59.   MELBURY  PARK, DORSET
ST 5706.    170 ha  
Grade i
This ancient park is, for its size, one of the richest sites for epiphytic lichens known in Britain, due largely to its freedom from air pollution and from disturbance. Interesting comparisons can be made between the lichen flora of the south-western part, where ancient trees of oak, alder, birch and willow are associated with boggy ground in the valleys, and where there are also some ancient ash and beech, and that of the northern part where many old elms and other planted trees occur. Several of the lichens of the site are not known to occur elsewhere in Britain.

W.6o.   BOCONNOC  PARK AND  WOODS, CORNWALL
sx 1460.    30 ha
Grade i
This site lies within an enclosed area of parkland and woodland, covering some 600 ha, situated near Lostwithiel. The ancient trees support 180 epiphytic lichen species - the largest number known for an area of this size in western Europe. Many of these species are of considerable interest ; at least one (Porina hibernica) is not known to occur anywhere else in Britain, while several are known from only one or two other localities. These include Arthonia leucopellaea, Pannaria mediterranea and Lecanactis corticola.

W.6l.   FAL  ESTUARY, CORNWALL
sw884i.    60 ha 
Grade i
This site is a complex of saltings, salt marshes, carr and woodland situated in the valleys and around the confluence of the rivers Fal and Ruan. Its particular interest lies in the transition from salt marsh through an invasive stage to tidal woodland which is rare in Britain. The history of the site is known and studies on the stratigraphy and the plant and animal communities in relation to tidal submergence have been carried out. The tidal area of woodland is dominated by Alnus glutinosa together with Salix cinereavar atrocinerea, the willow in places forming a scrubby boundary to the more mature woodland and extending out into the surrounding
marsh. Passing up the river valley the tidal woodland grades into a birch-oak wood. On the sides of the valley and, in many places sharply defined from the marsh by a boundary ditch or bank, is a drier acidophilous oakwood. Here sessile oak has been coppiced and some hazel, hawthorn, rowan, willow and gorse are present. The ground flora includes species such as Calluna vulgaris, Vaccinium myrtillus, Blechnum spicant, Rubus sp., Lonicera periclymenum and Holcus mollis together with bryophytes including Thuidium tamariscinum, Dicranum majus and Hypnum cupressiforme.
In contrast to this the alder tidal area contains Angelica sylvestris, Oenanthe crocata, Galium palustre, Juncus sp., Caltha palustris and Carex spp. as well as occasional occurrences of salt marsh species.
See also €.38.

W.62.   DIZZARD-MILLOOK  CLIFFS, CORNWALL
sw 1799.    60 ha
Grade I
The cliff woodlands on this site have a north to northeasterly aspect and an altitude range from sea-level to approximately 150 m at the highest point. The area of cliff over which the woodland has developed is subject to landslips. This, combined with a friable rock type, has given the steeply sloping cliffs a varied topography. The tree layer is exposed to strong winds from the sea and this has resulted in a tight wind-pruned canopy. As a direct consequence of the varied topography and wind-pruning the canopy height varies between i and 8 m, and is composed mainly of sessile oak together with some birch and rowan. Of interest is the occurrence in the canopy of wild service, a species rare in the south-west. The shrub layer is represented by hazel, hawthorn, holly, privet, gorse and spindle. The edges of the woodland both on the seaward side and near the cliff top have a scrub margin in which blackthorn is well represented. Scrubby patches are also found where recent land-slips have caused disturbance. The ground flora of the area is extremely varied for this part of the country and includes both basiphilous and acidophilous areas of vegetation. Areas on the base-rich soils support Allium ursinum, Arum maculatum, Filipendula ulmaria, Fragaria vesca, Sanicula europaea, Primula vulgaris and Mercurialisperennis, whilst in contrast to these may be found a ground flora dominated by Vaccinium myrtillus, Calluna vulgaris, Deschampsia cespitosa and Melampyrum pratense. Dryopteris aemula is also present within the woodland. This contrast of vegetation types is also reflected in the shrub layer. The epiphyte flora is well developed: Lobaria pulmonaria is to be seen throughout the wood and Sticta limbata has also been found. 

W.63-   BOVEY VALLEY AND  YARNER WOODS, DEVON
sx 7778.    385 ha  
Grade i
This woodland complex is one of the richest and most varied remaining in the Dartmoor National Park. The many different conditions of slope, aspect, and soil, together with the Atlantic climate, support a very rich and varied flora and fauna.
The woods lie in the valleys of the River Bovey and some of its tributary streams on the eastern fringe of Dartmoor. Included are Rudge Wood, parts of Houndtor and Hisley Woods, Water Cleave, Woodash, Wanford Cleave, Lust-leigh Cleave and Neadon Cleave, all in the main Bovey Valley, and the lower slopes of the valley of the Becka Brook, together with Yarner Wood to the south and the smaller detached block of Higher Knowle Wood to the east. Considerable parts of the site are already managed as the NNRs of Yarner Wood and Bovey Valley Woodlands.
Yarner Wood includes the valleys of the Yarner and Woodcock Streams, together with the intervening spur of land, giving an altitudinal range of 240 m. The tree canopy is composed mainly of sessile oak, with birch locally on the sites of old fields. There are also plantations of Scots pine and other conifers, and much planting of oak and other hardwoods has been done since the Reserve was declared in 1951. The wood is similar in character to some of the Welsh woodlands, but is generally drier, and some of the oaks are much larger than those typical of western British woods nowadays. Holly and rowan form an understorey, which is locally dense, and the ground flora of the drier slopes is dominated by bilberry, bracken, heather and Melampyrum pratense. The rare Lobelia wens is associated with some of the old field sites.
In the valleys, on better soils, ash and alder are frequent, with hazel below, over a mesophilous ground flora including such species as Primula vulgaris and Sanicula europaea. Osmunda regalis and Chrysosplenium oppositifolium occur locally, together with good epiphyte and bryophyte floras including such sensitive species as Hookeria lucens.
The main block in the Bovey Valley carries a variety of woodland types, including those already described. Whereas Yarner Wood is entirely on Culm rocks, however, much of this area is on granite, giving relatively base-rich soils often littered with granite boulders. On the lower slopes, bluebell and Holcus may dominate the field layer, with a mixture of ferns and Oxalis acetosella on flushed areas. Pedunculate oak replaces sessile oak, and ash, alder, birch and beech are all frequent over a relatively calcicolous field layer. The granite boulders in and near the river and the Becka Brook carry a very rich bryophyte flora.
Higher Knowle Wood, to the east of the main block, lies on an unusual conglomerate rock which is probably related to the nearby Bovey Beds (Oligocene). Pedunculate oak is the main tree, but beech, ash and many others also occur.
The fauna of the whole complex is characteristically western, with such birds as the dipper, grey wagtail and pied flycatcher.

W.64-  HOLNE  CHASE, DEVON
3x7271.    290 ha
Grade i*
This is an extensive valley system of the rivers Dart and Webburn on the southern fringe of Dartmoor. Steep-sided valleys of nearly all aspects are present with altitude ranging from 75 to 230 m. There is a series of oakwoods, and sessile oak predominates in the area particularly on the valley alluvial soils. The oak occurs with other species such as ash, beech, small-leaved lime, hornbeam, aspen, wych elm, holly, hazel and willow. Planted larch and Douglas fir are also present. On the richer soils a mesophilous ground flora is to be found containing species such as dog's mercury, primrose and Sanicula europaea. The hillsides and more acidic soils support more pure stands of sessile oak under which a field layer dominated by bilberry, bramble, Luzula sylvatica and Lonicera periclymenum is present. Throughout the area, flushes are to be found containing much Chrysosplenium oppositifolium under an ash and alder canopy; at their edges these merge gradually into the surrounding oak woodland. At the uppermost edges of the valleys the epiphyte flora resembles that of the woodlands higher on the Moor although the flora is less varied. A point of particular note is the presence of a rich bryophyte flora, both in the woodland and in the rivers themselves; the very rare Fissidens poly-phyllus and F. serrulatus can be found in some quantity near Holne Bridge.

W.65_ WISTMAN'S WOOD, DEVON
sx 6177.    4 ha 
Grade i
This is a small area sited on the west-facing side of the West Dart river valley. The wood lies between 380 and 435 m on 'clitter', a granite block scree. In contrast with many Dartmoor woodlands pedunculate as opposed to sessile oak is dominant. The trees are gnarled and twisted, many having their lower branches resting on the granite blocks which form the woodland floor. There is some rowan, a little hazel, holly and willow (Salix aurita). The epiphyte flora, both bryophyte and vascular, is luxuriant and epiphytic lichens are well represented. Antitrichia curtipendula is known to occur as are many bryophytes with a western distribution such as Douinia ovata. The ground flora consists of a bryophyte carpet covering the blocks, and species such as bilberry, Luzula sylvatica, Holcus mollis and bramble grow in soil-filled crevices. Ferns form an important part of the ground flora.

W.66. BLACK TOR COPSE, DEVON
sx 5689.    6 ha 
Grade i
Black Tor Copse is on the northern edge of Dartmoor but having similarities to the Wistman's Wood situation in that the area has developed over a granite clitter on the northwest-facing slope of the valley of the West Okement River. Pedunculate oak is again the dominant species but the trees are taller and it is possible to walk beneath much of the canopy. A rich and luxuriant epiphyte flora is present containing several species such as Antitrichia curtipendula and Douinia ovata which are of local, northern or western distribution. The ground flora contains acidophilous species such as bilberry together with grasses and ferns growing in crevices and on patches of soil. The majority of the granite blocks are covered with a carpet of bryophyte species such as Rhytidiadelphus loreus, Thuidium tamariscinum and Plagiothecium undulatum. See also L-92, P.25 and U.i.

W.&7.  AXMOUTH-LYME REGIS  UNDERCLIFFS, DEVON
SY 255898-333914. 320 ha 
Grade i
This site, on the south Devon coast on Lyme Bay, extends from west of Lyme Regis to the mouth of the River Axe.
The area is of stratigraphic importance and includes outcrops of Triassic, Rhaetic and basal Lower Lias exposures of the sub- Cretaceous unconformity, the most westerly exposure of the Gault Clay as a distinct lithology, examples of penecontemporaneous erosion in the Cenomanian Limestone and the most satisfactory exposure of the planus Zone of the Upper Chalk in Devon. Much of the interest of the area has arisen from a massive landslip in the mid nineteenth century when a large field became detached from the main cliff and moved seawards. This cliff area, now called Goat Island, and the chasm left when it moved, have largely become covered with woodland and scrub. A continuing series of minor slips has given an area of varied topography as well as exposing fresh areas for colonisation. The climate is typically western Atlantic and the frequent damp mists encourage a profuse, vigorous growth of ferns and climbers.
The woodland here is varied: photographic records establish that much of it has developed since 1905, and all ages of tree from that date are present. Some areas have regenerated naturally, such as the chasm between Goat Island and the mainland where ashwood has developed, whilst others have been planted. The main species in the planted areas include beech, ash, holm oak and Turkey oak, silver fir and pines. Extensive areas of the reserve are covered by a mixture of ash and field maple with a thick understorey of hazel, dogwood, spindle, blackthorn and other scrub species. The whole area is a mosaic of developing woodland and scrub together with abundant climbers, traveller's joy and ivy featuring prominently.
The ground flora varies in luxuriance depending on tree cover, ranging from areas dominated by ivy with abundant clumps of PhylKtis scolopendrium to almost open grassland where scrub is just developing. Species present in some abundance include Mercurialis perennis, Circaea lutetiana, Geranium robertianum, Carex pendula, Rubus fruticosus agg., Dryopteris filix-mas, D. dilatata and Polystichum setiferum together with the usual mesophilous herbs. A feature of some areas is a low scrub with much Rubus fruticosus agg., Ligustrum vulgare and Rubia peregrina. In proximity to this vegetation Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum is found.
See also C.26.

W.&7.  AXMOUTH-LYME REGIS  UNDERCLIFFS, DEVON
SY 255898-333914. 320 ha 
Grade i
This site, on the south Devon coast on Lyme Bay, extends from west of Lyme Regis to the mouth of the River Axe.
The area is of stratigraphic importance and includes outcrops of Triassic, Rhaetic and basal Lower Lias exposures of the sub- Cretaceous unconformity, the most westerly exposure of the Gault Clay as a distinct lithology, examples of penecontemporaneous erosion in the Cenomanian Limestone and the most satisfactory exposure of the planus Zone of the Upper Chalk in Devon. Much of the interest of the area has arisen from a massive landslip in the mid nineteenth century when a large field became detached from the main cliff and moved seawards. This cliff area, now called Goat Island, and the chasm left when it moved, have largely become covered with woodland and scrub. A continuing series of minor slips has given an area of varied topography as well as exposing fresh areas for colonisation. The climate is typically western Atlantic and the frequent damp mists encourage a profuse, vigorous growth of ferns and climbers.
The woodland here is varied: photographic records establish that much of it has developed since 1905, and all ages of tree from that date are present. Some areas have regenerated naturally, such as the chasm between Goat Island and the mainland where ashwood has developed, whilst others have been planted. The main species in the planted areas include beech, ash, holm oak and Turkey oak, silver fir and pines. Extensive areas of the reserve are covered by a mixture of ash and field maple with a thick understorey of hazel, dogwood, spindle, blackthorn and other scrub species. The whole area is a mosaic of developing woodland and scrub together with abundant climbers, traveller's joy and ivy featuring prominently.
The ground flora varies in luxuriance depending on tree cover, ranging from areas dominated by ivy with abundant clumps of PhylKtis scolopendrium to almost open grassland where scrub is just developing. Species present in some abundance include Mercurialis perennis, Circaea lutetiana, Geranium robertianum, Carex pendula, Rubus fruticosus agg., Dryopteris filix-mas, D. dilatata and Polystichum setiferum together with the usual mesophilous herbs. A feature of some areas is a low scrub with much Rubus fruticosus agg., Ligustrum vulgare and Rubia peregrina. In proximity to this vegetation Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum is found.
See also C.26.

W.69-  HOLNICOTE AND  HORNER WATER, SOMERSET
ss 8943.   405 ha
Grade i
This area, part of an extensive complex of woodlands owned by the National Trust, lies mainly on Lower Old Red Sandstone which produces relatively poor soils. The valley bottoms contain high forest of pedunculate oak together with ash, wych elm and birch. The shrub layer in this valley woodland contains hazel and holly with Rosa spp. The field layer is dominated by bramble but species such as Geranium robertianum, Glechoma hederacea, Teucrium scorodonia, Viola spp. and Oxalis acetosella also occur.
Higher up the slopes the pedunculate oakwood gives way to sessile oakwood which was formerly coppiced. The associated species here are much more acidophilous and include birch and rowan in the shrub layer and Blechnum spicant, Luzula pilosa, Holcus mollis, bracken and bilberry in the field layer. The acidophilous oakwood gradually merges into moorland on its upper edge with Calluna vulgaris, Erica cinerea and Ulex sp. The upper edge of the woodland is particularly exposed and the wind shapes the canopy here to near ground level.
The lichen flora is very rich both in numbers of species (no) and in the presence of many rarities, such as Usnea articulata, which are now confined to south-western England because of air pollution elsewhere. This assemblage of species is very characteristic of ancient forest areas in northwestern Europe.
This is an extensive area of characteristic Exmoor woodland which shows the transition from moorland to valley woodland particularly well. It is also an important wintering area for the Exmoor red deer which form one of the three largest concentrations of red deer in England.
See also L.ioy and U.2.

W.yo.   AVON  GORGE  (LEIGH  WOODS), GLOUCESTERSHIRE, SOMERSET
ST 5675.    105 ha  
Grade i
Leigh Woods are situated on the western side of the gorge of the River Avon at Bristol. The area covers those woodlands on the plateau and on the gorge side.
The plateau woodland occurs on a shallow marl and a clay soil. A mixture of sessile and pedunculate oak is present together with ash, wych elm and small-leaved lime. Yew is found on some of the more stony sites. Beech has been planted in the area and occasional specimens of hornbeam are to be found. An important consideration in this region is the number of rare endemic whitebeams (Sorbus spp.) present in the woodland. S. wilmottiana and S. bristoliensis are endemic to this area whilst S. eminent, S. porrigenti-formis and S. anglica are all local limestone species. The ground flora contains the common species such as Mer-curialis perennis, Endymion non- scriptus, Euphorbia amygda-loides, Fragaria vesca, Viola sp., Anemone nemorosa and Rubus fruticosus agg., as well as those of more particular note such as Aquilegia vulgaris, Carex digitata, Neottia nidus-avis, Rubia peregrina, Orobanche hederae, Lathraea squamaria and Helkboris viridis. Ferns include Thelypteris phegopteris and Polystichum setiferum.
The bryophytes of this area include Dicranum montanum, D. strictum and Nowellia curvifolia.
The scrub woodland of the gorge side, particularly near the quarry areas, is of particular conservation value as it contains a mixture of the usual calcareous scrub species, rare Sorbus spp. and in the associated grassy areas rare plants including Veronica spicata ssp. hybrida, Hornungia petraea, Carex humilis, Potentilla tabernaemontani, Trinia glauca and Scilla autumnalis.
There is an interesting list of Lepidoptera recorded. The scarce hook-  tip moth was formerly found in association with the small- leaved lime.
See also L.ioz.

W.yi. MENDIP WOODLANDS, SOMERSETGrade i (
a) Rodney Stoke ST 4950. 35 ha
Although five facies of ashwood and one each of oak, lime and elm have been recognised the intermediate types are so extensive that the area is best considered as a varied ash-wood. These woodland types occur over Carboniferous Limestone with some areas of Dolomitic conglomerate. Pedunculate oak is an important associate and field maple, wych elm, small-leaved lime and whitebeam are of lesser importance. Other species which occur are crab apple, blackthorn, hawthorn, buckthorn, sallows, elder and wayfaring tree. Holly and yew however are rare, as are specimens of the endemic Sorbus anglica and of wild service.
Spurge laurel is unusually common particularly on the rockier slopes, and privet occurs extensively. Under more open conditions spindle and dogwood occur. Ivy is abundant but honeysuckle is not common and traveller's joy is rare.
The dominant species of the ground flora are dog's mercury and ivy and widespread associates include Ranunculus ficaria, Anemone nemorosa, Endymion non-scriptus, Primula vulgaris, Galeobdolon luteum, Euphorbia amygda-loides, Campanula trachelium, Lithospermum purpuro-caeruleum, Geranium robertianum, Viola spp., Colchicum autumnale and Phyllitis scolopendrium.
The fauna includes a characteristic range of species with no particular rarities.
The Mendip Woodlands are an interesting and floristic-ally rich variant of the ashwoods found throughout Britain
on Carboniferous Limestone. Rodney Stoke is the best example of the drier facies of this woodland type. The woodland interest is enhanced by the limestone grassland and abandoned agricultural land which also occur in the reserve.
(b) Asham Wood
ST 7045.    195 ha    
This wood lies on a steep limestone gorge with a cliff and alluvial floor. The western area is a plateau woodland. The presence of a stream is an unusual feature of these Mendip Woodlands.
Ash is dominant but there is a very extreme variety of trees and shrubs. Small-leaved lime is common and other tree associates are wych elm, pedunculate oak, gean, birch species, alder, yew (rare), and field maple. The shrubs include dogwood, hazel, hawthorn, spindle (rare), holly (rare), crab apple, blackthorn, blackcurrant, gooseberry, sallows, whitebeam, rowan, elder, wayfaring tree and guelder rose.
The ground flora of Asham Wood contains a great variety of limestone species although it is unusual that Daphne laureola and Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum are absent. Particularly notable plants here include Polygonatum multi-florum, Convallaria majalis, Dipsacus pilosus, Colchicum autumnale, swarms of the Geum hybrids (G. urbanum x G. rivale), Vicia lutea and V. sylvatica.
In addition rare Diptera have been recorded as well as the wood white Leptidea sinapis butterfly and the rare mountain Bulin snail Ena montana.
The importance of this floristically outstanding Mendip ashwood has long been recognised and it represents the wetter facies of this woodland type (cf. Rodney Stoke).
(c) Ebbor Gorge
ST 5248.    45 ha.                     
The site is on the south-west-facing slope of the Mendip hills and consists of a steep-sided gorge in Carboniferous Limestone together with an associated tributary valley. Added interest is given to the site by caves of palaeonto-logical value. The canopy of the mature woodland is dominated by ash and pedunculate oak. Other species present are wych elm, beech and hornbeam (rare). The understorey, together with the scrub that is a feature of the area, contains a range of species and includes field maple, traveller's joy, dogwood, hazel, spindle, ivy, holly, buckthorn, small-leaved lime, wayfaring tree and guelder rose. The woodland has been managed in the past and most has been coppiced to some extent.
The ground flora is indicative of the basiphilous nature of the site, dog's mercury, wood anemone, bluebell and Asperula odorata being abundant together with primrose, Sanicula europaea, Ajuga reptans, Circaea lutetiana, Galeobdolon luteum, and Viola sp. A more mesophilous vegetation is represented by patches where bracken, Lonicera periclymenum, bramble and grasses are present. In the sheltered gorge a damp woodland facies is found; bryophytes are abundant as is Phyllitis scolopendrium. Scree areas are present within the woodland area in which scattered ash regeneration is to be found together with plants of Geranium robertianum.

W.J2.   COTSWOLD  COMMONS  AND  BEECHWOODS, GLOUCESTERSHIRE
808913-9011.    740 ha
Grade i
Although there are many fine stands of beechwoods in the Cotswolds, the Birdlip-Painswick Woods are regarded as the finest example. The high forest beech here varies in age from about 300 years downwards, but the majority appear to be 150-160 years. The understorey of holly and yew is sparse, and only locally forms a closed canopy. Natural regeneration of beech, ash, holly and yew occurs, aided by the recent thinning of some of the canopy. The field layer consists mainly of Oxalis acetosella, Mercurialis perennis, Anemone nemorosa, Sanicula europaea, Circaea lutetiana, Helleborus viridis and Daphne laureola, but numerous other species have been recorded, including Cephalanthera rubra, Monotropa hypophegea, Neottia nidus-avis, Pyrola minor, Epipactis leptochila, E. vectensis, Convallaria majalis and Aquilegia vulgaris. Common rights exist over the land and this, coupled with the fact that the area carried beechwood in the fourteenth century, suggests that the woodland here is primary.
The neighbouring woods of Buckle, Witcombe, Cranham and Brockworth are also dominated by beech with an admixture of ash. Some appear to be of coppice origin. Holly forms the main understorey, but the absence of old individuals suggests that it has invaded recently. Within Cranham Wood is an open area, formerly grassland, now being invaded by a considerable variety of trees and shrubs, including beech, ash, yew, holly, hawthorn, whitebeam, hazel and oak. It appears that this is developing towards 'mixed beechwood' and constitutes an important variant of beech woodland.
The Sheepscombe Wood complex is extensive and lies on both sides and round the head of a valley above Sheepscombe. Although partly under conifers, there are substantial areas of beech woodland containing rare species. Together with Saltridge Hill Wood it is almost contiguous with the Birdlip-Painswick Woods.
The Painswick Beacon area is open grassland, scrub and small copses surrounded by extensive beech woodland which is used intensively by the public as an open space for recreation. The higher parts of the Hill, particularly the flat plateau, are used as a golf course, on which Erachy-podium pinnatum has been controlled by mowing. Many of the grasslands accessible from the road are used as carparks.
The lower slopes of the Hill are old quarry workings with typical Cotswold grassland species, being well-known for the abundance of musk orchids Herminum monorchis, pyramidal orchids Anacamptis pyramidalis and fragrant orchids Gymnadenia conopsea. Colonisation by subspon-taneous Scots pine has occurred in most of the old quarries - in some places trees are 6-10 m tall. Seedlings are widespread. Grassland is of the Brachypodium pinnatum-Bromus erectus type with a little Festtica ovina, Koeleria gracilis and Briza media. Cirsium acaulon is frequent, with good quantities of Lotus corniculatus and Anthyllisvulneraria. Hieracium exotericum, which is widespread on the open screes and quarry floors, is a feature of the Cotswolds.
Juniper is uncommon, 12 bushes being found in 1968, most of them 30- 46 cm high, although three moribund 1.2-1.5 m examples were found in mixed scrub under pine.

W-73.   FOREST  OF DEAN, GLOUCESTERSHIRE      
Grade I
The Forest of Dean, like the New Forest, was a Royal Forest which has survived as a large area of woodland. Although it has been exploited, mainly for large timber, for centuries the woodlands have been maintained by planting and careful management. In the past few decades large areas of The Dean have been converted to conifers but existing deciduous woodland still reflects differences in the underlying rocks.
The central region lies on Coal Measures from which a clay-loam soil has developed and which carries oak (Quercus robur) woodland and a poor, calcifuge ground flora. Surrounding this acid area are limestone and Old Red Sandstone. These form more fertile soils which bear a variety of woodland types over a richer ground flora. Oak woodland, which is often pure but may contain birch and beech, commonly grows over a bluebell, Holcus mollis and bracken field layer. In the more acid areas this is replaced by bilberry, and in the more base-rich areas by Sanicula europaea, Circaea lutetiana and primrose. Woodlands on the limestone are often mixtures of oak, beech, lime, ash and a variety of shrubs.
Conservation in the Forest of Dean, like the New Forest, is best effected by a broad agreement covering the whole of the Forest. Among sites which together constitute a more or less complete range of woodland types, the following are regarded as the most important.
See also W.g5.
(a) Nagshead Inclosure so 6008.    28 ha
This area of mature, broad-leaved woodland planted in 1814 lies on the Pennant Sandstone (Coal Measures). The main species is pedunculate oak with sweet chestnut, beech, birch and gean. The western part, which has been closed to grazing since 1947-48, has a developing and dense understorey of holly, rowan and other species and some tree regeneration, but not of oak. The eastern part remains open to grazing and has a sparse and scattered understorey of holly and rowan.
The field layer is dominated by Holcus mollis, Pteridium aquilinum and bramble with Deschampsia flexuosa, Endymion non-scriptus and Oxalis acetosella locally abundant.
This is a good example of the older age class of Forest of Dean oakwood on the Coal Measures. Since 1942 it has been the site of important ornithological studies mainly in connection with a series of nest boxes which totalled 238 in 1964. The four important species breeding in the boxes are pied flycatcher, redstart, blue tit and great tit. All these species nest here in some numbers and there are no other nest box areas in Britain where so many pairs of pied flycatcher and redstart breed. The study of the pied flycatcher is the most prolonged ever made and only Wytham, near Oxford, has a titmouse study of comparable size and duration. Recently a study of the wood warbler has been started and almost the whole population of adults and young have been ringed. There is nothing on a comparable scale elsewhere in Britain.
(b) Dingle Wood so 5611.    9 ha
This woodland lies on Carboniferous Limestone which has been quarried in the past. The result is a series of deep pits and gullies (or 'scowles') surrounded by irregular cliffs which have been abandoned for long enough to allow woodland to develop naturally. Part of the area has been planted.
The woodland consists of a great variety of species with beech and wych elm often dominant together with holly and yew in the shrub layer. Other trees present include birch, sweet chestnut, ash, oak, sycamore and rowan with a scattered shrub layer of holly and yew together with field maple, dogwood, hazel, hawthorn, willows, elder, roses and guelder rose.
The herb layer contains a rich variety of calcicolous species with Paris quadrifolia, Pyrola minor, Colchicum autumnale and Neottia nidus-avis of particular note. A good calcicolous bryophyte flora also occurs.
The woodland is particularly notable for the richness of its tree, shrub and herb layers and the scowles are floristically some of the richest areas of the Dean Forest.
(c) Speech House so 6212.    18 ha
An area of open woodland with very ancient oaks, beeches and hollies. The soils are poorly drained acid loams and patches ofjfuncus effusus occur. The ground flora is mostly a Pteridium- Rubus carpet with large areas of Agrostis tennis grassland.
The combination of large trees and open conditions has perpetuated an outstandingly rich epiphytic flora and 53 epiphytic lichens and 15 epiphytic bryophytes have been recorded. The epiphytic flora is one of the richest in central lowland England and is exceeded only by that of some of the ancient parks, e.g. Moccas Park in Herefordshire. Usnea spp. are now rare in the forests of lowland central, north and east England but they are finely developed here. Alectoria fuscescens is a species of northern (boreal) distribution and the Parmelias, especially P. caperata, show a luxuriance not otherwise seen in midland England. Per-tusaria hemisphaerica and Thelotrema lepadinum are probably relic species of the old forests as is P. flavida which is rare everywhere. Other relic species may be Haematomma elatinum, once thought to be confined to south-west Ireland and north-west Scotland, but now known in widely scattered areas of Britain, and Normandina pulchella, formerly considered as highly Atlantic.

W-74-   COLLINPARK WOOD, GLOUCESTERSHIRE
so 7528. 65 ha 
Grade i
Collinpark Wood lies on clay soils sloping gently into the alluvial plain of the River Leadon, and contains tributaries of this river. It is an overgrown coppice woodland of up to about 40 years' growth, dominated by sessile oak and small-leaved lime, with local concentrations of silver birch and a few ash and poplar. Wild service is also locally abundant and regenerating profusely. The sparse shrub layer includes hazel, broom, crab apple and willows. Soils are mostly heavy, neutral to acid. The ground flora has abundant bluebell and dog's mercury and a range of species including Galeobdolon luteum, Primula vulgaris, Pteridium aquilinum, Deschampsia cespitosa, Carex pendula and Chrysosplenium oppositifolium. Along the northern margin there is a massive causeway embankment and associated moat. The latter is filled with organic material with a fen-like flora, whilst the calcareous subsoil brought to the surface on the embankment has enabled calcicolous species such as wych elm, field maple and dog's mercury to become established.
The wood is selected as a representative of damp calcifuge lime woodland in western Britain, complementary to the Lincolnshire lime coppices, where, however, the oaks are almost entirely pedunculate.

W.75-  HUDNALLS, GLOUCESTERSHIRE
so 5404, so 5303. 75 ha  
Grade i
The wide range of semi-natural coppice types in the lower Wye valley area includes a series on the more acidic sandstone rocks in which beech is the main constituent, even though other species are usually mixed with it. Much of this woodland occurred on the Monmouthshire side, where it has all, as far as is known, been allowed to develop to high forest or, more commonly, has been replaced by a variety of plantations. On the Gloucestershire side substantial tracts of these calcifuge coppice types survived as coppice into the present century, particularly to the north and south of the St Briavels meander, and extending north to the Staunton area. Recently, however, much has been cleared, notably at Lords Grove near Monmouth, and north from Wyegate Hill, but one group, centred on Hudnalls, remains virtually intact.
Hudnalls and adjacent woods occupy steep, north- and west-facing sandstone slopes. Much of the woodland is a mixture of beech and sessile oak over a ground flora of Luzula sylvatica, Blechnum spicant, Lonicera periclymenum and Melampyrum pratense. Part of this is a mixture which retains the small-coppice structure, but other parts on the steepest slopes are ancient beech high forest with very few oaks and a negligible field layer. Along the stream sides and in parts of the coppice, ash and small-leaved lime occur. All these are on strongly acid soils, but where streams drain down the slope and along flushed areas at the base of the slope a far richer coppice type occurs in which wych elm, ash and hazel are more abundant and the ground flora is extremely rich.
Hudnalls has a complex management history. Part was common woodland, but adjacent parts are coppice-with-68   Woodlands standards. Structural differences coincide partly with walls within the wood and are clearly a relict of use and management, but the composition of the wood appears to be natural.

W-95-   WYE  GORGE  (PART), GLOUCESTERSHIRE
Grade i*
See under South Wales.

W.y6.   MERTHEN WOOD, CORNWALL
sw 7226.   45 ha 
Grade 2
This valley woodland sited on the northern shore of the Helford River is complementary to part of the Fal Estuary woods (W.6i) but lacks the tidal alder carr found in that area. The tree layer is dominated by oak although areas of pure hazel coppice are to be found. Beech and holly are present in the canopy. In the lower parts of the wood the trees overhang a bank and then estuarine mud in which are patches of Spartina marsh. In the lower parts of the wood, rowan, alder buckthorn and gorse are to be found.
The ground flora in the upper parts and hazel coppice region is dominated by bluebell together with wood anemone, bramble, Blechnum spicant and Lonicera peri-clymenum. Near the river, bracken is frequent as are bilberry, Luzula pilosa, heather and Teucrium scorodonia illustrating a more acidophilous facies. A large active badger sett is present within this area of woodland.

W.77-   NANCE WOOD, CORNWALL
sw 6645.    14 ha
Grade 2
A coppiced sessile oakwood dwarfed by exposure to the wind. In addition to oak there is beech and the shrubs include hazel, hawthorn, holly, blackthorn, sallows and gorse. The field layer is acidophilous with much Holcus mollis, Digitalis purpurea, Calluna vulgaris, Blechnum spicant and bluebell with bracken and bramble locally abundant.
The wood is notable as one of only two British localities for the Irish spurge Euphorbia hyberna which is plentiful here.

W-78.   DRAYNES  WOOD, CORNWALL
sx 2268.    40 ha
Grade 2
This is a wooded gorge which carries irregular stands of high forest. The high forest areas are characteristically pedunculate oak with ash and beech over a shrub layer of hazel. There are also patches of sessile oak which have been coppiced. The field layer is generally acidophilous with much Luzula sylvatica, Vaccinium myrtillus and Blechnum spicant but on the better soils bracken and bramble occur with species such as Sanicula europaea on the best sites.
This woodland is notable mainly for its bryophyte communities and there are some rare species. The filmy fern Hymenophyllum tunbrigense also occurs here in some quantity.

W.79-   PILES  COPSE, DEVON
sx 6361.    5 ha 
Grade 2
This is a valley woodland on the southern edge of Dartmoor on the west-facing slope above the River Erme. Although
strewn with boulders the woodland floor does not exhibit such extreme clitter formations as found in Wistman's Wood or Black Tor Copse. The tree layer is again dominated by pedunculate oak but the trees are less stunted and the appearance is of a more ordinary woodland. The climate appears to be milder and more humid; there is little or no Antitrichia or Douinia but Jamesoniella autumnalis, Harp-anthus scutatus and Dicranum fiagellare occur, these not having been recorded anywhere else in Devon.

W.8o.   DENDLES  WOOD, DEVON
sx 6162.    65 ha
Grade 2
The site occupies the two arms and junction of a Y-shaped valley system on the south-west edge of Dartmoor. Sessile oak woodland is present over much of the site but on the east and south-west beech has been planted. The beech is gradually becoming dominant and a successional series is exhibited. The ground flora is for a large part a grassy sward containing species such as Holcus mollis, H. lanatus, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Potentilla reptans, Endymion non- scriptus and Pteridium aquilinum. There is a good epiphyte and bryophyte flora, the latter being particularly rich in the vicinity of the streams.

W.8l.   WOODY BAY, DEVON
ss 6748.    55 ha
Grade 2
A coastal woodland which has a generally north-facing aspect. The cliff slopes steeply and drops precipitously to the sea which forms one boundary, whilst on the landward side the woodland is bordered by moorland. The tree canopy is dominated by sessile oak, there being a little rowan and birch. The rare Sorbus devoniensis and S. sub- cuneata are found in this woodland. Other tree species include yew, holly, sallow and rose mainly as understorey species.
The ground flora is for the most part acidophilous with Vaccinium myrtillus, Melampyrum pratense, Deschampsia flexuosa, Calluna vulgaris and Erica cinerea being frequent. Some more base-rich areas support Allium ursinum, Fragaria vesca, Sanicula europaea and Circaea lutetiana. The fern and epiphyte floras are well developed; the ferns including Dryopteris aemula and Polystichum setiferum.

W.82.   HEDDON VALLEY  WOODS, DEVON
ss 6549.    165 ha
Grade 2
Heddon Valley is an unspoilt, steep-sided, straight valley leading down to the sea. The valley runs north-south and the woodland is at the landward (south) end. Included in the site is open, grassy moorland, damp meadowland on the valley floor and scree slopes at the seaward end of the valley. The woodland is dominated by sessile oak with some patches of ash. A wide range of tree and shrub species are present including alder, birch, beech, hazel, hawthorn, holly, traveller's joy and gorse. The field layer is varied and includes both basiphilous and acidophilous communities. There are areas containing dog's mercury, primrose,
Fragaria vesca, Euphorbia amygdaloides and Sanicula europaea which may be contrasted with areas supporting communities which include bilberry, heather, foxglove and bracken. Yet another facies represented is the damp, fern-rich woodland type with Dryopteris spp. abundant.

W.83-   HOBBY WOODS, DEVON
ss 3323.    90 ha
Grade 2
The Hobby is an area of steep, wooded sea cliffs facing in a north- easterly direction over Barnstaple Bay on the north Devon coast. The tree dominant is sessile oak although within the woodland beech, ash and some planted conifers are present. These other species occur on the upper parts of the slopes, pure oak woodland being present on the steeper slopes close to the sea. Shrub species are represented by hazel, hawthorn, holly, blackthorn and gorse; some rhododendron is present. Large areas of the ground flora are dominated by a sward of Luzula sylvatica, other areas supporting a flora which includes Ajuga reptans, Geranium robertianum, Fragaria vesca, Sanicula europaea and Asperula odorata. A rich fern flora is present including Dryopteris borreri, D. filix-mas, D. dilatata and D. aemula. Epiphytes are well represented on the boles and branches of the trees, their presence emphasising the moist conditions found within this type of woodland.

W.84-   HOLFORD  AND  HODDER'S  COMBES, SOMERSET
ST 1540.    325 ha  
Grade 2
The Quantock Hills consist of Devonian sandstone and grits. At the northern end two steep-sided combes above Holford are clothed for much of their lengths in sessile oak woodland of coppice origin. Other species are present in small numbers, including birch, holly, rowan and alder. Structurally the stands vary from dense, young coppice to mature, but short, high forest. Growing only 3 km from the coast at elevations up to 300 m, the more exposed portions are severely wind-pruned. The ground flora is dominated by bilberry, bracken, heather and other calcifuges, with only local development of base-rich conditions with primrose and Chrysosplenium oppositifolium.
The woodlands of the two combes are not quite contiguous, but are linked by heathland of Calluna vulgaris, Ulex gallii and Erica cinerea. The site extends up the combes to Bircham Wood and the Dowsborough respectively.

W.85-   ASHEN  COPSE, SOMERSET
ST 7942.    35 ha
Grade 2
This is a very fine example of coppice-with-standards woodland with pedunculate oak over hazel on Oxford Clay. Ash is common and other associates are field maple and alder (along the ditches). In addition to hazel the shrub layer contains hawthorn, blackthorn, sallows, guelder rose and Rosa spp.
The oaks are particularly well-grown here and, as the understorey has not been cut extensively for many years, an interestingly varied understorey is developing.
The field layer is characteristic of clay woodlands with species such as Anemone nemorosa, Rubus fruticosus agg., Endymion non- scriptus, Viola spp., Brachypodium sylvaticum, Fragaria vesca, Galeobdolon luteum, Mercurialis perennis, Ajuga reptans, Allium ursinum, Carex pendula and C. sylvatica and Filipendula ulmaria.
Ashen Copse has features resembling the eastern boulder clay coppices and is thus, like Salisbury Wood, Monmouthshire, one of the westernmost of this type. It is adjacent to Longleat Woods and Park, additional remnants of the former Selwood Forest. These woods which contrast with Ashen Copse include ancient oak-beech high forest, mature but younger high forest and old, open park woodland, which together have a very rich epiphytic lichen flora including numerous old forest relic species.

W.86.   GREAT  BREACH  AND  COPLEY WOODS, SOMERSET
ST 5031.    60 ha       
Grade 2
Mainly an oak-ash woodland on wet Lower Lias clays.
The woodland is extensive and covers some 400 ha but felling and replanting with beech and conifers have taken place.
The woodland varies from almost pure oakwood in some areas, through oak-ash woodland to some stands of almost pure hornbeam and of English elm. There is a wide range of associated trees and shrubs which include field maple, sycamore, alder, sweet chestnut, beech and sallows. The shrubs include traveller's joy, dogwood, hazel, hawthorn, spindle, privet, blackthorn, elder, gorse and wayfaring tree. There are also many spruces, larches and pines.
The field layer is characteristic of the more base-rich clays with Mercurialis perennis, Carex pendula and Rubus fruticosus agg. locally abundant, and a good variety of other species.
The area forms a good example of a western oak-ash wood on clay with a wide range of associated species.

W.8y.   WESTON BIG WOOD, SOMERSET
ST 4575.    40 ha
Grade 2
An attractive and varied woodland, formerly coppiced, on Carboniferous Limestone.
The tree layer is dominated by pedunculate oak with small-leaved lime and wych elm locally abundant. In addition there is field maple, ash, gean, common lime and English elm. The Sorbus spp. are particularly interesting; S. torminalis occurs, as does S. aria and the hybrid between them. A Sorbus close to S. rupicola is also found here.
The shrub layer has abundant hazel with dogwood, hawthorn, spindle, abundant holly, privet, crab apple, currant, Rosa spp., wayfaring tree and guelder rose. The field layer is dominated by bramble, Brachypodium sylvaticum and dog's mercury but a very wide range of calcicolous species also occurs.
This is a fine example of a mixed deciduous woodland with a rich variety of plant species. The Sorbus spp. need further study.
SE England
W.I.   BLEAN  WOODS, KENT
TR 1060.    305 ha  
Grade 1
The Blean forms the most extensive area of nearly continuous woodland on the London Clay in south-eastern England. Within this, Blean Woods National Nature Reserve (NNR) forms a typical example.
The whole area has a long-standing tradition of management as coppice with-standards with sessile oak as the dominant standard. Sessile oak coppice, mixed in part with beech, occurs in a large area on the western boundary, whilst the latter is dominant in a very small central area of open high forest. Hornbeam coppice dominates the northern parts and sweet chestnut coppice dominates the south-central and south-eastern parts and much of Crawford's Rough. Rowan is widespread whilst wild service and aspen are becoming increasingly common in the newly coppiced areas. Alder and guelder rose are also widespread. Along the southern parts of the wood the London Clay is overlain by two patches of recent 'head gravel', part of the terrace of an ancient valley floor of the Great Stour River. This acidic gravelly drift supports dense chestnut coppice with a honeysuckle, bluebell and Luzulapilosa field layer. A small area of ash coppice with pedunculate oak and hazel has a ground flora of Sani-cula europaea, Euphorbia amygdaloid.es and Ajuga reptans. Also in the south-east part of the wood are acidic areas with Calluna, Carex binervis, C. ovalis, C. demissa, Molinia caerulea, Sieglingia decumbens and Dactylorchis maculata, all rare in north-east Kent where heathlands are scarce. The areas of recently coppiced oak-beech hornbeam woodland have a rich ground flora which includes Luzula sylvatica, Teucrium scorodonia, Milium effusum, Melica uniflora, Lathy-rus montanus, Hypericum pulchrum, Sarothamnus scoparius and Ruscus aculeatus. In the more dense old hornbeam coppice Crataegus oxyacanthoides is an occasional associate.
The Blean has been a well-known haunt for entomologists since the latter part of the last century. It was originally scheduled to preserve one of the few remaining colonies of heath fritillary Melitaea athalia, the larvae of which feed on Melampyrum pratense. This plant flourishes particularly in the light phase of coppicing and along ride margins and is again plentiful in the Reserve. As a result, for example during early July 1969, following coppicing, this butterfly was a common sight in the open areas of the wood. Recent studies in the Reserve have revealed a wealth of rare species of a wide range of invertebrates. The wood ant Formica rufa is abundant in parts of the wood and some 15 species of myrmicophilous beetles have been found in its nests. A number of rare staphylinid beetles have been found in the wood including Gyrophaena joyioides (only known British locality), Borboropora kraatzi (first British record for over 100 years) and Staphylinus fulvipes which is quite common locally. Acritus homoepathicus (Coleoptera, Histeridae) is abundant in fire sites in the coppiced areas. The millipede Polyzonium germanicum, which has its British distribution almost restricted to Kent, is common in the Reserve, as is Choneiulus palmatus, another millipede more commonly recorded from greenhouses and gardens. Among an impressive list of Heteroptera bugs is included Charagochilus weberi (Miridae), a species new to Britain. The large area of woodland of The Blean provides a stepping stone by which many continental species enter the British Isles and become established.

W.2.   HAM  STREET WOODS, KENT
TR 0034.    210 ha  
Grade 1
These woodlands, parts of which are NNR, lie on the plateau, slopes and valley bottoms over Lower Weald Clay. Structurally they are coppice-with-standards throughout, although there is a wide range of coppice types. The standards are oak (mostly Quercus robur, but with about 10% Q. petraea) with a proportion of birch (mostly Eetula pubescent) which has entered as a weed species following the cutting of the coppice. Wild service, gean and aspen also occur as 'weed' standards.
Four types of coppice occur on the plateau areas. These, defined by their dominant species, are clearly the product of past management. Hornbeam coppice is the most widespread, some of the stools being massive indicators of the long history of such coppice on at least part of the site. Hazel coppice occurs mainly on the valley slopes. Chestnut coppice, still actively worked, occurs mainly in the northern block. Oak coppice occurs in Carter's Wood, but has evidently arisen from the felling of standard oaks. Other shrub species occur within these types, including willows (Salix atrocinerea and S. capred), both hawthorns and holly. The presence of midland hawthorn as well as wild service is circumstantial evidence that at least parts of Ham Street Woods are primary.
The woodland is diversified by the presence of valleys and rides. The former, which contain the richest areas floristic-ally, have ash and alder woodland, worked as coppice, with midland hawthorn and elder.
The ground flora develops and changes cyclically as coppicing proceeds, being least developed as the coppice becomes dense. Although the proposed future management of large areas of the woodland is of coppice-with-standards, much of the present wood is old, neglected, hornbeam coppice in which the ground flora consists of wood anemone, primrose, bluebell and honeysuckle. In the gills dog's mercury is locally dominant. Where the canopy is more open bracken and bramble are abundant. Rides in the north have heather, gorse and Potentilla erecta, indicating acid conditions which contrast with the base-rich nature of the valleys. The bryophyte flora, which includes such noteworthy species as Eucalyx hyalinus, Rhytidiadelphus loreus and Hylocomium brevirostre, supports the conclusion that woodland has been continuous on this site.
Ham Street Woods have long been famous entomologically.

W-3-  ALKHAM VALLEY WOODS, KENT
TR 2644, TR 2742.    140 ha
Grade i
Lying on steep Chalk slopes, these woods have soils 30-60 cm deep of calcareous loam with few Chalk particles and a high siliceous fraction. They consist of mixed coppice of ash and pedunculate oak with some hornbeam, hazel and field maple, and only a few poorly grown standards of pedunculate oak. Beech is rare and entirely confined to the margins. The flora is very rich. Sladden Wood, probably the best single site within the group, includes Orchis purpurea, Ophrys insectifera, Cephalanthera damasonium, Neottia nidus-     avis, Platanthera chlorantha, Paris quadrifolia, Helle- borus viridis, Mercurialis perennis, Sanicula europaea, Adoxa moschatellina, Campanula trachelium, Ranunculus auricomus, Galium odoratum, Pimpinella major, Angelica sylvestris, Deschampsia cespitosa and Veronica montana.
The significance of these sites is that almost everywhere else on Chalk scarps the woodland is dominated by beech over a thin soil: possibly the Alkham Valley Woods lie on a relict soil type.

W-4-   SCORDS  WOOD, KENT
TQ 4852.    340 ha  
Grade I
This site lies on a plateau of chert gravel derived from acidic Hythe Beds giving rise to a podsolised soil, falling to a valley in which first brown forest soils then calcareous soils derived from Kent ragstone and base-rich peaty soils occur in an apparent catena. Corresponding with this are four woodland types, respectively (i) sessile oak high forest and coppice over Vactinium myrtillus-Calluna vulgaris-Blechnum spicant, with Luzula sylvatica and Pyrola minor locally; (2) sessile oak high forest with birch and holly with a transitional ground flora of Endymion non-scriptus, Rubus fruti- cosus, Pteridium aquilinum, Euphorbia amygdaloides, and Primula vulgaris; (3) mixed coppice and high forest of pedunculate oak, field maple, ash, hazel and wych elm with a ground flora indicative of base-    rich conditions, including Mercurialis perennis, Sanicula europaea, Galium odoratum, Helleborus viridis, Lathraea squamaria, Listera ovata and Adoxa moschatellina; and (4) alder carr with Chrysosplenium oppositifolium, C. alternifolium, Carex strigosa and Equisetum telmateia.
With this exceptional range of habitats, the vascular flora is very rich. Both rowan and common whitebeam are present in the sessile oakwood, together with the hybrid. Numerous bryophyte and lichen species are recorded.

W-5-  ASHOLT  WOOD, KENT
TR 1738.    70 ha
Grade i
Asholt Wood lies on gently undulating ground at the foot of the Chalk escarpment. Springs rising at the base of the Chalk flow through the wood. The soil, developed from Gault Clay and downwash from the Chalk, is highly calcareous but poorly drained. Its texture varies from heavy clay to clay loam, and small elevated areas appear to be neutral or mildly acid in reaction. Structurally the wood is mostly pedunculate oak standards over a range of coppice types, much neglected for the most part, but in places recently coppiced after a period of neglect. Much of the coppice is ash and hazel with some maple, dogwood and willows, but on the apparently acidic knolls, there is some hornbeam-ash coppice, and along the flood zones beside the streams a mixed coppice of alder, ash, maple and hazel has developed. The ground flora is rich, but no nationally rare species have been recorded.
This site is selected as a south-eastern counterpart of the chalky boulder clay coppices of East Anglia and the Midlands. It differs from them in having valley alder coppice, and lacking oxlip Primula elatior and Geum rivale. Other examples of this type are known, and one - Ryarsh Wood, Kent - has a richer flora, but Asholt is regarded as the best example because it has a canopy largely free of aliens, and is contiguous with a chalk grassland site (L.I5).

W.6.   CROOKHORN WOOD, KENT
TQ 6763.    no ha
Grade i
This is part of an extensive tract of woodland, scrub and grassland on the Chalk scarp and plateau of the North Downs all of which is of considerable scientific importance. Crookhorn Wood itself is a mature beechwood with ash and field maple in the canopy, and an understorey of yew. Structurally it is diverse, with a mixture of age classes, including some very old trees, forming a closed canopy. The humus lies deep over a shallow soil, and the ground flora, though sparse, includes Cephalanthera damasonium, Neottia nidus-avis and Daphne laureola. On the plateau over Clay-with-Flints the woodland is mainly pedunculate oak with some coppice of hazel, ash and sweet chestnut. Parts of the adjacent grassland have been invaded by scrub in which ash is (unusually) rare and the most abundant species are whitebeam, silver birch and dogwood, with patches of yew. Within this scrub Helleborusfoetidus, Aceras anthropophorum and a fine colony of Orchis purpurea are known.
The woodlands on Wouldham-Detling Escarpment are similar but contain serai ashwood as well as the range of types present in Crookhorn Wood.

W.y.   WOULDHAM-DETLING ESCARPMENT, KENT
TQ 723648-795588.    440 ha
Grade i
The woodlands on this south-west-facing scarp slope of the North Downs are extremely variable. They include almost the entire range of types associated with the Chalk scarp and Clay-with-Flints plateau sites. On the plateau, pedunculate oak woodland is prevalent over coppice which is partly of sweet chestnut, but mostly a mixture with hazel, ash and hawthorn. The field layer includes the range of communities from Mercurialis perennis-Sanicula europaea, through Endymion non-scriptus to Rubus fruticosus and Deschampsia cespitosa. The thin rendzina soils on the slopes bear beech woodland in part, and mixtures of ash, yew and hazel, over a discontinuous field layer. At the south-eastern end on Boxley Warren, chalk scrub of yew, hawthorn, dogwood and whitebeam is developing towards woodland.
The Escarpment contains a wide range of woodland types which individually may be better represented by examples elsewhere: e.g. beechwoods at Crookhorn Wood; yew-woods at Kingley Vale; plateau woods at Box Hill. Nevertheless the woodland complex taken as a whole and in conjunction with the associated grassland and scrub qualifies for grade i status (see also L.io).

W.8.  BIGNOR HILL, SUSSEX
su 9713.    160 ha  
Grade i
Bignor Hill is at the southern end of extensive woodlands situated on the north- and east-facing Chalk scarp slopes. These woods are not quite continuous, and stretch in a broken chain from Duncton Down in the north to Great Bottom on the dip slope in the south. Beech is dominant, with ash as a more or less constant associate. The stand has a limited range of age, but recent thinning has facilitated some regeneration, mainly of ash. Birch and field maple are also present in the canopy, while the shrub layer of yew, whitebeam, dogwood and spindle is reasonably well developed. Ground flora communities cover the usual range from Mercurialis perennis- Sanicula europaea on dry, calcareous soil to Endymion non-scriptus- Rubus fruticosus on the deeper plateau soils. Local variations occur on Duncton Hanger where, in a valley along a springline, a wych elm woodland has developed; at Bignor Hill, where an ashwood on scree includes the only locality in the south-east for Thelypteris robertiana; and at Great Bottom, where on the west side there are some of the largest and possibly oldest pollarded beeches in the south-east.
There are many other stands of beechwood on the South Downs, but those at Bignor Hill are regarded as the best developed, with a number of local variations related to geological and edaphic differences.

W-9-   SAXONBURY  HILL/ERIDGE  PARK, SUSSEX
TQ 5734.    600 ha  
Grade i*
This site comprises an ancient deer park, a more recent park now used for deer, and adjacent woodlands on Saxonbury Hill, situated in the High Weald. The parks, particularly the northern half of the Old Park, have an open woodland of
ancient oaks, maple, ash and beech beneath which the ground vegetation is a mosaic of bracken, Molinia caerulea and heather heath, and in the lower parts on Wadhurst Clay a relatively rich woodland ground flora has developed. Small, low-lying areas are occupied by alder carrs, small areas of calcareous fen and some acidic flushes. Saxonbury Hill includes a mixture of woodland types. Mature, closed oak-beech forest occurs on plateau areas where yew and holly are also frequent. In the valley, alder occurs beside the stream, and on flushed parts of the slopes near the valley bottom. On the drier slopes woodland of oak and birch occurs locally.
Taken as a whole the site has one of the richest epiphytic lichen floras of any single park in Britain. So far 167 species have been recorded. It is the only site in south-east England where a well- developed Lobarion association occurs. Numerous species characteristic of old forests have been recorded, including Lobaria pulmonaria, L. laetevirens, Nephroma laevigatum, Parmeliella plumbea, Leptogium lichenoides, L. minutissimum, Buellia schaereri, Parmelia crinita, Xylographa vitiligo and Dimerella lutea. Bryophyte epiphytes include Frullania fragilifolia and Orthotrichum stramineum, which are otherwise unknown in south-east England. In Saxonbury Hill woods there is a small sandrock outcrop with Dryopteris aemula and Hymenophyllum tun-brigense, and a number of western bryophytes such as Scapania gracilis and Bazzania trilobata.
Although much of the central area of the Old Park has been reseeded, this site is undoubtedly one of the most important of all the ancient parklands selected, because the woodlands are diverse and the epiphyte flora is unsurpassed.

W.IO.   KINGLEY VALE, SUSSEX
su 8211.    160 ha
Grade I*
Within the general area of Kingley Vale only part of the land is occupied by woodland. This lies on the south-facing Chalk slopes and on clay in the valley bottom. Two broad woodland types occur, yew woodland on Chalk and oak on the clay, of which the former is much the more extensive. The yew woodland is almost pure in parts, but with a range of age classes. Elsewhere within the yew-wood, ash is common, and whitebeam, holly and blackthorn occur sparingly. Juniper formerly occurred there abundantly but successional changes have greatly reduced its extent. The field layer is absent, or represented by sparse development of, for example, Fragaria vesca and Brachypodium sylvaticum. The woodland on clay is dominated by pedunculate oak and ash, with an understorey of yew, holly and hawthorn.
The Kingley Vale woodland is selected as a representative of yew- dominated stands on calcareous soils. As such it is regarded as the most important site in Britain and is reputed to be the best yew- wood in Europe. Though yew woodland occurs elsewhere, e.g. Old Winchester Hill, Blackcliff, Box Hill, the stands are either less extensive or are mixed with other, taller species such as beech. A further important feature of Kingley Vale is the presence of all stages in the development from scrub  on grassland to mature yew woodland. See also L.Q.

W.II.  EBERNOE COMMON, SUSSEX
su 9727.    110 ha  
Grade i
Ebernoe Common and Willand Wood together form a continuous block of woodland with a wide range of structural, floristic and soil types in the western Weald. The underlying strata range from heavy clay to sandstone and limestone, giving rise to the three main soil types of the area.
Ebernoe Common has three main woodland types. The most extensive is mature, closed beech woodland with some pedunculate oak and a dense understorey of holly with some yew. Some beech have fallen recently to produce gaps in which regeneration occurs sparingly. Along the eastern side and over base-rich soils, younger mature woodland of field maple, pedunculate oak and ash is found, with a few beech and a sparse understorey of holly. At the northern end a third type occurs, open ancient woodland of oak and beech with scattered thickets of holly. Not all the Common is wooded: large areas remain under grass and bramble, and other parts of former grassland are now occupied by scrub of gorse, blackthorn and willow with thickets of oak and birch saplings. The ground flora, virtually absent beneath the closed beech canopy, varies considerably between the Mercurialis perennis-Primula vulgaris-Sanicula europaea community of the base- rich soils to Rubus fruticosus and Deschampsia cespitosa on the clays. The local species include Narcissus pseudo-narcissus, Ruscus aculeatus and Carex strigosa. The epiphyte flora is fairly rich, but lacks a number of old forest indicators. In addition to the woods, scrub and grassland, the Common contains large ponds and marsh areas.
Willand Wood consists of coppice-with-standards typical of West Sussex, with pedunculate oak standards over mixed coppice of hornbeam, hazel and ash. The ground flora is dominated by wood anemone, bluebell and primrose.

W.I2.   WAKEHURST AND  CHIDDINGLY WOODS,
SUSSEX
TQ 3331, TQ 3432.    150 ha
Grade i
These woods occupy the steep slopes and bottoms where the Ardingly and Cob Brooks have cut deeply incised valleys and exposed large areas of Tunbridge Wells Sandstone. At Chiddingly, the woodland on the plateau has been largely modified, consisting now in parts of scrub, coppice and planted pine with a number of exotic tree species. However, on the rocky slopes below the sandrock outcrops, a dry oak (mainly pedunculate) wood with birch, yew, holly and some beech, shades ground covered in large boulders. At points in the ravine where the soil is deep alluvium there is a local development of ash and alder woodland, grading to ash-oak on drier ground. Within this woodland there are a number of mature trees, some planted exotics and a local spread of rhododendron. The sandrock outcrops, which are the most extensive, sheltered exposures of the formation, have the richest development of the associated communities of Hymenophyllum tunbrigense and suboceanic bryophytes, Dicranum scottianum, Orthodontium gracile, Tetraphis browniana, Bazzania trilobata, Scapaniagracilis, Pallavicinia lyellii, Harpanthus scutatus, Blepharostoma trichophyllum, Scapania umbrosa, Odontoschisma denudatum, Tritomaria exsectiformis and Lepidozia sylvatica.
Wakehurst Woods are part of one of the most extensive stands of High Weald gill woodland with one of the largest sandrock outcrops. Much of the woodland is oak or oak-beech mixture, mature but with few really ancient trees, but along springlines alder and ash woodland occurs. Woodland types occurring in small quantity are open woodland of birch and oak, and areas of coppice, principally of sweet chestnut and hazel on lower slopes. At the higher levels bracken, bilberry, Deschampsia flexuosa and Lonicera peri-clymenum dominate the ground flora; whilst at lower levels on the clays, bramble, primrose, bluebell and wood anemone are prevalent, and flush communities with Carex laevigata and Chrysosplenium oppositifolium occur with the alder. The epiphytic lichen flora is moderately rich, but includes no exceptional occurrences. The ground flora includes Dryop-teris aemula and Wahlenbergia hederacea. The most important feature is the community of the sandrock outcrop, second only to those in Chiddingly Wood, which includes Hymenophyllum tunbrigense and a number of rare bryophytes and saxicolous lichens.
At their nearest point these two woods are no more than 200 m apart. Collectively they form easily the richest of the sandrock communities. The two sites complement each other in that some of the characteristic species absent in Chiddingly are present in Wakehurst, and vice versa. In neither case are the tree and shrub strata of particular importance, except that the continuity of a substantial tract of high forest with few large clearings is essential for the continued existence of the sandrock communities.

W.I3-  THE MENS AND THE CUT AND BEDHAM ESCARPMENT, SUSSEX    
TQ 0223. I9° na  
Grade i
This extensive common woodland lies along the parish boundaries of Kirdford and Fittleworth from Idehurst Hurst to the Bedham Escarpment. For the most part it is on flat, low-lying ground drained by the headwaters of the River Arun, but at the south- west end it rises to a small hill. This is where the sandy Hythe Beds outcrop above Ather-field Clay, and give rise to acidic, sandy soils which are nevertheless imperfectly drained. Most of the site lies on Lower Weald Clay, but through Hammonds Wood there are numerous sandstone bands, and Paludina Limestone outcrops in a narrow band across The Cut.
The woodland is mostly high forest of sessile and pedunculate oaks, beech and locally ash, wild service and the birches. There is a tendency for beech to be dominant over a holly or yew understorey on the lighter soils, and for oaks and ash to be dominant over a mixed shrub layer on the heavy soils. A few ancient oaks are present, but most of the trees are probably less than 100 years old. Even so, the structure of the wood is one of its important features, for all stages of the regeneration cycle are well represented. The ground vegetation is limited for a site of this size, but many characteristic woodland species are present, including Carex pendula, C. strigosa and Milium effusum. There is a moderately rich bryophyte flora which includes, at the Bedham end, a number of local species on small boulders, Campylostelium saxicola, Brachydontium trichoides, Mar-supella emarginata and M. ustulata. The epiphytic lichen flora is not fully known, but is certainly among the richest for woodland in the south- east. Recent detailed examination of the fungal flora has revealed that, in this respect, The Mens and The Cut is one of the richest woods in Britain, and may even be the richest: included in the list are three Russula spp. not known elsewhere in Britain, and another two known only from one or two other sites. Entomologic-ally, this site is regarded as extremely rich, especially in the Crimbourne Wood area, with many extremely rare beetles on record and thriving populations of most of the woodland butterflies.

W.I4-  FAIRLIGHT, ECCLESBOURNE AND  WARREN GLENS, SUSSEX
TQ 8511.    205 ha  
Grade i
The Lower Cretaceous rocks of the Weald are exposed along this stretch of coast. Magnificent cliff sections include the Fairlight Clays (type locality), Ashdown Sand and Wadhurst Clay. Considerable slipping and erosion has occurred creating a distinct undercliff zone which is heavily overgrown with scrub. Isolated boulders in this zone support a number of interesting bryophytes including Tortula cuneifolia, T. marginata, Desmatodon convolutus and Lophocolea fragrans in its only station east of Dorset.
The three glens have been cut down through the Wad-hurst Clay, Ashdown Sand and in the case of Fairlight and Warren Glens through the Fairlight Clays as well. The valleys produced have steep sides covered in parts with mature woodland consisting of oak, beech, and ash with yew, holly, field maple, birch and alder which grade into a coastal scrub towards the cliff edge consisting of wind-pruned thickets of privet and blackthorn. The ground flora varies from bracken-dominated communities on the sands, to communities of Mercurialis perennis with Carex pendula and Epipactis purpurata on the clays. Flush communities with for example Chrysosplenium oppositifolium and Allium ursinum occur with the alder.
Floristically, Fairlight Glen is of considerable importance for the presence of the rare hepatic Dumortiera hirsuta and the moss Fissidens rivularis in their only stations east of Devon and a number of lichen species characteristic of old forest, e.g. Normandina pukhella, Dimerella lutea and Graphina anguina. Its coastal situation is rare in lowland English woods.
The area known as the Fire Hills was at one time covered with a low growing heath community of Calluna vulgaris and Erica cinerea; this has now been largely replaced by Ulex emopaeus.

W.I5-   WORMLEY WOOD-HODDESDON  PARK  WOOD, HERTFORDSHIRE
TL 3306. 570 ha  
Grade i
The site is a series of contiguous woods which include in the west Wormley Wood and in the east Hoddesdon Park Wood. Much of the intervening woodland has been recently felled and replanted with conifers but broad-leaved trees and patches of broad- leaved woodland still occur throughout. Part of the outstanding interest of the area lies in its large extent, which provides for a greater variety of woodland habitats and also for areas of scrub and rough grassland.
Wormley Wood lies mainly on the London Clay but there are also gravel deposits. The varied geology and former land-use have produced a mosaic of vegetation. Sessile oak is the principal standard species over a coppice of almost pure hornbeam, but there is a proportion of other tree species including ash, pedunculate oak and birch. There are also some areas of high forest structure with standards of both oak and hornbeam. The ground flora consists largely of communities dominated by bramble, wood anemone, bluebell, Luzula sylvatica and Lonicera periclymenum with bryophyte carpets of Dicranum majus on fairly acid areas under standards. On more calcareous areas the field layer is richer with Galium odoratum, Galeobdolon luteum, Mercurialis perennis and Carex pendula: such areas tend to have a high proportion of ash in the canopy. Within the site there are areas of hawthorn and blackthorn scrub and birchwood on old field sites. The wood is crossed by a small stream along which alder has developed.
Hoddesdon Park Wood is mainly high forest although there are areas of coppice. The oak is well grown and there is a wide range of sizes, including oak saplings and seedlings. Indeed the abundance of oak regeneration throughout this woodland complex is one of its interesting features. The more open canopy produces a ground flora richer in species of both vascular plants and bryophytes than the dense coppice areas. There is also a good variety of epiphytic species including a community of Dicranum spp. (montanum, flagellare and strictum) which occurs on the Continent.

W.l6.  ELLENDEN WOOD, KENT
TR 1062.    100 ha
Grade 2
Ellenden Wood is part of the ancient Blean Woods lying on London Clay and spreads of gravel drift. Within the one block of woodland are a number of woodland types. Coppice-with-standards of sessile oak, with rowan, holly and wild service occurs over a field layer dominated by Luzula sylvatica and Melampyrumpratense. Parts have been planted with sweet chestnut, managed as coppice. A small plateau area of clays has blackthorn, hornbeam and hazel with a neutral ground flora. Hornbeam coppice with some oak standards (both species) occurs on another area of clay with a predominantly calcicolous ground flora. Valley sides have local woodland types, including high forest of oak and beech, and of small-leaved elm, ash and crab apple. Taken as a whole the flora is extremely rich, with a wide ecological range, including heather and Galeobdolon luteum.
This site is close to and comparable with Blean Wood. Botanically, there is probably little to choose between the two, but Blean Wood is better known zoologically and is therefore chosen as the grade I site.

W.iy.  ASHBURNHAM PARK, SUSSEX
706914,107016.    no ha  
Grade 2
Ashburnham is a former mediaeval deer park lying on Tunbridge Wells Sandstone and Wadhurst Clay, much of which is now arable. The woodland is of two types, (i) closed, high forest of oak, beech, birch and holly with planted sweet chestnut, and (2) very old, open oak-beech woodland. Both types are overmature and contain a rich assemblage of epiphytic lichens, second only to those in Bridge Park, including species characteristically on holly which are not so well developed east of the New Forest. The ground flora is limited, but includes Dryopteris aemula on sandstone. In its general character and many other features this site is similar to the ancient oak-beech- holly woods of the New Forest.

W.l8.   PARHAM  PARK, SUSSEX
TQ 0514.    280 ha  
Grade 2
Parham Park lies on Folkestone Sands at the foot of the South Downs. It is a mediaeval deer park which still contains deer. Parts of the woodland comprise open forest of huge, ancient oaks, probably the best remaining stand of overmature oaks in south-east England. North Park Wood is closed canopy high forest of beech and oak with an under -storey of holly. Despite the presence of sheltered valleys, the vascular flora is very limited, but the epiflora is richer than all other sites in the south-east except Bridge Park and Ashburnham Park. Among the 103 lichen species are Thelopsis rubella and Ophegrapha rufescens, known nowhere else east of the New Forest.

W.I9-   STAFFHURST WOOD, SURREY
TQ 4148.    50 ha
Grade 2
Staffhurst is a former common woodland lying on Weald Clay. Structurally it is very irregular coppice-with-standards in which cutting has been sporadic rather than systematic. The dominant species, pedunculate oak, beech and hornbeam, all occur as standards, but only the latter two have been coppiced. The shrub layer, in addition to the coppice species, contains holly and yew. Throughout the wood the ground flora is dominated by bramble, bracken and bluebell. Two subsidiary woodland types also occur. On the western side is a small area of open woodland of ancient oaks and yew, with a number of epiphytic lichens. On low-lying base-rich and partly flushed areas a mixed deciduous woodland with oak, hornbeam, ash, field maple and wild service occurs over a ground flora including Brachypodium sylva-ticum, Mercurialis perennis, Primula vulgaris and Sanicuia ewopaea, with the local sedge Carex strigosa. Marginal to the Staffhurst Common is Butcherswood Bank, a small area of hazel and hornbeam coppice with oak and birch as standards.
Taken as a whole, this wood is important as one of the few woods with a wide range of structural types and age classes, associated with a range of field layer communities.

W.20.   COLTERS  HANGER, SURREY
TQ 0448.    35 ha
Grade 2
This wood occupies a south-facing slope running down to the River Tillingbourne. Like Scords Wood it has a range of woodland types zoned on this slope to correspond with marked differences in soil nutrient status and water content. The highest zone over dry, sandy soil is oak woodland over a field layer dominated by bracken. The intermediate zone is mixed deciduous woodland of oak standards and hazel coppice with wych elm, ash and field maple over a basi-philous ground flora including Mercurialis perennis, Adoxa moschatellina and Campanula trachelium. On a springline below is alder woodland containing Chrysosplenium oppositi-folium, C. alternifolium, Equisetum telmateia and Cardamine amara.
This site is selected partly to represent eutrophic alder carr in the south-east, where it is particularly characteristic of springlines and the floors of gills and valleys. It is, however, preferred to other, more extensive alder carrs in the district (e.g. at Iping) because of the diversity of woodland types present, related to geological diversity in the escarpment at different levels.

W.2i. GLOVER'S WOOD, SURREY
TQ 2240.    95 ha
Grade 2
This is a substantial wood which lies on neutral and mildly acid clays across the incised valley of the Welland Gill. Two main woodland types may be distinguished. On the steep-sided gill there is hornbeam coppice with a limited proportion of ash, wych elm, maple, hazel and small-leaved lime, and a ground flora with Galeobdolon luteum, Endymion non-scriptus, Rubus-Section Sylvatici and patches of Mercurialis perennis. This woodland appears to be primary, and can be distinguished from the plateau woodland which has developed in the last century or more on abandoned fields. Much of the plateau woodland is of birch, hazel and pedunculate oak, but numerous other tree and shrub species are present, including hornbeam, which is now invading from the former hedgerows. The ground flora is mainly .Rates-     Section Sylvatici, honeysuckle and small patches of bracken.
This site is one of many in the Weald with a mixture of primary and secondary woodland, and relatively uniform coppices. It is selected partly because of its large size and also because it has small populations of lime and wych elm which are rare in the Weald.
S England
W.22.   BRADENHAM WOODS, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
SU8397. 180 ha Grade i The Bradenham Woods are examples of plateau and dip slope Chiltern woodlands, comprised of the three almost contiguous Naphill, Bradenham and Park Woods. As a group they are believed to be the best example of this type in the Chilterns.
Naphill Common is an oak (Quercus robur and Q. petraea)-beech woodland with some birch. Holly and cherry also reach the canopy though they are more frequently present in the understorey with elder, willow, whitebeam, rowan and yew. Bramble with wood sorrel, bracken and honeysuckle are abundant in the field layer and heather, unusual in this area, is present in the rides. Apparently in the 18905 parts of this wood were open, with gorse and juniper 4.5-6 m high.
Bradenham Wood is a well-grown dip slope beechwood north of Naphill Common with occasional sycamore, pedunculate oak and whitebeam. Both beech and oak are regenerating. One area has been clear-felled (1969) and young beech has been planted at 120 cm intervals. The ground flora is predominantly bramble-wood sorrel though much of the ground is litter covered. Many other calcifuge species are common, including heather, foxglove and Potentilla erecta. A dew pond at the summit and Sarsen pits add to the variety of habitat.
Park Wood lies north of Bradenham and is separated from it by an RAF housing estate. A small area of scrub grassland, managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Naturalists' Trust, is at the north-west corner. The beech woodland is richer in shrub and herbaceous species than Bradenham and regeneration of both beech and pedunculate oak is taking place. Other canopy species present are sycamore, ash and yew, The trees, at 160 years, are some of the oldest in the Chilterns. Shrub species include field maple, clematis, hazel, holly, privet, gean, willow, wayfaring tree and guelder rose. The field layer consists mainly of Galeobdolon luteum- Geranium robertianum-Rubus fruti-cosus—Mercurialis perennis-Sanicula europaea with sheets of ivy in places.

W.23-  WINDSOR FOREST, BERKSHIRE
su 9373.    710 ha  
Grade i
An area of 3150 ha of Windsor Forest is managed commercially by the Crown Estate. Of this, approximately 1200 ha consists mainly of oak woodland or mixed woodland in which the oak complement will be progressively enhanced by thinning. At High Standing Hill 18 ha of unmanaged woodland contain oak and overmature beech in the best surviving piece of the original Forest. This extends farther west on either side of a stream valley where remnants of old beech-oak woodland predominate with an epiphytic lichen flora of 58 species, including some old-forest relics. The ancient oaks of The Parks have a number of other lichen species. Although the ground flora tends to be poor on the Bagshot Sands such areas have proved outstanding for oak regeneration.
Windsor Forest probably ranks second only to the New Forest with regard to the richness of its insect fauna. It is particularly noted for many rare beetles associated with the old oaks and Donisthorpe (1939) published an impressive list. With more recent additions the total number of Coleoptera recorded from the forest must number close on 2000 species. Some very rare beetles are known in this country only from the Windsor and Sherwood Forests. With the destruction of most of the latter, species such as Teredus cylindricus and Cryptocephalus querceti may only be able to survive in Windsor. Although individual entomologists would probably nominate particular areas as outstanding from their particular specialist point of view, it is the size of the Forest as a whole, forming a nucleus within a much larger area of well-wooded countryside, that is of paramount importance. The maintenance of the high entomological importance of this area depends on sufficient oak and beech trees being allowed to become overmature, die, and rot in situ, as is the present management practice.

W.24-   WYCHWOOD  FOREST, OXFORDSHIRE
SP 3316.    261 ha  
Grade i
This large block of woodland was formerly a Royal Forest, disafforested as late as 1858. It is a complex area ecologically, this complexity arising first from the variety of soil types derived from the limestone, clays, marls, sands and siliceous drifts on which it lies, and also from differences in management. Much, if not all, of the woods were managed as coppice-with-standards but this has now largely disappeared and the old coppice boundaries have been obscured by more recent developments. Parts of the woodland are now oak-wood with a proportion of ash, but large areas are dominated by hawthorn (both species and hybrids). Many other types of scrub occur, including blackthorn, willow, field maple and elder, the existence of which appears to be a direct result of different forms of management. Numerous exotic species of both soft and hard woods have been introduced in recent decades. Floristically, Wychwood is fairly rich, the variety of ground flora communities reflecting not only the variety of soils and tree cover, but also the presence of glades. It is an important site for the lichens of old woodland. The small marl ponds within the forest are given grade 2 for their open water interest (OW.n). (See Appendix.)

W.25- WATERPERRY WOOD, OXFORDSHIRE
SP 6009, SP 6008.    135 ha
Grade i
Waterperry Wood is part of Bernwood Forest where extensive insect records go back for 100 years or more. Bernwood Forest is famous for its Lepidoptera, which include rarities such as the purple emperor and black hairstreak butterflies. Waterperry is a deciduous high forest lying on gently sloping land on an outcrop of Oxford Clay, and is dominated by pedunculate oak with ash, elm, aspen and birch. It is similar floristically to other clay woodlands such as Monks Wood, but it is unlikely that Monks Wood can duplicate its entomological value. Much of it has been planted with. conifers although a final crop of oak is planned.

W.26.  NEW FOREST, HAMPSHIRE
su 20.    12 600 ha
Grade i*
This former Royal Forest lies on Tertiary sands, gravels and clays dissected by wide, shallow valleys. Its soil types encompass a considerable range from relatively base-rich brown earths to extremely acidic podsols, and from these to waterlogged clays, alluvium and acidic peats in flushed and low-lying situations. Only part of this area is wooded though the woods are extensive: within the New Forest as a whole the tracts of grassland, heathland and valley mire grade into woodland, forming a tremendous variety of transitional habitats of scientific importance. The woodlands themselves are partly unenclosed, these being known as the Ancient and Ornamental Woodlands, and managed largely for amenity and nature conservation, and partly within enclosures: the remainder, the Statutory Inclosures, are mostly managed commercially, but include a number of scientifically important sites.
The woodlands are of different types. The most extensive are mature and overmature stands of beech, pedunculate oak, sessile oak, and any combination of these (though it is rare to find both oaks together), with an understorey of holly and rarely other species such as yew and hawthorn. Structurally these are diverse, with a range of age classes from saplings to ancient, overmature trees, many of which have been pollarded. Over some sites on base-rich clays, ash and less commonly field maple are important constituents, but hazel, formerly common, is now rare within the unenclosed woodlands. The ground flora in the woodlands on acid soils is very poor, often no more than patchy Leucobryum glaucum, but on the deeper soils bramble and bracken may be abundant, and on base-rich clays a fairly rich basiphilous flora may develop.
Less extensive woodland types fall into four broad categories. In valley bottoms with alkaline and neutral ground water, alder carrs have developed, some with a rich, marsh flora including Impatiens noli-tangere and the national rarity Lud-wigia palustris: many of these have been coppiced until recently, but there are some with a range of age classes, including very old trees. Scrub, dominated by holly, but also including yew, whitebeam and hawthorn, has developed on the better, reasonably well-drained soils, and is in many places developing into a mixed woodland with pedunculate oak dominant. Self-  sown pinewoods occur on the more heathy areas and into areas of wet heath. Birch woodlands, though not uncommon, are found mainly around the margins of the larger stands of mature woodland.
The vascular flora of the New Forest woodlands is, with few exceptions, composed of widely occurring plants. Species of biogeographical interest in addition to the two species mentioned above include ferns such as Thelypteris phegopteris and T. palustris which are local in southern England. It is the cryptogamic flora of the New Forest that is extraordinarily rich. The bryophyte flora includes some rare species, e.g. Zygodon forsteri. In recent surveys over 180 species of epiphytic lichens have been recorded by F. Rose, including numerous species characteristic of ancient woodland (e.g. Lobaria pulmonaria), oceanic species reaching their eastern limit in the New Forest (e.g. Sticta limbata), hyper-oceanic species formerly thought to be confined to west Scotland, Wales or western Ireland (e.g. Mycoporellum sparsellum), boreal species not otherwise found south of north Wales, e.g. Alectoria subcana and
Pertusaria velata which is now apparently extinct elsewhere in Britain.
The New Forest woodlands are of international importance. In the lowland areas of north-west Europe, no area equals them in extent of old woodlands, the number of overmature trees, the relative lack of human interference over a long period, the invertebrate fauna and the epiphytic lichen flora. The woods are also an important breeding area for birds, with the honey buzzard and hobby as notable rare species. The scientific importance of the New Forest lies mainly in the unenclosed woodlands. The enclosed woodlands, with the exception of two areas enclosed early and still retaining their ancient woodland, are not so rich floristically although they have some important features (e.g. Pulmonaria longifolia and Illecebrum verticillatum in some rides). The Ancient and Ornamental Woodlands, and to a lesser but still significant extent the Statutory Inclosures, support a rich invertebrate fauna which is in many respects unique in Britain. The groups particularly well represented are the Heteroptera, Homoptera, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera (Aculeata and Symphyta), Diptera and Coleoptera. The fauna of dead and dying wood is of especial importance. Although the greatest interest naturally attaches to the insects associated with deciduous trees, especially oak, the fauna of the conifers, particularly Scots pine, is by no means negligible. This is a famous area for Lepidoptera and contains the only British localities for the interesting insect Cicadetta Montana.
The scientific value of the unenclosed and ancient woods results in part from their great extent and variety and therefore the selection of areas of outstanding importance within the complex must be carried out with caution. Present knowledge indicates that the biologically richer sites within the complex include Vinney Ridge, Mark Ash, Eyeworth Wood, Rufus Stone, Hollands Wood, Whitley Wood, Denny Wood, Mallerd Wood, Linwood, Bramshaw Wood, and South Bentley Inclosure.
See also L.ao, OW.6, and P.3.

W.27-   SELBORNE  HANGER, HAMPSHIRE
su 7333. 95 ha 
Grade i
Selborne Hanger lies on the north-east-facing Chalk scarp overlooking the western limits of the Weald. It consists of a pure beechwood on a steep east-facing Chalk slope grading to Clay-with- Flints on a plateau with a more mixed woodland. The beech is of uniform age and 30 m tall, with a poorly developed shrub layer of hazel and yew. The most abundant plants are dog's mercury, ivy and bramble, with Sanicula europaea and Brachypodium sylvaticum locally abundant. The plateau is wooded common land with oak and ash, hazel and hawthorn over a field layer of Rubus fruticosus-Galeobdolon luteum. (Selborne Hanger is associated with Gilbert White.)
Selborne Hanger should be considered with Noar Hill (L-5o) and High Wood Hangers. These are not contiguous with Selborne but lie on the Chalk scarp about a kilometre to the south. Within this beechwood there is almost a complete range of aspects. The beech is uneven aged, but casts a dense shade which has allowed only local development of an understorey. Here yew is common, but many species are confined to the wood margin. Mercurialis perennis, Sanicula europaea, Galium odoratum and Hedera helix are the most abundant field layer species.
Noar Hill has the advantage that it is adjacent to floristi-cally rich chalk grassland, whereas Selborne has the additional plateau woodland feature.

W.28.   BURNHAM  BEECHES, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
su 9585.    450 ha  
Grade 2
This woodland occupies a low plateau intersected by shallow valleys, on coarse gravelly sands derived from Reading Beds and areas of superimposed plateau gravel. Structurally the woods are very diverse with ancient pollards, closed stands of younger but mature woodland, old coppice and scrub by open grassland. Beech is the most abundant species, with pedunculate oak, birch and holly also locally abundant. The field layer is sparse, with mainly calcifuge species such as Deschampsia flexuosa, Luzula pilosa, bracken and in open areas heather and other heathland species. Although it is so close to London, it retains a moderately rich epiphytic lichen flora, including Graphis elegans and Thelotrema lepadinum. The rare moss Zygodon forsteri is also recorded. This wood has similarities to the New Forest, but differs structurally and is inferior in extent, diversity and floristics and so is not an alternative site.

W.29-  ASTON ROWANT  WOODS,
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE/OXFORDSHIRE
su 7598.    275 ha  
Grade 2
Grove Wood is a scarp woodland dominated by tall vigorous beech. It appears to be even aged (123-169 years), and below gaps in the canopy there is a field layer of dog's mercury. Ash, sycamore and some beech regeneration occurs. Small groups of ash and one of common elm are present, Salix capraea is abundant in some wet sites and whitebeam is occasional in the canopy. Mature sycamore is absent but regeneration of this species is profuse in places. The shrub layer is not prominent and locally is lacking altogether. It consists of characteristic chalkland species such as elder, broom, buckthorn, hazel, box, field maple and whitebeam.
Upper Grove Wood lies on the plateau and, though pedunculate oak is the commonest species, the canopy contains frequent ash and beech with coppiced small-leaved lime, gean, hornbeam and hawthorn. Saplings of all these species, except oak, are present: Paris quadrifolia grows here.
Aston Wood forms a curving rectangular block facing north-west, to the south of and above the A4O trunk road. It is contiguous with the present NNR. Beech (90-150 years old) dominates the western two- thirds, but a number of other species share the canopy. Oak, whitebeam, sycamore and hornbeam are rare but ash and gean are locally abundant, filling in gaps left by selective felling. In addition to ash and gean, beech, sycamore and elder saplings are present, and some of the young beech is now 20-25 years old. Holly, hawthorn and elder form a sparse understorey
with rowan and hazel coppice stools in a depression at the eastern end. The eastern one-third of Aston Wood is dominated by ash, though beech occurs frequently and oak is abundant. Mixed with these are a few sycamore, gean, Norway spruce, elder, holly and large coppiced rowans. The boundary between the two parts of Aston Wood is marked by three large lime stools and a number of young trees.
On a narrow strip of sloping ground between the A4O and the old sunk way down the escarpment, lies a woodland of great ecological diversity. Beech and numerous pole ash form the canopy with some sycamore, and there is a thicket of blackthorn, a group of poorly grown larch, a group of common elm and poplar. There is some sapling horse chestnut, whitebeam and a stand of large field maple and shrubs include dogwood, wayfaring tree, hawthorn and elder.
Kingston Wood, one the largest woods in the area, extends down the scarp slope from the plateau. Beech dominates the plateau woodland but pedunculate oak is frequent and ash occasional. Regeneration of beech, ash, bird cherry and willow is taking place in the gaps. Sycamore invasion is at present being discouraged. In contrast, much of the scarp woodland is pure beech, forming large areas of unbroken canopy, therefore excluding both the shrub layer and regeneration. Crowell Hill Wood is virtually a pure beech-wood and on the whole not of outstanding interest though it contains a number of chalkland herbs, notably Ophrys insectifera and Epipactis purpurata.
Crowell Wood is a large block of woodland, most of which is situated on a north-east-facing dip slope. Beech is dominant throughout but occasional ash, oak and cherry share the canopy. Drastic thinning occurred during the First World War and probably resulted in the dense growth of bramble which covers the ground and may have prevented immediate regeneration.
High Wood is another dip slope woodland dominated by beech but, unlike Crowell, bramble is rare in the ground flora and the canopy is very dense. Ash is occasional and oak occurs on the upper areas. Elder forms a sparse understorey.

See also L.2i.
W-3O.   WINDSOR  HILL, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
su 8202.    85 ha
Grade 2
This is a mature beechwood on the south-facing Chalk scarp about 3 km from the Bradenham Woods. It is similar to parts of the Aston Rowant Woods, but includes the only Chiltern station of Cephalanthera rubra, a species of bio-geographical importance. Although it is clearly a separate site, it could be considered with Bradenham Woods: taken together these include most of the range of diversity in Chiltern beechwoods.

W-3I.   SAVERNAKE FOREST, WILTSHIRE
su 2366.    930 ha  
Grade 2
Savernake was one of the ancient Royal Forests, and is largely managed commercially. Most of the area lies on Clay-with-Flints. The woodland is open pedunculate oak, with numerous huge and ancient trees, which has recently been interplanted with oak. As in most ancient parkland woods the ground flora is limited, but the epiphytic lichen flora is outstandingly rich, over 100 species having been recorded recently by F. Rose. It includes species of a more continental distribution than are found in the more coastal New Forest, e.g. Caloplaca herbidella. Amongst the bryo-phytes are the local species Pterogonium gracile and Dicranum montanum.
Though this site is of less importance than the New Forest, the average age of its oaks is considerably greater and the epiphytes are less oceanic.

W-32.   CRANBORNE  CHASE, WILTSHIRE/DORSET
ST 9619. 680 ha  
Grade 2
Cranborne Chase is a large wooded tract lying over Chalk along the Wiltshire-Dorset county boundary. Within this the Rushmore Park Estate comprises a large wooded plateau area and slopes leading down to chalk grassland in the valley. The woodland includes what may be the largest remaining area of worked hazel coppice, with pedunculate oak and some ash and maple standards. On the plateau Clay-with- Flints soil there is high forest of pedunculate oak and some beech. In the valley, grading into open grassland, is closed woodland of ash and field maple with some pedunculate oak, beech, yew and holly and some coppiced hazel. The ground flora throughout is rich with abundant Mercurialisperennis, Sanicula europaea and Galium odoratum. The ash- maple woodland is notable for epiphytes, with abundant Viscum album and the local cryptogams Leptodon smithii, Lobaria pulmonaria and Sticta limbata.
East Anglia
W-33-   HINTLESHAM WOODS, SUFFOLK
(a) Hintlesham and Ramsey Woods TM 0743. 80 ha
(b) Wolves Wood  TM 0544.  40 ha
Grade 1
These distinct woodlands are separated by less than 0.5 km of arable land and as they are complementary they have been considered as a single aggregate site. The larger wood is a complex of two ancient woods, Hintlesham and Ramsey, and secondary woodland of various dates surrounding and linking the two ancient nuclei. Wolves Wood is likewise mainly ancient woodland with some secondary extensions, which probably include the small Keeble's Grove, continuous with Wolves Wood.
These woods lie on boulder clay of a lighter and less chalky type than is found in the east Midlands and western parts of East Anglia. The clay soil is mainly neutral or mildly acidic with only small areas of a calcareous nature. Much of the woodland is the oak-hazel- birch combination with much ash on the wetter sites, but the heavier, neutral or slightly calcareous soils have relatively little birch and some maple. Other calcifuge coppice types occur, notably lime coppice in Hintlesham Wood and hornbeam coppice mainly in Wolves Wood. Part of Wolves Wood occupies a basin situation in which the water table is high and aspen and willows are abundant in the coppice. In addition there is a series of secondary elm woodland in the Hintlesham part, and a series of elm coppice types in the ancient parts of Wolves Wood, some of which have apparently invaded other coppice types whilst others are evidently non-invasive and of local origin. There is a range of ground flora communities corresponding with the wide range of edaphic conditions, which includes a number of local woodland species such as Paris quadrifolia and Helleborus viridis.
These woods have an unusually complex system of earthworks and apparently have a good historical record. Only Ramsey is a complete ancient wood, but a substantial portion of the other ancient woods have survived. All the existing woodland is semi-natural. Many primary woods or parts thereof survive in east Suffolk, and a proportion of them have been examined in detail recently, but none has been found which surpasses these two as examples of the coppice types on the lighter glacial deposits.

W-34- STAVERTON PARK, SUFFOLK
TM 3550.    85 ha.        
Grade i
This site lies on freely drained, glacial sands wholly within the boundary of a former mediaeval park. Documentary evidence suggests that this is one of the few sites on the Suffolk Sandlings which contains primary woodland. This is supported by the absence of a podsol profile in an area where such soils are widespread following woodland clearance, and by the presence'of a rich assemblage of corticolous and lignicolous lichens.
The existing woods are in two parts. The Park is occupied by open woodland of ancient pollarded oaks (Quercus robur) and holly, with local dominance of mature birch (both species) over a poor ground flora dominated by bracken and Holcus mottis. The Thicks has developed from this in the last 170 years, by an upsurge of holly, which now forms an almost closed canopy with the oak, beneath which ground flora is absent. Among these are some huge hollies, reaching over 21 m in height and over 3 m in girth. Indeed, the site is remarkable for the profusion of individuals of oak, holly birch, rowan and hawthorn sharing the extreme forms adopted by these species after long and vigorous growth. The only locally rare vascular plant is Corydalis claviculata, but the epiphytic lichen flora includes a number of rare and Atlantic species, such as Haematomma elatinum, Lecanora cinnabarina, Thelotrema lepadinum, Phaeographis ramificans, Stenocybe septata, Phlyctis agelaea and Opegrapha lyncea.
In addition to the floristic and historical interest, Staver-ton Park and its immediate environment have a number of relatively rare birds, such as sparrowhawk and stone curlew. The invertebrate fauna is unknown in detail but on casual inspection appears to be rich.

W-35.   FELSHAMHALL AND  MONKS  PARK  WOODS, SUFFOLK
TL9357- 7° ha  
Grade i* Thes e two contiguous woodlands are ancient primary woodland which has been managed as coppice and coppice-with- standards for many centuries, but unlike most other woods of similar origins in East Anglia, these have been coppiced on a commercial scale up to the present time and have thus suffered less floristic deterioration than those sites in which the coppice cycle has been discontinued. Felshamhall is almost certainly the demesne wood of Bury St Edmunds Abbey and Monks Park is likewise a park given to the Abbey in the early twelfth century.
Four main types of woodland have been distinguished: (i) the typical oak-ash-hazel-maple-type of the boulder clay woods; (2) a wet variant of this, with alder and Salix alba (this feature is very unusual); (3) an oak-birch woodland where the boulder clay gives way to sand and sandy gravel; and (4) secondary woodland, occupying the sites of former clearings which were the launds of the old mediaeval park. Associated with these types are distinctive ground flora communities and important transition types, including the Primula elatior- Filipendula ulmaria-Mercurialis perennis association widespread in these woods. In this site bluebell is unusually rare. Bracken and Sarothamnm scoparius occur on the sand, and a totally distinctive assemblage with Neottia nidus-avis marks the secondary woodland. A total of over 280 species of vascular plants has so far been recorded, including all the tree species of the primaeval mixed oak forest.
Historical evidence of woodland continuity is good. Coppicing was practised at least as early as the thirteenth century. As in many boulder clay woods, the oak standards were felled some time ago and not replaced, but unusually a good natural crop of young oaks is developing to restore the oak canopy.
The fauna is apparently unknown, though among the birds there is an obvious abundance of woodland warblers, but on botanical and historical grounds alone this site is regarded as the most important of the ancient boulder clay woods of East Anglia. Its vascular flora is already known to be richer than almost every other wood in eastern England. The record of its existence and management is unusually detailed as far back as the twelfth century. As such it is a site of both botanical and archaeological importance.

W.36.   CAVENHAM-TUDDENHAM WOODS, SUFFOLK
TL 7573.     80 ha  
Grade i
Woodland forms an important component of the interesting habitat complex of this Breckland site, and shows a range of types serai to dry heath and to rich-fen. The dry parts of both heaths have a good deal of birchwood (of both birch species), varying considerably in stature and stocking density of the trees. There are dense thickets and pole stands with little but litter beneath, but more open birch growths have either bracken or heather with well-developed carpets of the common acidophilous heath and woodland mosses. On Tuddenham Heath, dense swards of Carex arenaria occur within the birchwoods in places. There are scattered trees of Scots pine and oak, but though oak seedlings are numerous on the heaths, few survive, perhaps as a result of roe deer browsing or unfavourable soil conditions. Where the ground becomes damper, there is a change
beneath the birch to a field layer with Deschampsia cespitosa, Molinia caerulea, Agrostis stolonifera and abundant Lonicera periclymenum. There are ferns such as Dryopteris austriaca, D. spinulosa, D. filix-mas and Athyrium filix-femina, and mosses here include Eurhynchium praelongum, Mnium hornum, M. undulatum and Aulacomnium androgynum. In still wetter places within the birchwoods, there are transitions to fen communities with Phragmites communis, Fili-pendula ulmaria, Lycopus europaeus, Mentha aquatica, Eupatorium cannabinum, Iris pseudacorus, Urtica dioica, Equisetum palustre and Carex acutiformis. Ash plantation probably has less ash than formerly, as there are some large dead trees of this species, but ash and alder are mixed with birch in the damper part of this wood, which also has an abundance of Thelypteris palustris. Towards the River Lark (OW.ig), the birchwoods give way to dense areas of willow carr, mainly of Salix cinerea, which grade into open fen communities.

W-37. SOTTERLEY PARK, SUFFOLK
TM 4685.    205 ha  
Grade i
This is one of the finest examples of the deer park habitat remaining in East Anglia. The park is at least of early mediaeval origin and hence may have been formed by the enclosure of more or less primary forest. The records indicate that it was even more wooded in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries than it is today but it still contains numbers of ancient oaks and areas of old woodland.
Four main habitat types are recognised in the park:
(i) The ornamental landscaped garden area around the gardens of the Hall itself with both woodland and open parkland areas containing native trees and some exotics such as walnut.
(ii) The open parkland north-west of the Hall with avenues and groups of elms and ash trees, many of which are of great age, and also some sycamore.
(iii) The areas of very old oak woodland, or oak in open canopy in which are also old ash trees.
(iv) Areas of enclosed woodland largely oak but with beech, chestnut, hazel and other trees. Of these four habitats the first three are most important. Many of the oaks are of huge size and great age and the epiflora is very rich. The fourth type appears less rich but needs further study.
The epiphyte flora of 89 species of lichens and 14 bryo-phytes is the richest known in East Anglia today for an area of comparable size. The most notable lichens are Anaptychia ciliaris, Calicium dbietinum, Chaenotheca brunneola, Norman-dia pulchella, Opegrapha sonedufera, and Ramalinafraxinea. Other species found in abundance here include Opegrapha lyncea, Rinodina roborus and Hechancha premnea.

W-38.   BURE MARSHES, NORFOLK
TG 3316.    245 ha  
Grade i
Alder occurs extensively sometimes in association with ash, pedunculate oak and birch, and the shrubs include buckthorn, alder buckthorn, guelder rose and grey sallow.
Species of Ribes (R. nigrum, R. silvestre and R. wva-crispa) occur and are very characteristic of this woodland type as are the climbers Calystegia sepium, Humulus lupulus and Solanum dulcamara. The field layer contains Carex panicu-lata, Iris pseudacorus, Urtica dioica and Thelypteris palustris. The alder woodland here is probably the best example of its type in Britain, showing as it does a complete range of successional stages from open marsh, together with floristic richness. The site has also been given grade i* status as a peatland (P.y).

W-39-   SWANTON NOVERS  WOODS, NORFOLK
TG 0131.    65 ha
Grade i*
This wood straddles a geological boundary between glacial sands and gravels to the north and calcareous boulder clay at the southern end. Correlated with this is the boundary between two contrasting woodland types. On the acid sands and gravels, coppice-with- standards with both species of oak in intimate mixture forms a closed canopy over Pteri-dium aquilinum, Lonicera periclymenum, Convallaria majalis and Calluna vulgaris with Teucrium scorodonia along the rides. Mixed deciduous woodland grows over the mildly acid and neutral boulder clay: this is coppice-with-standards with both oak species as standards over mixed coppice of small-leaved lime, ash, maple and willow. The ground flora here comprises Filipendula ulmaria, Geum rivale, Ranunculus repens on the damp areas, and Mer- curialis perennts, Endymion non-scriptus on the drier transition to the sands. In a very wet site on the western margin a third woodland type with oak, alder and bird-cherry exists. Floristically the site is exceptionally rich with at least 25 native tree and shrub species, and a number of rare and local herbs, notably Maianthemum bifolium in what is almost certainly a native location. Many bryophytes and epiphytic lichens have been recorded, but most of the species are common and widespread.
Swanton Novers is undoubtedly an important site, containing three woodland types, each of which on its own would have been enough to justify selection. Furthermore, the mixed coppice is still actively worked, but a small block has been felled and replanted with conifers. It is almost certainly a primary woodland site and as such constitutes an important contrast with the more widespread type of oak-ash-maple-hazel primary woodland.

W-4O.   HAYLEY WOOD, CAMBRIDGESHIRE
TL 2953.    50 ha
Grade i
Hayley Wood stands on the Chalky Boulder Clay plateau on soil which is heavy and waterlogged or flooded for much of the year. Structurally it is coppice-with-standards, with both large coppice of field maple and ash and small coppice of hazel and hawthorn below a thin canopy of pedunculate oak standards. Small areas have been invaded by Ulmus carpinifolia over the last 200 years. The ground vegetation forms concentric zones from the wet middle and north, dominated by oxlip and Filipendula ulmaria, to the drier eastern, southern and western fringes dominated by dog's mercury. The intermediate zones have the richest plant communities, with tracts of bluebell and Galeobdolon luteum. The coppice plots in the wetter area have luxuriant vegetation resembling fen communities, with Cirsium palustre, Ranunculus flammula and Galium palustre. A number of rare and local species occur, including Melam-pyrum cristatum, Serratula tinctoria, Sedum telephium, Ophioglossum vulgatum and Centaurium pulchellum. About 250 species of vascular plant have been recorded, including 29 native tree and shrub species.
Hayley is one of the largest of the boulder clay woods. It has perhaps the largest single population of oxlip, and this in a site lacking primrose. It has a rich bryophyte flora for eastern England, notable for the inclusion of Nowellia curvifolia. It is almost wholly an ancient wood, with a recorded history of over 700 years, embodying the typical features of other ancient coppice woods in the vicinity. Furthermore, it has been used for research and teaching for many years. It is one of a number of boulder clay coppice woods selected, which cover a range of soil types from very light (Swanton Novers Woods), light (Hintlesham Woods) to heavy (Hayley Wood) and transitional to fen carr (Fel-shamhall and Monks Park Woods, where there is a range of conditions, including light soils).

W-4I.   HOLME FEN, HUNTINGDONSHIRE
TL 2189.    260 ha  
Grade i
The NNR of Holme Fen lies partly on the site of the former Whittlesey Mere. After drainage, part of the area was used for agriculture and later abandoned. Since then, extensive birchwoods (both species) have developed, which now constitute the finest development of this type of woodland in lowland Britain. Other tree species are present (oak, alder, willow and pine) in some areas, but in general the birch woodland is remarkably pure. Another feature, which is particularly valuable for experimental research, is the fact that stands of different ages are present, covering almost the entire life span of birch.
The area is additionally interesting as a relict location of raised mire species, including Sphagnum sp. and Calluna vulgaris. A recent survey has shown that Holme Fen is exceptionally rich in fungus species, including Naucoria langei which has been added to the British list.
Excavations for a new pond to supplement the existing duck decoy are well advanced. When completed this will be an important feature of the reserve and of the area generally.

W-42.   MONKS  WOOD, HUNTINGDONSHIRE
TL 2080.    157 ha  
Grade i
Centred on the Oxford Clay dip slope on the edge of the Fens, Monks Wood embodies the typical features of ancient woodlands of the Huntingdon area. It is predominantly an ash-pedunculate oak wood with local dominance of elm. It has been managed as coppice-with- standards, but in recent decades the system fell into neglect and the big timber was largely extracted and not replaced. A wide range of tree and shrub species occurs, including maple, aspen, wild service, birch (both species), hawthorn (both species and hybrids), many willows, hazel, guelder rose, wayfaring tree, spindle, privet, blackthorn and dogwood. The ground flora is extremely rich, ranging from dog's mercury on the well-drained sites to Filipendula ulmaria on the waterlogged areas, and diversified by the presence of rides, streams, ponds, overgrown old fields and small glades. Oxlip is absent although primrose is common: Monks Wood is evidently just outside the tolerance of oxlip. Recently, the management has partially restored the coppicing cycle, and with it the herb richness associated with the years following cutting. In addition to its floristic richness, Monks Wood has long been famous entomologically. Among the species for which it is noted is the black hairstreak Strymonidia pruni, which was first collected here in Britain, but the purple emperor has not been seen for some years. In certain years there is a large breeding population of woodcock, and the wood is still a good locality for the nightingale.

W-43-   BEDFORD  PURLIEUS  GROUP, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, HUNTINGDON  AND PETERBOROUGH
Grade i
(a) Bedford Purlieus  TL 0499.    185 ha
(b) Wittering Coppice TF 0200.    15 ha.
(c) Easton Hornstocks TF oioo.    50 ha
(d) Collyweston Great Wood TFOOOO.    145 ha
The royal forest of Rockingham once comprised an extensive tract of semi-natural coppices, some of which were in large, continuous woods many thousands of hectares in extent. These have now been fragmented by clearance and opencast mining, and most of the surviving woods have been converted to plantations. Of the remaining stands of semi- natural woodland, only the former Purlieu Woods at the north-eastern extremity of the forest are of outstanding importance. These formed one continuous woodland until the mid nineteenth century when the clearance of the western half of Thornhaw Woods cut the woods into two main blocks, Bedford Purlieus to the east and Easton Hornstocks to the west.
These woods lie mainly on Jurassic limestone covered in places by clay drift with patches of sand. Thus, although the soils tend to be calcareous and poorly drained, there are appreciable areas of freely drained soils of a variety of texture, and some tracts of acidic, sandy soils. The coppice in consequence includes a wide range of types including lime coppice on soils which are appreciably more calcareous than most of its eastern locations, ash, hazel, wych elm, maple coppice on calcareous clays, birch and poplar groves, sessile oak-hazel coppice on acidic sands, valley Ulmus procera woodland and extensive areas of sycamore invasion.
Bedford Purlieus is clearly the most important part of the group. Structurally it is very limited, having been clear-felled in recent decades and partly replanted. Its outstanding feature is its assemblage of herbaceous species (over 450 species of vascular plants have been recorded), which include Euphorbia lathyrus, a species of national rarity, Melica nutans at the southern edge of its range, and E. amygdaloides towards its northern limit. Within this wood both calcicolous and calcifuge species occur together with those found more commonly in northern and western woodlands, including Galium odoratum, Melampyrum pratense, Platanthera chlorantha, Allium ursinum, Conval-laria majalis, Aquilegia vulgaris, Ophrys insectifera, Blechnum spicant, Paris quadrifolia, Luzulasylvatica, Atropa belladonna and Serratula tinctoria. On the grounds of this floristic richness, Bedford Purlieus has been described as one of the most important woods in Britain.
The fauna is also rich, and although it is still relatively unknown, it is regarded as the richest locality in this part of the east Midlands. Among the butterflies recorded are the white admiral, pearl-   bordered fritillary, the silver washed fritillary, the dark green fritillary, high brown fritillary, chequered skipper, brown hairstreak, and white-letter hairstreak. Numerous local moths have been recorded here. It is an isolated east Midland locality for both the palmate newt and the adder.
Coppicing has now stopped entirely in the group. Part of Collyweston Great Wood has become a plantation whilst the centre was cleared for an RAF establishment. A large quarry occupies the centre of Easton Hornstocks. Part of Wittering Coppice has been converted to a poplar plantation. Substantial areas of Bedford Purlieus have been replanted with oak, beech and a variety of conifers, and other sections have been destroyed by quarrying and military needs in wartime. Despite all this, substantial areas of semi-natural woodland exist in all four component woods of the site.

W-44-  CASTOR  HANGLANDS, HUNTINGDON AND PETERBOROUGH
TF noi.    45 ha 
Grade i
The woodlands of Castor Hanglands NNR straddle a zone of marked geological variety in Jurassic rocks, ranging in north-south sequence from limestone to clay, cornbrash, sand and then clay again. The soils reflect this sequence with a range from calcareous loams to calcareous and neutral gleys. Most of the woodland was formerly coppice-with-standards, most of which has been removed, leaving a mixed ash-pedunculate oak woodland, with hazel, privet, dogwood and spindle. On wetter soils, large ash stools occur with hazel, willow and aspen. Part of Moore Wood, also in the reserve, is high forest pedunculate oak. Corresponding with the soil variation, a wide range of field layer types occur; Rubus fruticosus is locally dominant, but Mercurialis perennis-Endymion non-scriptus is the most widespread type, with Primula vulgaris, Anemone nemorosa, Lonicera periclymenum and Euphorbia amygdaloides. Paris quadrifolia, Oxalis acetosella and Allium ursinum occur on the wetter soils. The rides and clearings are kept open and this encourages the rich invertebrate fauna.
The woodlands are a good example of oak-ash woodland, but their most important feature is that they constitute part of a complex of habitats on a range of soil types in a relatively small area.
See also L.8i. 

W-45(i).  BARDNEY FOREST (LINCOLNSHIRE LIMEWOODS), LINCOLNSHIRE 
Grade I
(a) Hatton Wood TF 1674.    35 ha
The eastern (non-conifer) part is high forest of lime and oak of some 80-90 years' growth over a sparse shrub layer of hazel. The ground flora includes Convallaria majalis, Luzula sylvatica and Campanula latifolia. The eastern end is secondary oak-ash woodland, as is the northern strip beside the stream. Adjacent to the high forest is an overgrown pond with Salix fragilis and S. viminalis. A small part of the main wood is well-developed oak standards over hazel coppice.
Hatton Wood lies on heavy clay, acid or neutral at the surface, with variable quantities of sandy drift overlying this in patches. Floristically, the wood is limited, but is selected as the limewood which most closely corresponds with a high forest structure.
(b) Newball and Hardy Gang Woods TF 0876, TF 0974.    88 ha
Newball and Hardy Gang Woods were almost continuous until the nineteenth century when the intervening Cold-stead Wood was cleared. They both lie on clay with a covering of sand which varies from over 50 cm in depth to negligible. On the clay soils, most of which are gleyed, there are extensive tracts of lime coppice, whilst on the low-   lying clays aspen, hazel and ash are abundant with no lime. On the deep sands, birch scrub with bracken and Holcus mollis is prevalent. Marginal to this, sessile oak and hazel dominate with the birches. The soils of both woods are almost entirely strongly to mildly acid, with small areas of heavy neutral soils notable for the increase in abundance of calci-coles such as field maple and dog's mercury. In Newball Wood there is a small patch of plateau alder coppice on locally waterlogged sand, which constitutes an important ecological line with the large fen-edge coppices near Woodhall Spa and Tumby. Both woods appear to have been simple coppice with only few oak standards, but the northern part of Newball has a number of oak standards. In Hardy Gang there is a small area where pedunculate oak is one of the main coppice species, with some large, ancient stools. Records to date indicate that Newball Wood alone is floristically the richest of the Lincolnshire limewoods, with Hardy Gang only slightly less rich: their flora includes many of the local woodland species. Furthermore, Newball is, on present evidence, the richest limewood entomo-logically.
Both sites have been partly felled and replanted with
conifers. The southern part of Newball was the scene of a Forestry Commission trial, and the small control plots of untouched coppice are important remnants which indicate the nature of the coppice over much of the land now under new plantations.
(c) Stain-field and Scotgrove Woods TF 1273, TF I37°- 87 ha 
Unlike other woodlands in central Lincolnshire, the Stain-field Woods occupy a shallow basin situation. The soils vary from sand with a high water table to strongly gleyed and well-drained acid and neutral clays. Much of the woodland is lime coppice but with a variety of other species, notably the birches. The wide range of ground flora communities extends to the Lonicera periclymenum, Convallaria majalis, Rubus- Section Suberecti community on strongly acidic, organic sand, and to Sphagnum where similar soils have the water table permanently at or near the surface.
Within a short distance of Stainfield Woods, but separated from it by arable farmland, is Scotgrove Wood. This is a good example of lime- oak coppice derived from oak over lime coppice-with-standards, developed mainly on acid, poorly drained clays, which have an appreciable sand fraction in surface horizons at the southern end. The marginal diversity characteristic of coppice woods shows well at Scotgrove, where wild service and wych elm are confined to the woodland edge. A drainage line runs through the southern area, along which mixed coppice of ash, maple, hazel occurs over a fen-like ground flora including Carex acutiformis. The northern boundary is marked by a massive dyke and bank, on which calcareous clay subsoil is exposed, and a rich flora has developed, including calcareous grassland, and mixed scrub and coppice.
Both woods have been partly felled and replanted with conifers. The most important areas for conservation are the western part of Scotgrove and the sections of Stainfield known as Great South and Demerose Woods. Of these the Stainfield part is more important for its unusual edaphic conditions.
(d) Potterhanworth Wood  ; TF 0767.    35 ha
The western half has been converted to conifers, but the eastern half remains as coppice derived from coppice-with-standards, on a site which is known to have been continuously wooded. The relatively strong relief gives rise to both receiving sites and freely drained slopes. Much of the wood lies on clay but a substantial tract lies on sandy loam above the clay. Most soils are neutral, but the textural and drainage variety is sufficient to enable a wide range of ground flora communities to develop. Most of the coppice consists of almost pure small-leaved lime but, towards the south, lime is rare, ash, oak and birch being the most abundant. The particular features of Potterhanworth are repeated to some extent in other Lincolnshire limewoods, but in the presence of Frangula alnus, Prunus avium and Campanula trachelium it has affinities with woods further south and west. The Roman-built Car Dyke runs along its eastern margin.

W-45(ii).  BARDNEY FOREST (LINCOLNSHIRE LIME-WOODS), LINCOLNSHIRE  
Grade 2
(a) Great West-Cocklode-Spring Woods TF 1076.    37 ha
Four contiguous woods occupy a relatively low-lying area along parish boundaries. Of these Little West, and substantial parts of Cocklode and Great West, have been felled and replanted with conifers. The remaining areas under lime woodland include one of the best high forest stands (Great West); a herb-rich coppice (Spring) in which Carex strigosa, Ophioglossum vulgatum and Myosotis sylvatica occur; and an area of uniform coppice of high potential research value (Cocklode), all on mainly neutral clay and sandy clay soils. In Cocklode, outlying parts of the earthworks of Bullington Priory extend into the wood and offer an opportunity to study the development of the characteristic woodland. Recently some two-thirds of Spring Wood was cleared for arable cultivation.
(b) Stainton-Fulnetby Woods' TF 0778.   68 ha
Stainton, Fulnetby and Rand Woods form contiguous stands, of which Rand has been completely felled and replanted with conifers. Stainton is typical high forest lime woodland in which lime is a minority element through part of the wood. Fulnetby is the best remaining stand of coppice-with-standards oak over lime, with spindle locally common, but is floristically impoverished in comparison with most other woods.
(c) Wickenby Wood TF 0882.   45 ha
Uniformly wet throughout, this coppice has a variety of woodland types, being partly dominated by lime, with areas of ash, maple and hazel and local dominance of willow. Wickenby is one of the richer woods floristically, and is markedly the most alkaline of all the Lincolnshire lime-woods. As such there is a case for including it as a grade I site, but most of its features can be found elsewhere in grade i sites, even if they are less well-developed than at Wickenby.

W-46. BENACRE PARK, SUFFOLK
TM 5084.    135 ha  
Grade 2
Benacre Park contains similar areas of ancient oak with a rich epiphytic flora as described for Sotterley Park, and must be considered as an alternative to it though the two areas are close together and complement each other. It too contains species of lichen that are now extremely rare elsewhere in East Anglia.

W-47.  FOXLEY WOOD, NORFOLK
TG 0524.   65 ha 
Grade 2
Three broad woodland types occur in Foxley Wood. The most widespread, on wet clay soils, is mixed deciduous in which pedunculate oak and hazel are the most abundant, but ash, field maple and birch are common and a number of other tree and shrub species are present. The ground flora here is Filipendula ulmaria- Geum rivale grading to Mercurialis perennis- Endymion non-scriptus and Convallaria majalis on the drier areas. The 'sacred ground' near the wood's centre is sandy, with oak high forest over a discontinuous holly understorey and a ground flora dominated by bracken and Holms lanatus. Thirdly, a flushed tract is occupied by alder coppice, while alder also occurs as a constituent of coppice on the lighter soils. Floristically, Foxley is one of the richest woods in East Anglia: though no rare species are recorded, many are very local, notably Myosotis sylvatica, Sedum telephium, Sorbus torminalis, Primus padus and Carex strigosa.
Though Foxley has been partly replanted with conifers, and the remainder has been cleared of all worthwhile timber, the site is nevertheless important. As an ancient coppice site, it is unusual in possessing alder, and in some respects grades into fen woodland (Carex lepidocarpa and Prunuspadus are present). Furthermore, this ranges through to dry, acidophilous woodland. It is almost as important as Swanton Novers, and in many respects is similar and is graded as an alternative site.

W-48.  WAYLAND  WOOD, NORFOLK
TL 9399.    35 ha
Grade 2
Lying on wet, calcareous boulder clay, this is a coppice-with- standards woodland. Pedunculate oak is the main standard which with a few ash and birch forms a fairly open canopy. The coppice layer contains a limited amount of ash and field maple, but is mainly a hazel-bird-cherry mixture with dogwood, willow and groups of holly. At a point on the margin, elm has encroached into the wood. The soil is wet throughout, and the ground flora is mainly of the Filipendula ulmaria type with no Mercurialis perennis. Said to be rich floristically, this is the only site for Gagea lutea in Norfolk.
This is a good example of a coppice-with-standards woodland still managed as such. It is selected for this and the unusual combination of coppice species otherwise unknown in lowland England.

W-49-   SEXTON WOOD, NORFOLK
TM 2991.   40 ha 
Grade 2
Sexton Wood lies mostly on neutral clay soils and comprises an almost pure stand of hornbeam coppice with oak standards. Towards the southern end the soil is almost calcareous, and here maple is relatively abundant. Centrally there is a small, wet basin occupied by ash and willow and a poor-fen flora. At the north end where the soils are appreciably more sandy there is much more birch, and the oak is dense enough to form high forest above hornbeam shrub layer.
Sexton Wood is selected as a representative of hornbeam coppice near its geographical limit which is still cut sporadically. Its value for conservation is unfortunately much diminished by the state of the rides, which are all concrete tracks. Brooke Wood, Norfolk, was an excellent example, but it has been almost completely replanted with conifers, and Sexton Wood may be the best remaining example. However, the woods of south-east Norfolk are insufficiently known and other, better examples may be found.

W-5O. FELBRIGG WOODS, NORFOLK
TG 1940.    155 ha  
Grade 2
Felbrigg Great Wood and Felbrigg Park lie on the gravels of the Cromer End Moraine. The Great Wood is ancient beech forest, closed over large areas, but opened locally to admit birch regeneration. Mixed with beech are some oak and holly and these, together with the pollarded beech, add to the similarities between this site and some of the Wealden and New Forest woods. The ground flora is largely composed of bryophytes, with Dicranum scoparium, Plagiothecium undulatum, Polytrichum formosum and Leucobryum glaucum abundant. There is a rich epiphytic flora, including Iso-thecium myosuroides and Parmelia perlata, both rare in Norfolk.
Felbrigg Park is ancient, open oak woodland with some old sweet chestnut and sycamore. The pasture remains un-ploughed. The epiphytic lichen flora is one of the richest in Norfolk, with many old-forest species.
The site is selected primarily as a representative of beech-woods at the limit of their supposed native range. It is also worthy of selection as an overmature woodland with an epiflora rich by the standards of eastern England.

W-5i. KING'S AND BAKER'S WOODS, BEDFORDSHIRE
SP 9229.  230 ha  
Grade 2
King's Wood, together with Baker's Wood, is the largest area of woodland in Bedfordshire. It lies on boulder clay passing to Lower Greensand. The sandy soils are covered by birch woodland with some sessile oak and Scots pine over bracken and in open areas heather. The clays on the other hand have pedunculate oak-ash woodlands in which hornbeam is co-dominant over large areas, and some stands of small-leaved lime. Here the ground flora is predominantly of Primula vulgaris, Euphorbia amygdaloides, Mercurialis perennis, Galeobdolon luteum and Lonicera peridymenum. The woods have a number of rare and local plant species, including Convallaria majalts, Osmunda regalis, Luzula sylvatica and Vicia sylvatica.
Although the site has been partly damaged by development and replanted with conifers, it remains a rich and diverse wood, and the damage is not irreversible. Its flora and fauna are relatively well known, and include national and regional rarities in the fungi and Hemiptera.

W-52.   HALES  WOOD, ESSEX
TL 5740.    8 ha          
Grade 2
In east Cambridge, west Suffolk and north Essex there is a series of coppice-with-standards woodlands over an area dominated by Chalky Boulder Clay. Hales Wood is a good example of such a woodland. The canopy is dominated by pedunculate oak together with ash, field maple, elm and hornbeam, the last forming an interesting link with the concentrations of this species in the Home counties. There is a wide range of shrub species present including hazel, hawthorn, dogwood, blackthorn, rose, wayfaring tree and guelder rose.
The most characteristic feature of the ground flora is an abundance of the true oxlip. Other species dominant in the field layer include Mercurialis perennis, Fragaria vesca, Sanicula europaea, Viola sp. and, in the wetter patches, Filipendula ulmaria. The dewberry is common in some parts of the wood whilst occasional small patches of Paris quadri-folia may be found.

W.53-   CANFIELD  HART  WOOD, ESSEX
TL 5619.    30 ha
Grade 2
Canfield Hart Wood lies close to Hatfield Forest on calcareous till. It is transitional in character between the oak-ash coppice-with- standards type widespread in eastern England, and the derived type dominated by elm. The ground flora has abundant oxlip and where the canopy is broken patches of grass occur. Many rare and local species are present, including Iris foetidissima, and Campanula glomerata, Anacamptis pyramidalis, Ophrys apifera, more characteristic of the grassland.
The wood is selected mainly as the southernmost population of oxlip. This is a species on which much research has been carried out and whose range-determining factors are not understood. This, coupled with the wood's diversity, justifies inclusion as a grade 2.

W-54-  HATFIELD  FOREST, ESSEX
TL 5320.    360 ha  
Grade 2
This former Royal Forest lies mainly on Chalky Boulder Clay with patches of gravel exposed near low-lying ground. Large oak, hornbeam and horse chestnut occur in the open parkland, but most of the woodland is coppice-with-standards from which many of the standards have been felled. Ash, hazel and field maple are now the most abundant species, with hornbeam and field maple standards. Within the Forest as a whole there are also ponds and streams. A wide variety of plants occur in the area, with Epipactis purpurata and Paris quadrifolia among the local species present.
The site is included as an example of eastern coppices with a composition somewhat intermediate between the hornbeam and the ash- hazei-maple coppices. It has the additional advantage that a variety of habitats occur in a single location.

W_55.  EPPING FOREST, ESSEX
TQ 4298.    1150 ha        
Grade 2
Epping Forest stands on London Clay overlain in places by gravel and sands, giving rise to a mosaic of neutral and acid soils with locally impeded drainage. Most of the woodland is ancient groves of pollarded beech, some of coppice origin, with some pedunculate oak, silver birch and holly. Hornbeam forms a separate woodland type with some pedunculate oak, mainly on the lower-lying clays. Throughout the Forest, birch and holly invade where there are gaps in the canopy. Although the woodland is mostly overmature, all the dominant species are regenerating sporadically, mainly on the margins of mature woodland. The ground flora is poor, often absent completely below beech and hornbeam, but along watercourses and beside ponds a marsh flora has developed. Epiphytes are much reduced by air pollution and shade.
This site represents both beech and pedunculate oak-hornbeam woodland but in view of pollution and public pressure the site is not considered to merit grade i status.

W-56.   OVERHALL  GROVE, CAMBRIDGESHIRE
TL 3363.    20 ha
Grade 2
This site lies on moderately steep slopes. The soil throughout is heavy clay, with calcareous boulder clay at high levels and neutral or mildly acidic Kimmeridge Clay at low levels. Ulmus carpinifolia is dominant throughout with some pedunculate oak, ash, field maple and elder. It is probable that the wood originally had a fairly conventional coppice-with-standards structure, with oak and elm over ash and maple, but in recent centuries the elm has spread vigorously. Some massive elm and oak standards remain, however, and in its present state Overhall Grove approximates to high forest closer than most woods in the east Midlands and western East Anglia. The ground flora includes a vast population of oxlip and some other woodland species, but is mostly dominated by Urtica dioica, Glechoma hederacea, Galium aparine and Heracleum sphondylium.
Other areas of small-leaved elm woodland are known in the area. This one is selected partly because of its structural maturity and oxlip population, but it also has a number of peculiar features. Within it is an extensive field monument (the Hall of the name) and associated earthworks which, with other information, indicates that the wood is ancient, secondary woodland, with no primary woodland nucleus. Its importance is increased by the selection of Hayley Wood (mainly primary with a small, recent, secondary area) and Hardwick Wood (primary and a succession of secondary, adjacent stands) on similar soils and in the same area, for Overhall is a particularly fine demonstration of the long-lasting effects of discontinuity of woodland cover on the woodland flora.

W-57-   HARDWICK  WOOD, CAMBRIDGESHIRE
TL 3557.    16 ha
Grade 2
This is an example of woodland on Chalky Boulder Clay, in which the ancient core is oak-ash woodland with a coppice layer of hazel, in which oak is much more abundant than ash. Surrounding this ancient core is secondary woodland arising at various dates from the sixteenth century to about 1930, which includes a variety of types with wych elm, ash and birch locally dominant. The ground flora includes abundant oxlip and, on the wood margin, Melampyrum cristatum and Lathyrus sylvestris. The bryophytes include the rare Ptilidium pulcherrimum.
In a general sense, this site is an alternative to Hayley Wood, but it has its own features of scientific importance. Its management history is exceptionally diverse and well documented: similar secondary woodland series occur in other woods selected, but these are comparatively recent(e.g. Hintlesham Woods, Suffolk). Unlike other Cambridgeshire woods it has apparently never had a significant tall coppice component of ash and field maple. There is a classic primrose-oxlip hybrid situation, which can be related to the development of the wood.

W.s8. KESTEVEN WOODS, LINCOLNSHIRE        
Grade 2
The concentration of woods in southern Lincolnshire and Rutland is mainly dominated by pedunculate oak, ash and hazel over predominantly calcareous clay soils. Most if not all have been managed as coppice- with-standards. They mostly have a rich assemblage of subordinate native tree and shrub species, including wild service, field maple, midland hawthorn, wayfaring tree, gean and aspen. The ground flora is usually dominated by mixtures including dog's mercury, Sanicula europaea, primrose, bluebell, wood anemone and bramble, but a number of local species are found, including Milium effusum, Sedum telephium, Epi-pactis helleborine, Carex strigosa and Dipsacus pilosus.
As a group they have both similarities with and fundamental differences from the Bardney Forest woods (W-45). They had a similar development and their range of coppice types overlap to some extent, but the Kesteven Woods have mainly calcareous soils and, correspondingly, limewood is relatively rare and calcicolous species such as Campanula trachelium are more abundant. Here, as in Bardney, the full range of variation is represented in a number of small woods, the differences between which yield information on the effects of management. The Kesteven Woods are placed in grade 2, but they are not regarded as a substitute as a group for the Bardney Forest woods.
The Kesteven Woods have not been surveyed in detail and the selection within them is extremely tentative. Further survey may reveal other sites which merit grade 2 status, either in addition to those selected, or more likely as replacements for them. In particular, Tortoiseshell Wood is a good example of calcareous coppice with an excellent structure, with large numbers of well- grown standard oaks and some magnificent standard wild service trees.
(a) Dole Wood
TF 0916.    5 ha
This is a small, coppice-with-standards wood of oak, hazel and ash, with abundant midland hawthorn, and small areas of lime and elm. The ground flora ranges to mildly acid communities with Holcus mollis, Teucrium scorodonia and Lonicera periclymenum.
(b) Dunsby Wood  
TF 0826.    60 ha    
Formerly this was coppice-with-standards, but most of the oak standards have been removed and the coppice has been allowed to grow up. The canopy is now mainly ash and field maple, with birch, aspen, gean and patches of invasive English elm. In the shrub layer, hazel, midland hawthorn, crab apple, and wild service are locally abundant. The ground flora includes Dipsacus pilosus and Carex strigosa.
(c) Kirton Wood
TF 9832.    30 ha
Kirton Wood still possesses its coppice-with-standards structure, but the coppice ash has now become rather overgrown. Small-leaved lime is abundant in parts. The ground flora is predominantly calcicole, with abundant Filipendula ulmaria, Geum rivale and Valeriana officinalis.
(d) Sapperton-Pickworth Woods 
TF 0334.    25 ha
Although formerly one wood, this has now been divided by partial clearing into three separate stands. These retain a good quality oak-  ash coppice-with-standards structure with local blackthorn thickets. Parts of the wood are invaded by English elm. The ground flora includes Campanula trachelium.
Midlands
W-43-   BEDFORD  PURLIEUS   GROUP  (PART), NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
See under East Anglia, p. 57.
Grade 1
W.II5-   DERBYSHIRE DALES  WOODLANDS,
DERBYSHIRE/SXAFFORDSHIRE Grade I*
The Low Peak of Derbyshire contains one of the most important masses of Carboniferous Limestone in Britain. In the river valleys or Dales coming from this area are a series of ashwoods occurring on steep hillsides over a thin rendzina soil or on scree. These woodlands together with those of the Mendip Hills exhibit the best-known development of ashwood. The areas are for the most part ungrazed and have a rich shrub and field layer. A series of woodlands is listed in order to cover the range of variation; these areas are also associated with key grassland sites. Historical documentation indicates that the bulk of the woodland in the Dales area has originated since the middle of the seventeenth century.
(a) Lathkill Dale SK 1865.    70 ha
Lathkill Dale is orientated east-west and lies just south of Bakewell. Some woodland on the north and east end has been modified by planting but the remainder of the area contains some fine ashwood. Species found with the ash include wych elm, hazel, privet, guelder rose, field maple, elder, hawthorn, dog rose, gooseberry and rowan. The field layer is locally dominated by Mercurialis perennis or Deschampsia cespitosa together with ferns but there is a wide variety of forbs present including much Geum rivale, Galeobdolon luteum, Campanula trachelium, Poa nemoralis, P. trivialis, Brachypodium sylvaticum and Melica uniflora. A long list of characteristic but less common species is to be found including dogwood, Daphne mezereum, Convallaria majalis, Neottia nidus-avis, Helleborus viridis, Gagea lutea, Litho-spermum officinale, Mycelis muralis, Asperula odorata, Cirsium heterophyllum,Hypericumhirsutum, Tamus communis, Euonymus europaeus, Milium effusum, Zerna ramosa and Festuca gigantea. Occasional old lead workings add interest as the spoil heaps support a rich flora with species such as Helianihemum chamaecistus, Campanula glomerata, Orchis fuchsii, Minuartia verna and Briza media. See also L. 124(1) and OW.44-
(b) Cressbrook Dale
SK 1773.    25 ha
The Dale runs in a north-south direction, is steep sided and contains some good limestone crags. The tree canopy is of ash with a little wych elm and a dense shrub layer of bird-cherry, field maple, buckthorn, guelder rose and hazel. There are patches of aspen- dominated scrub. The lower part of the Dale appears to have been disturbed to some extent and here sycamore is more abundant. There is some good cliff scrub with rowan, rock whitebeam, yew, small- leaved lime and wych elm. The field layer is dominated by Mercurialis perennis with patches of Allium ursinum and Convallaria majalis. Melica nutans and Campanula latifolia are frequent. There is an interesting juxtaposition of grassland and woodland in the Dale as well as species-rich mine spoil heaps where Minuartia verna is common. The Dale also contains the only known English locality for the rare moss Thamnium angustifolium. It has been suggested that the presence of small-leaved lime together with Convallaria majalis, bird-  cherry and dogwood indicates that at least a part of the area may be primary woodland. See also L. 124(1).
(c) Dove Dale Ashwood SK 1453.    20 ha
The craggy valley of the Dove runs north-south and has good woods on both east and west aspects. Dovedale Wood itself is dominated by ash with beech, holly (very local), field maple, sycamore and pedunculate oak. It has been suggested that the wood can be regarded as intermediate between pure ashwood and the oakwoods of western Britain. There are areas of fine cliff woodland dominated by yew together with Sorbus aucuparia, S. aria, S. rupicola, Prunus spinosa, Ribes alpinum, Rosa pimpinellifolia and Crataegus monogyna. The herbaceous flora is varied; areas near the river are dominated by Filipendula ulmaria, Phalaris arundinacea, Veronica beccabunga and Petasites hybridus whilst on many of the slopes Mercurialis perennis, Geum urbanum, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Fragaria vesca and Deschampsia cespitosa are dominant. Where the ground is broken by outcrops and the canopy is more open a rich assemblage of forbs is present, at times approaching a limestone grassland sward in composition. See also L. 124(1).

W-95.   WYE  GORGE  (PART), HEREFORDSHIRE   
Grade I*
See under South Wales, p. 72.

W.Il6.   HALESEND  WOOD, HEREFORDSHIRE
so 7449.    55 ha
Grade i
Halesend Wood lies largely on a Silurian limestone ridge near the northern end of the Malvern Hills. The woodland is coppice and coppice-with-standards in which sessile oak, hazel and common lime are the most abundant species but many other native tree and shrub species are frequent throughout the northern half of the wood, notably yew, wild service, field maple and ash. The southern end, whilst retaining the mixed deciduous character to some extent, has a high proportion of birch and ash. The ground flora is of the rich, basiphilous type, dominated by dog's mercury, bramble, wood anemone and bluebell, with local areas of Allium ursinum. Certain local forbs are common, including Campanula trachelium, Platanthera chlorantha, Lathraea squamaria and Narcissus pseudo-narcissus.
Although hybrid lime is one of the more abundant species here, it is intimately mixed with other tree and shrub species and occurs as coppice and ancient pollards. This unusual condition, and a number of old quarries, add to Halesend Wood's value as a representative of the rich, calcicolous woodlands of the south-west Midlands.

W.Iiy.   MOCCAS  PARK, HEREFORDSHIRE
SO 3442.    140 ha  
Grade i
Moccas Park is an ancient deer park lying on north-facing slopes of Old Red Sandstone, with flat ground below. The lower areas are occupied by open, ancient park woodland with pedunculate oak and sweet chestnut growing from an old grassland sward. On the higher slopes the woodland is less open and richer in species, including small-leaved lime, large-leaved lime, wych elm, field maple, holly, beech, yew and ash, with a number of ancient specimens of exotic trees, notably horse chestnut, sweet chestnut, and sycamore. The field layer, which is heavily grazed in places, has abundant bracken and other species of dry, mildly acid soils, such as foxglove, bluebell and bramble, and patches of dog's mercury. The bryophytes and epiphytic lichens are extremely rich, over 100 species of the latter having been recorded recently by F. Rose. The fauna has been relatively well studied, and is outstanding for Coleoptera, three species being known nowhere else in Britain, namely Pyrrhidium sanguineum (Cerambycidae), Hypebaeus flavipes (Malachiidae) and Ernoporus caucasicus (Scolytidae).
Existing information clearly suggests that Moccas is the best ancient park wood in the Midlands, but other sites have been so little studied that some may be of equal merit. Furthermore, recent ploughing and fertilising of the grassland may have damaged its ecological value. Brampton Bryan Park (W.I24) is at least as rich in its lichens and can be regarded in this respect as an alternative site but its Coleoptera have not been properly studied.

W.IlS.   HILL  HOLE DINGLE, HEREFORDSHIRE
so 5354.    40 ha
Grade i
This is the steep-sided valley of the Humber Brook, about 1.6 km long, and cut through Old Red Sandstone. At its upper end the slopes are boulder strewn. The sides are wooded and undisturbed and a miniature alluvial plain bears ash-alder wood and willow carr. Ash is the most abundant species on the valley sides but sessile oak and elm are co-dominant in some areas. Birch, field maple and beech are also present. Shrubs include hazel, hawthorn, elder and blackthorn. The field layer illustrates the downwash of bases that has occurred; and varies from a community dominated by Deschampsia cespitosa with abundant primrose in upper, more open areas, through bluebell, bramble or wood anemone to dog's mercury. Flushes with Chryso- splenium oppositifolium and the rarer C. alternifolium are common. Also of great interest are large patches of Helle-borus viridis. Bryophytes carpet tufa springs, rock outcrops and rotting logs. Flanking the woodland are more open areas of bracken and gorse.
This has been chosen to represent a rich mixed deciduous woodland type characteristic of the west Midlands. It also has a range of wetland habitats within this small area and has the added advantage of being undisturbed. (See Appendix.)
W.IIQ.   TICK WOOD, SHROPSHIRE
sj 6503.    55 ha
Grade i
This is a scarp woodland, mostly north-facing, near the site of Telford New Town and overlooking the Severn Valley. It overlies Silurian rocks, predominantly calcareous shales, though a band of Wenlock Limestone occurs along the top of the ridge.
It is essentially a pedunculate oak-lime (Tilia vulgaris, IT. cordata, IT. platyphyllos) high forest with ash and some elm. The site is not managed now though hazel has been coppiced in the past. There is one area of pure cherry in all stages of development, including some very old trees. Many other native species are present in the canopy including field maple, silver birch, holly, crab apple, wild service, rowan and yew, and there are shrubs such as spindle, privet, blackthorn, dogwood and guelder rose.
The topmost part of the site has extensive scrub woodland and here the ground flora is extremely rich in herbs, with abundance of Allium ursinum with Mercurialis perennis, Filipendula ulmaria, Geum rivale and Paris quadrifolia. Orchids include Listera ovata, Orchis mascula, Platanthera chlorantha and Epipactis helleborine. Over the rest of the wood Oxalis acetosella, Veronica montana and Deschampsia cespitosa are dominant but more local species such as Carex pendula, C. strigosa, Euphorbia amygdaloides and Campanula trachelium also occur.
Tick Wood differs both pedologically and floristically from better known limestone woodlands such as those of the Derbyshire Dales and the Cotswolds. Its vegetation is typical of woods on the highly calcareous shales of this region.

W.I2O.   LONG  ITCHINGTON AND  UFTON WOODS, WARWICKSHIRE
SP 3862.    80 ha
Grade i
These woods are situated on a gentle north-east-facing slope, rising to a plateau at 90-120 m, with soils which vary from medium clay to loam. This is a fine example of oak-hazel coppice woodland that is still managed as such. There are well grown standards of pedunculate oak, open grown and up to 15 m in height; the coppice layer is dominated by vigorous hazel which is coppiced in rotation, several different age classes being present. Other shrubs are present including hawthorn, roses, wayfaring tree and dogwood.
The ground flora may be divided into two main types. The upper parts of the slope and the edge of the plateau are dominated by species such as Rubus fruticosus agg., Deschampsia cespitosa and Carex spp. In the damper areas and along the ditches there is an abundance of Geum rivale. On the lower slopes the soil is a rich loam and there is a meso-philous field layer dominated by dog's mercury, bluebell and primrose, with occasional patches of Paris quadrifolia. There are a number of orchids in the wood including Listera ovata, Platanthera bifolia, Neottia nidus-avis and Epipactis helleborine.

W.I2I.  WYRE FOREST, WORCESTERSHIRE, SHROPSHIRE
so 7576.   495 ha
Grade i
Wyre Forest lies astride the county boundary, west of the Severn, on either side of Dowles Brook, on the varied formations of the Coal Measures, which include sandstones, marls and conglomerates. The soils are mainly freely drained and acidic, but local calcareous pockets occur.
Sessile oakwood, mainly of coppice origin, is the widespread type but in the valleys, rich mixed deciduous woodland with wild service, ash, elm, small-leaved lime and alder have developed. The field layer is predominantly calci-fuge with Pteridium aquilinum, Vaccinium myrtillus, Calluna vulgaris, Erica cinerea and Melampyrum pratense. In the valleys, however, there is a wide variety of habitats from moderately acidic, to basic soligenous mire with Sphagnum spp., Molinia caerulea and Eriophorum latifolium, to communities on drier, base-rich soils with Brachypodium sylvaticum, Mercurialis perennis and Primula vulgaris. Within the woods many rare and local species occur, including Cephalanthera longifolia, Aquikgia vulgaris, Carex mantana, Convattaria majalis, Melica nutans, Geranium sylvaticum and G. sanguineum. The whole area is rich in bryophytes and epiphytic lichens (by comparison with the Midlands generally), especially the Seckley Wood ravine and other valleys. Over 320 species of fungi have been recorded here.
The forest fauna is one of the richest in the Midlands. The mammals include fallow deer, otter, dormouse and several species of bat, as well as the commoner woodland species. A wide variety of woodland and water-side birds breeds and the avifauna has been extensively studied. Amongst the reptiles the adder is common. The insects are outstanding for variety and number, and include some nationally rare species. The Kentish glory and alder kitten moths are two notable examples amongst the Lepidoptera. The rare cerambycid beetle Strangalia nigra occurs in one of its most northerly stations, and Wyre Forest is one of the few British localities for the terrestrial caddis fly, Enoicylapusilla. Rare spiders and sawflies are also recorded.
These woodlands constitute an important meeting point of a number of woodland features. The oaks, though mainly sessile, have characters intermediate with pedunculate, yet the plateau woods are structurally and floristically allied to the oak coppices of Wales. The valley woods on the other hand have the small-leaved lime and wild service characteristic of the southern Welsh borderlands. Local developments of hazel, ash and dogwood over dog's mercury and primrose on clays are reminiscent of East Anglian woods. Floristically, too, the area is intermediate, with, for example, Melica nutans and Geranium sylvaticum on the edge of their range. The forest as a whole is outstanding for invertebrates and forms one of the most important wildlife environments in the Midlands. The most important parts are Seckley
Wood, Dowles Brook and its tributary stream valleys, and the coppices east of Park Brook.

W.I22.  CANNOCK  CHASE, STAFFORDSHIRE
sj 9818.    880 ha  
Grade 2
Most of the site is covered by heather heathland, grading into valley fen and bog, but the woods occupy a substantial part of the area, particularly in the north. Four main woodland types can be recognised:
1 Oak-birch woodland. Quercus petraea and Betula verrucosa form a closed canopy over much of Brocton Coppice, but large clearings exist, and the margin of the wood grades into surrounding heathland. The oaks are clearly much older than the birch, perhaps 150-200 years in most cases, with a few individuals of greater age.
2 Birch woodland. Betula verrucosa woodland occurs in the vicinity of Brocton Coppice and elsewhere in small clumps.
3 Alder coppice. The Sherbrook valley has alder coppice along most of its length.
4 Willow scrub. Contrasting strongly with the Sherbrook valley, the Oldacre valley has a discontinuous line of Salix cinerea in the marsh of the valley bottom.
The open heath is invaded by trees and shrubs and birch woodland is the most widespread serai stage. Other species also occur, notably sycamore in the Sycamore Hill area, Scots pine and beech in the southern area, hawthorn in the vicinity of Brocton Field, pedunculate oak particularly among the birch in the Oldacre valley and gorse at various points on the heath.
Bracken is dominant over some areas and apparently on the increase in others. The heathland is a noted locality for hybrid Vaccinium myrtillus and V. vitis-idaea (Vaccinium x intermedium). Empetrum nigrum is also present.
There are several valley bogs, reminiscent of those in the New Forest. The best has a large expanse of Thelypteris palustris and Equisetum sylvaticum, with a rich assemblage of bog plants including Anagallis tenella, Carex pulicaris, C. dioica, C. hostiana, Drosera rotundifolia, D. anglica, Eleocha-ris quinqueflora, Hydrocotyle vulgaris, Orchis fuchsii, Par-nassia palustris, Pinguicula vulgaris, Vaccinium oxycoccus and Valeriana dioica. Narthecium ossifragum occurs in one of the valleys.
The insect fauna of the whole area is extremely rich. Two of the most notable Lepidoptera are Stilbia anomala and Enargia paleacea.

W.I23-   HAMPS  AND  MANIFOLD  VALLEYS, STAFFORDSHIRE
SK 0955.    325 ha  
Grade 2
The site follows the valley of the River Manifold from Ecton southwards towards Ham and incorporates part of the valley of the River Hamps. The valleys contain woodland and scrub as well as grassland. The woodlands are similar in many respects to the ash woodlands of the Derbyshire Dales but exhibit some unusual features. Thus old oak trees of Quercus robur and Q. petraea occur in several places; and holly is present, both as scrub and as a component of established woodland. These features reflect some of the characteristics of woodland under more oceanic conditions and indicate a somewhat different climate on the extreme west of the Peak District.
The woodlands of the Manifold Valley show an extremely wide range of variation in canopy structure and ground flora.
The grasslands included within the site are on the whole damp and well grazed. Agrostis spp. are generally dominant, but variations occur according to slope and aspect. Potentilla tabernaemontani, Carex pulicaris and Parnassia palustris are noteworthy amongst the herbs.
Rare plant species present include Polemonium caeruleum, Daphne mezereum, Hordelymus europaeus, Festuca altissima, and Cardamine impatiens. Daphne laureola, uncommon in the Peak District, is also present.
The area is also of interest for its karst topography. During periods of dry weather the River Manifold disappears down a series of swallets just below Wettonmill and the water resurges from springs at Ham Hall about 11 km downstream. Thors Cave is an impressive rock shelter perched on the side of the valley.

W.I24-   BRAMPTON BRYAN  PARK, HEREFORDSHIRE
so 3671.    60 ha
Grade 2
Brampton Bryan Park lies at the northern end of Renword-ine Hill on steep east-, west- and north-facing slopes across a geological transition between Old Red Sandstone and Silurian strata. The woodland is ancient open oak parkland with sweet chestnut, beech, ash and holly, with an area of wych elm woodland above a vestigial dog's mercury field community. The ancient woodland is extremely rich in epiphytic lichens.
The biological richness of Brampton Bryan Park has been recognised only recently. It is clearly very similar to Moccas Park and its epiphyte flora is at least as rich but the invertebrate fauna has not received a similar degree of study. (See Appendix.)

W.I25-   DOWNTON  GORGE, HEREFORDSHIRE
so 4373. 55 ha 
Grade 2
The ravine below Downton Castle is wooded for a distance of over 2.4 km. The river has cut a deep gorge through Silurian rocks leaving soils of an acid to weakly calcareous character. At higher levels the woodland is mainly dominated by sessile oak, with a field layer of Luzula sylvatica, but at lower levels a mixed deciduous woodland occurs with ash and wych elm dominant. There is a wide range of age classes, and one cliff has an old holly-ash-wych elm wood with a vigorous colony of Festuca altissima. This is a sheltered site which at lower levels is very rich in bryophytes, including Plagiopus oederi, Pohlia cruda and many oceanic and submontane species. The epiphytic lichen flora, though not inspected yet in detail, is already known to be rich, with a fine colony of Lobaria pulmonaria, Graphina anguina on holly and Peltigera horizontalis.

W.I26.   BUSHY  HAZELS  AND  CWMMA  MOORS, HEREFORDSHIRE
302851.    30 ha 
Grade 2
This site lies c. 3 km from the Radnor border on a level and damp site, with loamy soils derived from Lower Old Red Sandstone rocks. Ash is most abundant in the canopy though coppiced wych elm is often co-dominant. Pedunculate oak and birch associate with them in varying amounts though these are completely absent in some parts. A stream divides off Bushy Hazels, a pure hazel coppice in the north- eastern corner. The understorey and shrub layers are not well developed throughout but the field layer is herb rich. Beneath the hazel coppice are Deschampsia cespitosa and Endymion non-scriptus with patches of Paris quadrifolia. In the ash-elm woodland, E. non- scriptus, Anemone nemorosa, Mercurialis perennis and D. cespitosa are predominant with Circaea lutetiana and Sanicula europaea. Wetter patches contain Filipendula ulmaria, Chrysosplenium oppositifolium and Carex pendula.
This site may be considered alternative to Hill Hole Dingle, i.e. it is an example of a mixed deciduous woodland on the Welsh borders. As it has been heavily managed in the past, fewer native woody species are present and the field layer is not as herb rich. The Dingle also has more variety in its micro-habitats.

W.I27.   LEIGHFIELD  FOREST, LEICESTERSHIRE
SK 7502. 170 ha  
Grade 2
Leighfield Forest was recommended for special status in Cmd 7122 (Ministry of Town and Country Planning, 1947) and relics of this ancient woodland still remain. The site is composed of four woods (Loddington Reddish, Tugby, Tilton and Skeffington woods) grouped in the Eye Brook valley which runs through Jurassic ironstone and clays. Deposits of boulder clays and gravels have resulted in rich loamy and calcareous clay soils. The tree canopy is mainly standards of oak plus wych elm, together with ash, often coppiced. The understorey of hazel and field maple is often dense and there is a mixed association of shrubs including dogwood, Midland hawthorn, privet, sallow, elder and buckthorn.
Filipendula ulmaria and Juncus spp. occur extensively in the rides with Rubus fruticosus and Pteridium aquilinum locally abundant. Beneath the coppice, Mercurialis perennis is dominant with clumps of Deschampsia cespitosa and Dryopteris filix-mas. Myosotis sylvatica is abundant and the presence of Vicia sylvatica, Campanula trachelium and Dipsacus pilosus is of interest.
The more important Lepidoptera of the Eye Brook valley include Cymatophorina diluta, Nola confusalis, Ladoga Camilla, Nymphalis polychloros, Quercusia quercus and Ochlodes venata which are rare or not present elsewhere. The list of Coleoptera from these woods includes a number of rare or localised species of which the following are the most noteworthy: Platyrrhinus resinosus, Anthribus fasciatus, Metoecusparadoxus, Lissodema quadripustulata, Hypophloeus bicolor, Agapanthis villosoviridescens, Tetropium gabrieli, Pediacus dermestoides and Nemosoma ekmgatum. The woods of this area are among the most northerly known British localities for many species of Coleoptera, including some of those listed above.
The earliest record of these sites is 1235 and it is believed that they have indeed been wooded since that time. The vegetation as a whole is typical of that found on heavy boulder clay but this is already represented in the grade I series by Monks Wood (W-42) and Castor Hanglands (W-44), so Leighfield Forest is given grade 2 status.

W.I28.  PIPEWELL  WOODS, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
SP 8286.    80 ha
Grade 2
Monks Arbour and Pipewell Woods lie on deep, calcareous clay soils at the south-western extremity of Rockingham Forest and have a coppice- with-standards structure. Pedunculate oak is the main standard species, with ash, birch and a few planted beech. The coppice layer is dominated by hazel, with ash, dogwood and field maple locally abundant in Monks Arbour Wood. The field layer ranges from Mercurialis perennis-Galeobdolon luteum on the drier soils, to Filipendula ulmaria-Ranunculus repens in waterlogged patches, and Pteridium aquilinum-Rubus fruticosus-Hokus lanatus on the more acidic patches. The ground flora includes such local species as Iris foetidissima and Campanula latifolia. At the southern end of Pipewell Wood, English elm has invaded from the hedge to form a nearly pure community.
This is one of the Ancient Forest coppices. It is typical of such woods and has the advantage that it is not damaged by ironstone working or replanting with conifers, and indeed the coppicing continues actively. Other woods in Rockingham Forest, however, were once known to be richer faunally.

W.I29-  WHITTLEWOOD FOREST, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
SP 7342. noha  
Grade 2
Three relics of this ancient woodland, in the south of the county, still remain. They once formed a link in the chain of woodlands which stretched across the clay belt from Oxfordshire to Huntingdon and Peterborough. Lying on calcareous clays and boulder clays they are typical examples of the woodlands on these soil types. Buckingham Thick Copse is the largest area; it contains fairly uniform oak-ash high forest. Understorey and shrub species are confined to the rides and edges; these include field maple, dogwood, Midland hawthorn and hazel. Sweet chestnut is also present. The ground flora is dominated by Rubus fruticosus, Chamaenerion angustifolium with Deschampsia cespitosa and Brachypodium sylvaticum. Patches of Lusula multiflora and Carex pendula indicate waterlogging. Say's and Smalladine Copses are similar but ash or English elm outnumber the oak in parts. The shrub layer is better developed here and is dominated by hazel. Cornus sanguined, Euonymus euro-paeus and Viburnum opulus are common in the hedgerows.
Lichens that are absent or rare elsewhere in the county are found here; these include Lecanora confusa, Usnea certatina, Opegrapha varia and Pertusaria lutescens.
East and West Ashall's Copses consist of ash scrub and
mature ash woodland and oak is only locally dominant. English elm occurs on the edge and hazel, hawthorn, field maple and Midland hawthorn are present in the understorey and shrub layers. The ground flora here is dominated by bramble interspersed with areas of Deschampsia cespitosa, Oxalis acetosella and Glechoma heeleracea. Other plants include Sanicula europaea, Epipactis helleborine, E. purpurata and Dactylorchis fuchsii.

W.I3O.   SHERWOOD  FOREST, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
SK 6368.    525 ha  
Grade 2
The Birklands and, to a lesser extent, the Bilhaugh are fine remnants of Sherwood Forest.They lie on deep, freely drained acidic soils developed from Bunter Sandstone. The woodlands are an actively regenerating population of both oak species in more or less equal numbers, with a wide size range from saplings to some of the largest oaks in the country. Between these extremes are younger, but mature generations of the oaks. Birch (mainly Betula pendula) is abundant, forming groves between the oaks, but the canopy is still rather open, enabling a dense bracken field layer to develop. The flora is very poor, restricted to calcifuge species, and the epiphyte lichen flora has been largely eliminated by pollution. The beetle fauna, however, is very rich and contains some extremely rare species.
The oak population here is exceptional but public pressure and atmospheric pollution have damaged the area, hence it is accorded grade 2 status.
Immediately to the north lies Budby South Forest Heath (170 ha) on soils derived from the Bunter Sandstone at an altitude of about 60 m. The heathland area is dry heath dominated by heather and Deschampsia flexuosa. Much of it (c. 50%) is covered by scattered birch or birch scrub. There is some gorse scrub but this habitat is by no means abundant on the site. Bracken is only locally abundant.
The heath is at present used as a military training area but there is little apparent physical damage and the site has not been extensively burnt in recent years. Its inclusion within the grade 2 site adds interest.

W.I3I. HABBERLEY VALLEY, SHROPSHIRE
sj 4104.    30 ha
Grade 2
This narrow, steep-sided valley cuts through base-rich Ordovician shales at its lower end and acidic pre-Cambrian conglomerates, which give rise to two contrasting soil types, and strong associated differences in the vegetation. The base-rich lower woodland is dominated by wych elm, large-leaved lime, ash and yew with some sessile oak: here the ground flora is a moderately rich assemblage of mainly calcicolous species, with abundant Mercurialis perennis and Polystichum setiferum, the rare Circaea intermedia and a range of calcicole and calcifuge bryophytes. On the acidic rocks sessile oak woodland grows over a ground flora of Vaccinium myrtillus, Blechnum spicant and Leucobryum glaucum, with a number of Atlantic bryophytes.
Several features have combined to justify including this site. It has good examples of two types of woodland whose distribution is clearly determined by the nature of the under-and holly is present, both as scrub and as a component of established woodland. These features reflect some of the characteristics of woodland under more oceanic conditions and indicate a somewhat different climate on the extreme west of the Peak District.
The woodlands of the Manifold Valley show an extremely wide range of variation in canopy structure and ground flora.
The grasslands included within the site are on the whole damp and well grazed. Agrostis spp. are generally dominant, but variations occur according to slope and aspect. Potentilla tabernaemontani, Carex pulicaris and Parnassia palustris are noteworthy amongst the herbs.
Rare plant species present include Polemonium caeruleum, Daphne mezereum, Hordelymus europaeus, Festuca altissima, and Cardamine impatiens. Daphne laureola, uncommon in the Peak District, is also present.
The area is also of interest for its karst topography. During periods of dry weather the River Manifold disappears down a series of swallets just below Wettonmill and the water resurges from springs at Ham Hall about 11 km downstream. Thors Cave is an impressive rock shelter perched on the side of the valley.

W.I24-  BRAMPTON BRYAN PARK, HEREFORDSHIRE
503671.    60 ha 
Grade 2
Brampton Bryan Park lies at the northern end of Renword-ine Hill on steep east-, west- and north-facing slopes across a geological transition between Old Red Sandstone and Silurian strata. The woodland is ancient open oak parkland with sweet chestnut, beech, ash and holly, with an area of wych elm woodland above a vestigial dog's mercury field community. The ancient woodland is extremely rich in epiphytic lichens.
The biological richness of Brampton Bryan Park has been recognised only recently. It is clearly very similar to Moccas Park and its epiphyte flora is at least as rich but the invertebrate fauna has not received a similar degree of study. (See Appendix.)

W.I25-  DOWNTON  GORGE, HEREFORDSHIRE
so 4373. 55 ha 
Grade 2
The ravine below Downton Castle is wooded for a distance of over 2.4 km. The river has cut a deep gorge through Silurian rocks leaving soils of an acid to weakly calcareous character. At higher levels the woodland is mainly dominated by sessile oak, with a field layer of Lussula sylvatica, but at lower levels a mixed deciduous woodland occurs with ash and wych elm dominant. There is a wide range of age classes, and one cliff has an old holly-ash-wych elm wood with a vigorous colony of Festuca altissima. This is a sheltered site which at lower levels is very rich in bryophytes, including Plagiopus oederi, Pohlia cruda and many oceanic and submontane species. The epiphytic lichen flora, though not inspected yet in detail, is already known to be rich, with a fine colony of Lobaria pulmonaria, Graphina anguina on holly and Peltigera horizontalis.

W.I26.   BUSHY HAZELS AND  CWMMA MOORS, HEREFORDSHIRE
so 2851.    30 ha
Grade 2
This site lies c. 3 km from the Radnor border on a level and damp site, with loamy soils derived from Lower Old Red Sandstone rocks. Ash is most abundant in the canopy though coppiced wych elm is often co-dominant. Pedunculate oak and birch associate with them in varying amounts though these are completely absent in some parts. A stream divides off Bushy Hazels, a pure hazel coppice in the north- eastern corner. The understorey and shrub layers are not well developed throughout but the field layer is herb rich. Beneath the hazel coppice are Deschampsia cespitosa and Endymion non-scriptus with patches of Paris quadrifolia. In the ash-elm woodland, E. non- scriptus, Anemone nemorosa, Mercurialis perennis and D. cespitosa are predominant with Circaea lutetiana and Sanicula europaea. Wetter patches contain Filipendula ulmaria, Chrysosplenium oppositifolium and Carex pendula.
This site may be considered alternative to Hill Hole Dingle, i.e. it is an example of a mixed deciduous woodland on the Welsh borders. As it has been heavily managed in the past, fewer native woody species are present and the field layer is not as herb rich. The Dingle also has more variety in its micro-habitats.

W.I27-   LEIGHFIELD  FOREST, LEICESTERSHIRE
SK 7502.    170 ha  
Grade 2
Leighfield Forest was recommended for special status in Cmd 7122 (Ministry of Town and Country Planning, 1947) and relics of this ancient woodland still remain. The site is composed of four woods (Loddington Reddish, Tugby, Tilton and Skeffington woods) grouped in the Eye Brook valley which runs through Jurassic ironstone and clays. Deposits of boulder clays and gravels have resulted in rich loamy and calcareous clay soils. The tree canopy is mainly standards of oak plus wych elm, together with ash, often coppiced. The understorey of hazel and field maple is often dense and there is a mixed association of shrubs including dogwood, Midland hawthorn, privet, sallow, elder and buckthorn.
Filipendula ulmaria and Juncus spp. occur extensively in the rides with Rubus fruticosus and Pteridium aquilinum locally abundant. Beneath the coppice, Mercurialis perennis is dominant with clumps of Deschampsia cespitosa and Dryopteris filix-mas. Myosotis sylvatica is abundant and the presence of Vicia sylvatica, Campanula trachelium and Dipsacus pilosus is of interest.
The more important Lepidoptera of the Eye Brook valley include Cymatophorina diluta, Nola confusalis, Ladoga Camilla, Nymphalis polychloros, Quercusia quercus and Ochlodes venata which are rare or not present elsewhere. The list of Coleoptera from these woods includes a number of rare or localised species of which the following are the most noteworthy: Platyrrhinus resinosus, Anthribus fasciatus, Metoecus paradoxus, Lissodema quadripustulata, Hypophloeus bicolor, Agapanthis villosoviridescens, Tetropium gabrieli, Pediacus dermestoides and Nemosoma elongatum. The woods of this area are among the most northerly known British localities for many species of Coleoptera, including some of those listed above.
The earliest record of these sites is 1235 and it is believed that they have indeed been wooded since that time. The vegetation as a whole is typical of that found on heavy boulder clay but this is already represented in the grade I series by Monks Wood (W-42) and Castor Hanglands (W-44), so Leighfield Forest is given grade 2 status.

W.I28.   PIPEWELL  WOODS, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
SP 8286.    80 ha
Grade 2
Monks Arbour and Pipewell Woods lie on deep, calcareous clay soils at the south-western extremity of Rockingham Forest and have a coppice- with-standards structure. Pedunculate oak is the main standard species, with ash, birch and a few planted beech. The coppice layer is dominated by hazel, with ash, dogwood and field maple locally abundant in Monks Arbour Wood. The field layer ranges from Mercurialis perennis-Galeobdolon luteum on the drier soils, to Filipendula ulmaria-Ranunculus repens in waterlogged patches, and Pteridium aquilinum-Rubus fruticosus-Holcus lanatus on the more acidic patches. The ground flora includes such local species as Iris foetidissima and Campanula latifolia. At the southern end of Pipewell Wood, English elm has invaded from the hedge to form a nearly pure community.
This is one of the Ancient Forest coppices. It is typical of such woods and has the advantage that it is not damaged by ironstone working or replanting with conifers, and indeed the coppicing continues actively. Other woods in Rockingham Forest, however, were once known to be richer faunally.

W.I29-  WHITTLEWOOD FOREST, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
SP 7342.    no ha
Grade 2
Three relics of this ancient woodland, in the south of the county, still remain. They once formed a link in the chain of woodlands which stretched across the clay belt from Oxfordshire to Huntingdon and Peterborough. Lying on calcareous clays and boulder clays they are typical examples of the woodlands on these soil types. Buckingham Thick Copse is the largest area; it contains fairly uniform oak-ash high forest. Understorey and shrub species are confined to the rides and edges; these include field maple, dogwood, Midland hawthorn and hazel. Sweet chestnut is also present. The ground flora is dominated by Rubus fruticosus, Chamaenerion angustifolium with Deschampsia cespitosa and Brachypodium sylvaticum. Patches of Luzula multiflora and Carex pendula indicate waterlogging. Say's and Smalladine Copses are similar but ash or English elm outnumber the oak in parts. The shrub layer is better developed here and is dominated by hazel. Cornus sanguinea, Euonymus euro-paeus and Viburnum opulus are common in the hedgerows.
Lichens that are absent or rare elsewhere in the county are found here; these include Lecanora confusa, Usnea certatina, Opegrapha varia and Pertusaria lutescens.
East and West AshalPs Copses consist of ash scrub and mature ash woodland and oak is only locally dominant. English elm occurs on the edge and hazel, hawthorn, field maple and Midland hawthorn are present in the understorey and shrub layers. The ground flora here is dominated by bramble interspersed with areas of Deschampsia cespitosa, Oxalis acetosella and Glechoma hederacea. Other plants include Sanicula europaea, Epipactis helleborine, E. purpurata and Dactylorchis fuchsii.

W.I30.   SHERWOOD  FOREST, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
SK 6368.    525 ha  
Grade 2
The Birklands and, to a lesser extent, the Bilhaugh are fine remnants of Sherwood Forest.They lie on deep, freely drained acidic soils developed from Bunter Sandstone. The woodlands are an actively regenerating population of both oak species in more or less equal numbers, with a wide size range from saplings to some of the largest oaks in the country. Between these extremes are younger, but mature generations of the oaks. Birch (mainly Betula pendula) is abundant, forming groves between the oaks, but the canopy is still rather open, enabling a dense bracken field layer to develop. The flora is very poor, restricted to calcifuge species, and the epiphyte lichen flora has been largely eliminated by pollution. The beetle fauna, however, is very rich and contains some extremely rare species.
The oak population here is exceptional but public pressure and atmospheric pollution have damaged the area, hence it is accorded grade 2 status.
Immediately to the north lies Budby South Forest Heath (170 ha) on soils derived from the Bunter Sandstone at an altitude of about 60 m. The heathland area is dry heath dominated by heather and Deschampsia flexuosa. Much of it (c. 50 %) is covered by scattered birch or birch scrub. There is some gorse scrub but this habitat is by no means abundant on the site. Bracken is only locally abundant.
The heath is at present used as a military training area but there is little apparent physical damage and the site has not been extensively burnt in recent years. Its inclusion within the grade 2 site adds interest. 

W.I3I. HABBERLEY VALLEY, SHROPSHIRE
sj 4104.    30 ha
Grade 2
This narrow, steep-sided valley cuts through base-rich Ordovician shales at its lower end and acidic pre-Cambrian conglomerates, which give rise to two contrasting soil types, and strong associated differences in the vegetation. The base-rich lower woodland is dominated by wych elm, large-leaved lime, ash and yew with some sessile oak: here the ground flora is a moderately rich assemblage of mainly calcicolous species, with abundant Mercurialis perennis and Polystichum setiferum, the rare Circaea intermedia and a range of calcicole and calcifuge bryophytes. On the acidic rocks sessile oak woodland grows over a ground flora of Vaccinium myrtillus, Blechnum spicant and Leucobryum glaucum, with a number of Atlantic bryophytes.
Several features have combined to justify including this site. It has good examples of two types of woodland whose distribution is clearly determined by the nature of the under-lying rocks. It is one of the few sites where the native large-leaved lime occurs, and here it is locally dominant, with many fine specimens. Furthermore, the woodland is part of a complex of habitats which taken together include a rich variety of plant species.

W.I32.   CHADDESLEY-RANDAN WOODS, WORCESTERSHIRE
so 9273.    170 ha  
Grade 2
These woods lie on Keuper Marl from which a poorly drained, rather acidic, loamy clay soil develops, but the higher ground is capped by glacial drift of a sandy and gravelly character on which freely or excessively drained, light, strongly acidic soils have formed. The woodland is almost entirely dominated by mature oak high forest in which both native species are represented. There is a tendency for most oaks on the light soil to be Quercus petraea and most on heavy soils to be Q. robur, but this is not a particularly close relationship and mixed populations are widespread. A coppice and shrub layer is present throughout, although it is thin on the most acid soils, and consists of a mixture of species, including hazel, ash, alder and birch. A considerable number of native tree and shrub species are present in small numbers. Along the deeply incised stream lines, influenced by calcareous water, a rich alderwood has developed.
A number of local plant species are present, including Epipactis purpurata and Carex strigosa, but no nationally rare species are recorded. The fauna includes the rare terrestrial caddis fly Enoicyla pusilla.
The scientific interest is not confined to the woodland for a number of small herb-rich meadows and green lanes occur within the woods. One in particular, in the centre of Chaddesley Woods, occupies a receiving site on heavy clay, and has developed as a meadow/marsh in which Serratula tinctoria, Silaum silaus and various Dactylorchis spp. are present.
Chaddesley-Randan Woods are undoubtedly the most important to nature conservation of the group of woods which were formerly within Feckenham Forest. The others, centred on the parish of Himbledon, are much more uniform where they survive as native woodland. The richest woods in this group have recently been clear-felled, but it is doubtful whether even they were richer than Chaddesley-Randan Woods.
These woods have been included in the Review primarily as an extensive and rich example of the oak woodlands in the West Midlands, and are more closely related to the Wealden oak woodlands than the coppice-with-standards woods typical of much of the Midlands. In so far as they possess significant stands of sessile oak woodland on acidic, freely drained sandy soils, in association with pedunculate oak-wood in an apparently natural distribution, Chaddesley-Randan Woods are similar to Wyre Forest (W.i2i).
2.1.2 County
Bedfordshire
Kings/Bakers
W-51. KING'S AND BAKER'S WOODS, BEDFORDSHIRE
SP 9229.  230 ha  
Grade 2
King's Wood, together with Baker's Wood, is the largest area of woodland in Bedfordshire. It lies on boulder clay passing to Lower Greensand. The sandy soils are covered by birch woodland with some sessile oak and Scots pine over bracken and in open areas heather. The clays on the other hand have pedunculate oak-ash woodlands in which hornbeam is co-dominant over large areas, and some stands of small-leaved lime. Here the ground flora is predominantly of Primula vulgaris, Euphorbia amygdaloides, Mercurialis perennis, Galeobdolon luteum and Lonicera peridymenum. The woods have a number of rare and local plant species, including Convallaria majalts, Osmunda regalis, Luzula sylvatica and Vicia sylvatica.
Although the site has been partly damaged by development and replanted with conifers, it remains a rich and diverse wood, and the damage is not irreversible. Its flora and fauna are relatively well known, and include national and regional rarities in the fungi and Hemiptera.
Berkshire
Windsor Forest
W.23-  WINDSOR FOREST, BERKSHIRE
su 9373.    710 ha  
Grade i
An area of 3150 ha of Windsor Forest is managed commercially by the Crown Estate. Of this, approximately 1200 ha consists mainly of oak woodland or mixed woodland in which the oak complement will be progressively enhanced by thinning. At High Standing Hill 18 ha of unmanaged woodland contain oak and overmature beech in the best surviving piece of the original Forest. This extends farther west on either side of a stream valley where remnants of old beech-oak woodland predominate with an epiphytic lichen flora of 58 species, including some old-forest relics. The ancient oaks of The Parks have a number of other lichen species. Although the ground flora tends to be poor on the Bagshot Sands such areas have proved outstanding for oak regeneration.
Windsor Forest probably ranks second only to the New Forest with regard to the richness of its insect fauna. It is particularly noted for many rare beetles associated with the old oaks and Donisthorpe (1939) published an impressive list. With more recent additions the total number of Coleoptera recorded from the forest must number close on 2000 species. Some very rare beetles are known in this country only from the Windsor and Sherwood Forests. With the destruction of most of the latter, species such as Teredus cylindricus and Cryptocephalus querceti may only be able to survive in Windsor. Although individual entomologists would probably nominate particular areas as outstanding from their particular specialist point of view, it is the size of the Forest as a whole, forming a nucleus within a much larger area of well-wooded countryside, that is of paramount importance. The maintenance of the high entomological importance of this area depends on sufficient oak and beech trees being allowed to become overmature, die, and rot in situ, as is the present management practice.
Buckinghamshire
Bradenham
W.22.   BRADENHAM WOODS, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
SU8397. 180 ha Grade i The Bradenham Woods are examples of plateau and dip slope Chiltern woodlands, comprised of the three almost contiguous Naphill, Bradenham and Park Woods. As a group they are believed to be the best example of this type in the Chilterns.
Naphill Common is an oak (Quercus robur and Q. petraea)-beech woodland with some birch. Holly and cherry also reach the canopy though they are more frequently present in the understorey with elder, willow, whitebeam, rowan and yew. Bramble with wood sorrel, bracken and honeysuckle are abundant in the field layer and heather, unusual in this area, is present in the rides. Apparently in the 18905 parts of this wood were open, with gorse and juniper 4.5-6 m high.
Bradenham Wood is a well-grown dip slope beechwood north of Naphill Common with occasional sycamore, pedunculate oak and whitebeam. Both beech and oak are regenerating. One area has been clear-felled (1969) and young beech has been planted at 120 cm intervals. The ground flora is predominantly bramble-wood sorrel though much of the ground is litter covered. Many other calcifuge species are common, including heather, foxglove and Potentilla erecta. A dew pond at the summit and Sarsen pits add to the variety of habitat.
Park Wood lies north of Bradenham and is separated from it by an RAF housing estate. A small area of scrub grassland, managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Naturalists' Trust, is at the north-west corner. The beech woodland is richer in shrub and herbaceous species than Bradenham and regeneration of both beech and pedunculate oak is taking place. Other canopy species present are sycamore, ash and yew, The trees, at 160 years, are some of the oldest in the Chilterns. Shrub species include field maple, clematis, hazel, holly, privet, gean, willow, wayfaring tree and guelder rose. The field layer consists mainly of Galeobdolon luteum- Geranium robertianum-Rubus fruti-cosus—Mercurialis perennis-Sanicula europaea with sheets of ivy in places.
Burnham Beeches
W.28.   BURNHAM  BEECHES, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
su 9585.    450 ha  
Grade 2
This woodland occupies a low plateau intersected by shallow valleys, on coarse gravelly sands derived from Reading Beds and areas of superimposed plateau gravel. Structurally the woods are very diverse with ancient pollards, closed stands of younger but mature woodland, old coppice and scrub by open grassland. Beech is the most abundant species, with pedunculate oak, birch and holly also locally abundant. The field layer is sparse, with mainly calcifuge species such as Deschampsia flexuosa, Luzula pilosa, bracken and in open areas heather and other heathland species. Although it is so close to London, it retains a moderately rich epiphytic lichen flora, including Graphis elegans and Thelotrema lepadinum. The rare moss Zygodon forsteri is also recorded. This wood has similarities to the New Forest, but differs structurally and is inferior in extent, diversity and floristics and so is not an alternative site.
Windsor Hill
W-3O.   WINDSOR  HILL, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
su 8202.    85 ha
Grade 2
This is a mature beechwood on the south-facing Chalk scarp about 3 km from the Bradenham Woods. It is similar to parts of the Aston Rowant Woods, but includes the only Chiltern station of Cephalanthera rubra, a species of bio-geographical importance. Although it is clearly a separate site, it could be considered with Bradenham Woods: taken together these include most of the range of diversity in Chiltern beechwoods.
Cambridgeshire
Hardwicke
W-57-   HARDWICK  WOOD, CAMBRIDGESHIRE
TL 3557.    16 ha
Grade 2
This is an example of woodland on Chalky Boulder Clay, in which the ancient core is oak-ash woodland with a coppice layer of hazel, in which oak is much more abundant than ash. Surrounding this ancient core is secondary woodland arising at various dates from the sixteenth century to about 1930, which includes a variety of types with wych elm, ash and birch locally dominant. The ground flora includes abundant oxlip and, on the wood margin, Melampyrum cristatum and Lathyrus sylvestris. The bryophytes include the rare Ptilidium pulcherrimum.
In a general sense, this site is an alternative to Hayley Wood, but it has its own features of scientific importance. Its management history is exceptionally diverse and well documented: similar secondary woodland series occur in other woods selected, but these are comparatively recent(e.g. Hintlesham Woods, Suffolk). Unlike other Cambridgeshire woods it has apparently never had a significant tall coppice component of ash and field maple. There is a classic primrose-oxlip hybrid situation, which can be related to the development of the wood.
Hayley
W-4O.   HAYLEY WOOD, CAMBRIDGESHIRE
TL 2953.    50 ha
Grade i
Hayley Wood stands on the Chalky Boulder Clay plateau on soil which is heavy and waterlogged or flooded for much of the year. Structurally it is coppice-with-standards, with both large coppice of field maple and ash and small coppice of hazel and hawthorn below a thin canopy of pedunculate oak standards. Small areas have been invaded by Ulmus carpinifolia over the last 200 years. The ground vegetation forms concentric zones from the wet middle and north, dominated by oxlip and Filipendula ulmaria, to the drier eastern, southern and western fringes dominated by dog's mercury. The intermediate zones have the richest plant communities, with tracts of bluebell and Galeobdolon luteum. The coppice plots in the wetter area have luxuriant vegetation resembling fen communities, with Cirsium palustre, Ranunculus flammula and Galium palustre. A number of rare and local species occur, including Melam-pyrum cristatum, Serratula tinctoria, Sedum telephium, Ophioglossum vulgatum and Centaurium pulchellum. About 250 species of vascular plant have been recorded, including 29 native tree and shrub species.
Hayley is one of the largest of the boulder clay woods. It has perhaps the largest single population of oxlip, and this in a site lacking primrose. It has a rich bryophyte flora for eastern England, notable for the inclusion of Nowellia curvifolia. It is almost wholly an ancient wood, with a recorded history of over 700 years, embodying the typical features of other ancient coppice woods in the vicinity. Furthermore, it has been used for research and teaching for many years. It is one of a number of boulder clay coppice woods selected, which cover a range of soil types from very light (Swanton Novers Woods), light (Hintlesham Woods) to heavy (Hayley Wood) and transitional to fen carr (Fel-shamhall and Monks Park Woods, where there is a range of conditions, including light soils).
Overhall Grove
W-56.   OVERHALL  GROVE, CAMBRIDGESHIRE
TL 3363.    20 ha
Grade 2
This site lies on moderately steep slopes. The soil throughout is heavy clay, with calcareous boulder clay at high levels and neutral or mildly acidic Kimmeridge Clay at low levels. Ulmus carpinifolia is dominant throughout with some pedunculate oak, ash, field maple and elder. It is probable that the wood originally had a fairly conventional coppice-with-standards structure, with oak and elm over ash and maple, but in recent centuries the elm has spread vigorously. Some massive elm and oak standards remain, however, and in its present state Overhall Grove approximates to high forest closer than most woods in the east Midlands and western East Anglia. The ground flora includes a vast population of oxlip and some other woodland species, but is mostly dominated by Urtica dioica, Glechoma hederacea, Galium aparine and Heracleum sphondylium.
Other areas of small-leaved elm woodland are known in the area. This one is selected partly because of its structural maturity and oxlip population, but it also has a number of peculiar features. Within it is an extensive field monument (the Hall of the name) and associated earthworks which, with other information, indicates that the wood is ancient, secondary woodland, with no primary woodland nucleus. Its importance is increased by the selection of Hayley Wood (mainly primary with a small, recent, secondary area) and Hardwick Wood (primary and a succession of secondary, adjacent stands) on similar soils and in the same area, for Overhall is a particularly fine demonstration of the long-lasting effects of discontinuity of woodland cover on the woodland flora.
Cornwall
Boconnoc
W.6o.   BOCONNOC  PARK AND  WOODS, CORNWALL
sx 1460.    30 ha
Grade i
This site lies within an enclosed area of parkland and woodland, covering some 600 ha, situated near Lostwithiel. The ancient trees support 180 epiphytic lichen species - the largest number known for an area of this size in western Europe. Many of these species are of considerable interest ; at least one (Porina hibernica) is not known to occur anywhere else in Britain, while several are known from only one or two other localities. These include Arthonia leucopellaea, Pannaria mediterranea and Lecanactis corticola.
Dizzard/Millook Cliffs
W.62.   DIZZARD-MILLOOK  CLIFFS, CORNWALL
sw 1799.    60 ha
Grade I
The cliff woodlands on this site have a north to northeasterly aspect and an altitude range from sea-level to approximately 150 m at the highest point. The area of cliff over which the woodland has developed is subject to landslips. This, combined with a friable rock type, has given the steeply sloping cliffs a varied topography. The tree layer is exposed to strong winds from the sea and this has resulted in a tight wind-pruned canopy. As a direct consequence of the varied topography and wind-pruning the canopy height varies between i and 8 m, and is composed mainly of sessile oak together with some birch and rowan. Of interest is the occurrence in the canopy of wild service, a species rare in the south-west. The shrub layer is represented by hazel, hawthorn, holly, privet, gorse and spindle. The edges of the woodland both on the seaward side and near the cliff top have a scrub margin in which blackthorn is well represented. Scrubby patches are also found where recent land-slips have caused disturbance. The ground flora of the area is extremely varied for this part of the country and includes both basiphilous and acidophilous areas of vegetation. Areas on the base-rich soils support Allium ursinum, Arum maculatum, Filipendula ulmaria, Fragaria vesca, Sanicula europaea, Primula vulgaris and Mercurialisperennis, whilst in contrast to these may be found a ground flora dominated by Vaccinium myrtillus, Calluna vulgaris, Deschampsia cespitosa and Melampyrum pratense. Dryopteris aemula is also present within the woodland. This contrast of vegetation types is also reflected in the shrub layer. The epiphyte flora is well developed: Lobaria pulmonaria is to be seen throughout the wood and Sticta limbata has also been found. 
Draynes
W-78.   DRAYNES  WOOD, CORNWALL
sx 2268.    40 ha
Grade 2
This is a wooded gorge which carries irregular stands of high forest. The high forest areas are characteristically pedunculate oak with ash and beech over a shrub layer of hazel. There are also patches of sessile oak which have been coppiced. The field layer is generally acidophilous with much Luzula sylvatica, Vaccinium myrtillus and Blechnum spicant but on the better soils bracken and bramble occur with species such as Sanicula europaea on the best sites.
This woodland is notable mainly for its bryophyte communities and there are some rare species. The filmy fern Hymenophyllum tunbrigense also occurs here in some quantity.
Fal Estuary
W.6l.   FAL  ESTUARY, CORNWALL
sw884i.    60 ha 
Grade i
This site is a complex of saltings, salt marshes, carr and woodland situated in the valleys and around the confluence of the rivers Fal and Ruan. Its particular interest lies in the transition from salt marsh through an invasive stage to tidal woodland which is rare in Britain. The history of the site is known and studies on the stratigraphy and the plant and animal communities in relation to tidal submergence have been carried out. The tidal area of woodland is dominated by Alnus glutinosa together with Salix cinereavar atrocinerea, the willow in places forming a scrubby boundary to the more mature woodland and extending out into the surrounding
marsh. Passing up the river valley the tidal woodland grades into a birch-oak wood. On the sides of the valley and, in many places sharply defined from the marsh by a boundary ditch or bank, is a drier acidophilous oakwood. Here sessile oak has been coppiced and some hazel, hawthorn, rowan, willow and gorse are present. The ground flora includes species such as Calluna vulgaris, Vaccinium myrtillus, Blechnum spicant, Rubus sp., Lonicera periclymenum and Holcus mollis together with bryophytes including Thuidium tamariscinum, Dicranum majus and Hypnum cupressiforme.
In contrast to this the alder tidal area contains Angelica sylvestris, Oenanthe crocata, Galium palustre, Juncus sp., Caltha palustris and Carex spp. as well as occasional occurrences of salt marsh species.
See also €.38.
Merthen
W.y6.   MERTHEN WOOD, CORNWALL
sw 7226.   45 ha 
Grade 2
This valley woodland sited on the northern shore of the Helford River is complementary to part of the Fal Estuary woods (W.6i) but lacks the tidal alder carr found in that area. The tree layer is dominated by oak although areas of pure hazel coppice are to be found. Beech and holly are present in the canopy. In the lower parts of the wood the trees overhang a bank and then estuarine mud in which are patches of Spartina marsh. In the lower parts of the wood, rowan, alder buckthorn and gorse are to be found.
The ground flora in the upper parts and hazel coppice region is dominated by bluebell together with wood anemone, bramble, Blechnum spicant and Lonicera peri-clymenum. Near the river, bracken is frequent as are bilberry, Luzula pilosa, heather and Teucrium scorodonia illustrating a more acidophilous facies. A large active badger sett is present within this area of woodland.
Nance
scorodonia illustrating a more acidophilous facies. A large active badger sett is present within this area of woodland.

W.77-   NANCE WOOD, CORNWALL
sw 6645.    14 ha
Grade 2
A coppiced sessile oakwood dwarfed by exposure to the wind. In addition to oak there is beech and the shrubs include hazel, hawthorn, holly, blackthorn, sallows and gorse. The field layer is acidophilous with much Holcus mollis, Digitalis purpurea, Calluna vulgaris, Blechnum spicant and bluebell with bracken and bramble locally abundant.
The wood is notable as one of only two British localities for the Irish spurge Euphorbia hyberna which is plentiful here.
Cumberland
Borrowdale
W.I33-  BORROWDALE WOODS, CUMBERLAND  
Grade I*
(a) Castle Head Wood
NY 2722.    8 ha 
(b) The Ings NY 2622.    4 ha
(c) Great Wood NY 2721.    43 ha
(d) Lodore-Troutdak Woods NY 2618.    370 ha
(e) Johnny's Wood NY 2514.    35 ha
(f) Seatoller Wood NY 2413.    85 ha
Borrowdale probably contains a greater extent of native woodland than any other of the Lakeland valleys, and from the road it can appear that almost the whole dale is forest clad on its lower slopes - an impressive effect. Most of the woods are of the hanging type, on steep slopes ranging from c. 75 to 370 m, and covering all aspects, but The Ings and Castle Head Wood lie on the floor of the valley: the latter on a small hill. The parent rock is almost entirely the Borrowdale Volcanic Series, which generally gives acidic soils, but contains calcite bearing beds (and fault shatter belts) in many places, as at Lodore and in Seatoller Wood. The slopes within most woods are variably covered with block scree. These are composed of rocks of all sizes. Many woods have outcrops which vary in size from small faces to high cliffs around Lodore. These woods lie within a very sharp rainfall gradient ranging from about 178 cm annually at Castle Head Wood to about 318 cm at Seathwaite.
There are fine stands of high forest sessile oakwood in Great Wood, Johnny's Wood and Seatoller Wood, and smaller coppice in Troutdale. A shrub layer is generally absent and there are merely scattered individuals of birch, holly and rowan. Ash-hazel wood occurs in all sites except The Ings, but forms a large part of Seatoller Wood and its juxtaposition here with sessile oakwood illustrates the same kind of edaphic separation of woodland types as that found in the lowland situation with slate and limestone in Roudsea Wood. The ashwood contains a good deal of wych elm, and there is usually an understorey of hazel, plus a greater variety of shrubs such as Primus padus, P. spinosa, Crataegus monogyna and Rubus fruticosus. The respective field communities are of Deschampsia flexuosa- Anthoxanthum odora-tum, with sparse bilberry and much bracken on leached brown earths under oak, and Brachypodium syhaticum-Geranium robertianum with numerous other basiphilous herbs on base-rich loams under ash-hazel. Rare herbs include Festuca altissima at Lodore and Great Wood, Impatiens noli-tangere in Great Wood and Circaea alpina in several localities; the last two species have their British headquarters in Lakeland.
Castle Head Wood differs from the others in a number of respects. It is well-developed sessile oak over hazel woodland surrounded by farmland and not open to the upland fell. This has reduced grazing pressure, which in turn has enabled some natural regeneration to take place and accounts for the relatively strong development of field and shrub layers.
By the shore of Derwentwater near Lodore, a fringe of alder, willow, reed and sedge completes the ecological zona-tion of the catena from the top of the hanging oakwoods to the lake shore. Alder woodland near the lake is an important feature of Great Wood and is exceptionally well-developed in The Ings. This site, although small, is ungrazed, and the good field layer varies according to the mineral/humus component of the substratum which may depend on variations in silting from the inflowing stream.
Fern communities are well developed, especially on block scree and include Dryopteris filix-mas, D. dilatata, Athyrium filix-femina, Thelypteris oreopteris, T. phegopteris, T. dryopteris and Blechnum spicant. The rare Asplenium septentrionale grows on rocks in one place. There is a general carpet of bryophytes composed of the common species appropriate to oak and ash-hazel woods, but the most important feature is the strong representation of the Atlantic element. These woods, including the famous cascade ravine of Lodore Falls, together constitute the most important locality in England for Atlantic bryophytes and in richness they rival those of north Wales and the western Highlands. The Hymenophyllum wilsonii-Scapania gracilis-Plagiochila spinulosa community on blocks is well developed, and there is local abundance of mosses such as Hylocomium umbratum, Hypnum callichroum, Bartramia halleriana and the northern Ptilium crista-castrensis, and Sematophyllum novae-caesareae. The notable hepatics include Radula valuta, R. aquilegia, Jubula hutchinsiae, Colura calyptrifolia, Plagiochila tridenticulata, Frullania germana, F. microphylla, Marchesinia mackaii, Adelanthus decipiens, Sphenolobus helleranus and Jamesoniella autumnalis. Borrowdale appears to be especially rich in moisture-loving species not only because of its western position and heavy rainfall, but also because of the apparent historical continuity of woodland cover in places. Seatoller Wood faces south-east and it is difficult to account for the abundance of moisture-loving bryophytes, including several species with very limited powers of spread, except in terms of continuous Post-glacial woody cover.
The Borrowdale Woods are equally important for oceanic lichens; the main interest lies in the presence of a corticolous association, characterised by the co-dominant Parmelia laevigata and P. taylorensis. A total of 111 species have been recorded from Seatoller Wood, which include species such as Bacidia affinis, B. isidiacea, Lecides berengeriana, Lopadium pezizoideum, Micarea violacea and P. plumbea which are all very rare in Britain.
Great Wood is one of the best localities in England for arboreal lichens, including large foliose species such as Lobaria pulmonaria, L. laete-virens, Sticta sylvatica and S. limbata.
The woods nearer the dale head were once, and perhaps still are, the haunt of the pine marten, and they have the red squirrel, now reduced and local. The more notable breeding birds include common buzzard, pied flycatcher, wood warbler and grey wagtail.
These Borrowdale Woods are a key station in the internationally important series of western hill woodlands with rich Atlantic floras, and as a group they are clearly in the first echelon of grade i sites.
Gowbarrow Park
W.I48.   GOWBARROW PARK, CUMBERLAND
NY 4120.    85 ha
Grade 2
The southern edge of Gowbarrow Park around Yew Crag consists of a mixture of woodland, grassland and heath on steep slopes and bottom lands overlooking the northern shore of Ullswater, at 150-275 m. Two distinct kinds of woodland occur. On the low-lying ground at the foot of the slopes the woodland is dominated by alder with a few ash. In Dobbins Wood and higher up the valley of the Collierhag Beck, much of the alder is open - in Dobbins Wood it was coppiced within the last decade and has been kept open by grazing - but in the area south and west of Yew Crag it mostly forms a closed canopy. The soil here is a flushed silty material with boulders at the base of the slopes, mildly acid or neutral in reaction and slightly gleyed. The ground flora is extremely rich with numerous marshland species especially in the open alder areas.
On the steep south- and east-facing slopes most watercourses and rocky bluffs are occupied by open irregular woodland in which wych elm, ash and hazel are abundant. Many other species occur there including bird cherry, yew and sessile oak. This kind of woodland is best developed on Yew Crag, whence it grades westwards into a distinct variant, resembling in some respects the woodland of calcareous soils south of the Lake District. This lies on the steep south-facing slopes immediately above the oak, and is characterised by the presence of pedunculate oak, small-leaved lime and spindle and the absence of sessile oak in the mixture which includes wych elm, ash and hazel. The soil on the craggy slope varies considerably in depth, stability,
base-status and wetness, but seems mostly to be mildly acid or neutral. The rock outcrops belong to the Borrowdale Volcanic Series and vary from strongly acidic to markedly calcareous.
The alder woods thin out below Collier Hagg to open, acidic, flushed grassland and bracken on drier areas. Between the patches of crag woodland and on the hillside above are heathland communities ranging from bracken to a mixture of Vaccinium myrtillus, Calluna vulgaris, Erica cinerea and Nardus stricta.
The lichen flora is rich, both in the lower alderwoods and on the steeper wooded slopes and cliff's. Gowbarrow supports a fine assemblage of relic forest lichen species within which Lobaria spp. are particularly well developed.
Keskadale/Birkrig
W.I34.  KESKADALE AND BIRKRIGG OAKS, CUMBERLAND
NY 208195, NY 215205 and NY 220205.    9 ha        
Grade i
These two small areas of woodland are situated on the southern slopes of two adjacent mountain ridges. The Birkrigg area extends from 350 to 430 m and the Keskadale Oaks from 300 to 460 m. A shallow acidic soil is formed by the weathering of the shaly rock of the Skiddaw Slate Group.
These woods are almost completely of sessile oak with a few scattered rowans. The oak in both areas is low and springs from multiple stems and at least in the Keskadale Wood coppicing has probably taken place. However, coppicing is not the sole reason for the growth form, as factors such as fire, grazing, disease and bruising of the tree base all contribute. The woods apparently differ in that there is much more active scree in and near the Birkrigg Oaks whilst the Keskadale Oaks have a more stable as well as more grazed appearance. Both woodlands are wind-pruned, with stature of the trees decreasing to that of scrub at the upper edges, especially in the Keskadale wood.
The field layers in both woods are similar and open as the thin fine soil layer tends to get broken and eroded. Bilberry is dominant together with bracken and heather, the heather becoming dominant where the canopy is open. Other species common in the field layer include Blechnum spicant, Des-champsia flexuosa, Potentilla erecta, Agrostis canina, Galium saxatile, and Oxalis acetosella. Bryophytes are abundant and Dicranum scoparium, Hypnum cupressiforme and Pleurozium schreberi occur frequently. Epiphytic bryophytes and lichens clothe most of the trunks, with Ulota sp. common on the upper twigs.
These woodlands represent relict fragments of high-level sessile oakwood and may be near the altitudinal limit for oak woodland in western Britain.
See also U.27-
Lyne
W.I47-  LYNE WOODS, CUMBERLAND
NY 4569.    115 ha  
Grade 2
These consist of a series of ungrazed lowland gorge woodlands along the course of the River Lyne. The lowest section, near Kirklinton, has only thin fringes of ash-oak-wych elm-hazel wood, and is interesting mainly for its crags of New Red Sandstone, which is here moderately calcareous in places and supports species such as Myosotis sylvatica, Carex pendula, Phyllitis scolopendrium, Polystichum lobatum and Equisetum hyemale. There is a rich bryophyte flora. The section above Waingatehead is cut mainly through acidic beds of Carboniferous sandstone; it has more oakwood and is notable for the abundance of Atlantic bryophytes. There is an isolated small colony of Hymenophyllum tunbrigense. The basic soils have a field layer with Mercurialis perennis, Primula vulgaris, Sanicula europaea, Stellaria nemorum and Carex sylvatica on drier ground, and Ranunculus repens, Chrysosplenium oppositifolium, Filipendula ulmaria and Carex remota where it is wet. The acidic brown earths have an abundance of Luzula sylvatica, Vaccinium myrtillus, Oxalis acetosella, Dryopteris austriaca and D. filix-mas.
The upper section, below Kinkry Hill, is cut through Carboniferous sandstones and shales, and has a mixture of the acidic and basic woodland types described above. Another distinctive type on a wet river terrace here is an ungrazed alderwood, with wet mull soils carrying Carex acutiformis, C. paniculata, Equisetum telmateia, Paris quadrifolia and Phalaris arundinacea. Through all sections, the high flood level of the river produces a zone of enrichment which supports numerous basiphilous vascular plants and bryophytes, and these include Trollius europaeus and Geranium sylvaticum in the upper section, which is closer to the source of the river on the Bewcastle Fells of north Cumberland.
Orton Moss
W.I35-   ORTON MOSS, CUMBERLAND
NY 3454.    50 ha
Grade i
These very mixed woods are developed partly on a former peat moss, possibly of the raised mire type but probably grading into valley mire. Areas of Scots pine are periodically cut and replanted, but this tree regenerates very freely naturally. Pinewood has a typical bilberry-moss community, but Dryopteris dilatata is locally abundant. The pine stand felled around 1958 had a good colony of Goody era repens, but this has not been found in other areas of pine. A good deal of sessile oak is scattered through the woods, usually mixed with Scots pine and birch, and birch also forms pure stands of different ages with some trees reaching a large size. There is also much rowan, hazel and holly, and more locally, alder buckthorn. In one place, old peat diggings in the original ombrotrophic peat carry an acidophilous mire vegetation with a Sphagnum carpet and Myrica gale, Andromeda polifolia, Oxycoccus palustris, Carex curta and Osmunda regalis.
Heathery clearings on dried out peat have gradually developed a subspontaneous growth of Scots pine and birch during recent years. The former valley mire which floods during winter has a poor-fen with a great deal of Carex rostrata, Calamagrostis epigejos and Dryopteris spinulosa. In this part of the woods there is a much mixed willow (mainly Salix «'»eraz)-alder-birch swamp woodland with a Sphagnum recurvum-S. auriculatum floor. Pyrola minor is frequent in these damper areas. While the soils are mostly acidic, a few areas of more basic loam occur on which grow herbs such as Geum rivale, Circaea lutetiana, and Sanicula europaea. Ivy and polypody commonly occur as members of the field community on dry acidic soils.
Orton Moss is especially interesting for the old hay meadows which occur around the edges, especially on the south and west sides. These unploughed and herb-rich meadows grade into the woodland, and, because of the abundance of Succisa pratensis, the larval food plant, are celebrated as the haunt of the marsh fritillary Euphydryas aurinia. The whole area is extremely rich entomologically and rates highly on this account. Ornithologically, it is important as the breeding haunt of at least three pairs of sparrowhawks, and it also contains a good range of other woodland bird species.
Scales
W.I46.   SCALES  WOOD, CUMBERLAND    
NY 1616.    30 ha
Grade 2
Scales Wood lies between 100 m and 250 m on a fairly steep slope of Ennerdale Granophyre facing north-east. From its position on the lower slopes of the High Stile range in the high fells of western Lakeland, the wood receives a heavy rainfall of about 203 cm annually, and the shaded aspect enhances atmospheric humidity. The parent rock gives mainly acidic soils and the lower part of the wood is a well-grown stand of high forest sessile oak with few undershrubs since there is sheep-grazing throughout, though scattered birches fulfil this role in places. The upper part of the wood consists of fairly pure birchwood, though this is probably serai as it lies well within the altitudinal range of oak. The ground is generally block littered and there is a luxuriant fern and bryophyte flora, with abundance of Atlantic species such as Hymenophyllum wilsonii, Plagiochila spinulosa, Scapania gracilis, Hylocomium um-bratum and the rare moss Sematophyllum novae- caesareae, unknown elsewhere in England outside Borrowdale. At the upper edge of the wood the grassy field layer grades into bilberry heath with a high cover of Sphagnum capillaceum and S. quinquefarium. There is an old record of Festuca altissima, probably referring to the ravine of Far Ruddy Beck, where calcareous rocks bear a more varied flora.
This site could be regarded as an alternative to Johnny's Wood (W.i33(e)), but is too small and limited in range of habitat, vegetation and flora to take the place of the Borrowdale Woods as a whole.
Derbyshire
Derbys Dales
W.II5-   DERBYSHIRE DALES  WOODLANDS,
DERBYSHIRE/STAFFORDSHIRE Grade I*
The Low Peak of Derbyshire contains one of the most important masses of Carboniferous Limestone in Britain. In the river valleys or Dales coming from this area are a series of ashwoods occurring on steep hillsides over a thin rendzina soil or on scree. These woodlands together with those of the Mendip Hills exhibit the best-known development of ashwood. The areas are for the most part ungrazed and have a rich shrub and field layer. A series of woodlands is listed in order to cover the range of variation; these areas are also associated with key grassland sites. Historical documentation indicates that the bulk of the woodland in the Dales area has originated since the middle of the seventeenth century.
(a) Lathkill Dale SK 1865.    70 ha
Lathkill Dale is orientated east-west and lies just south of Bakewell. Some woodland on the north and east end has been modified by planting but the remainder of the area contains some fine ashwood. Species found with the ash include wych elm, hazel, privet, guelder rose, field maple, elder, hawthorn, dog rose, gooseberry and rowan. The field layer is locally dominated by Mercurialis perennis or Deschampsia cespitosa together with ferns but there is a wide variety of forbs present including much Geum rivale, Galeobdolon luteum, Campanula trachelium, Poa nemoralis, P. trivialis, Brachypodium sylvaticum and Melica uniflora. A long list of characteristic but less common species is to be found including dogwood, Daphne mezereum, Convallaria majalis, Neottia nidus-avis, Helleborus viridis, Gagea lutea, Litho-spermum officinale, Mycelis muralis, Asperula odorata, Cirsium heterophyllum,Hypericumhirsutum, Tamus communis, Euonymus europaeus, Milium effusum, Zerna ramosa and Festuca gigantea. Occasional old lead workings add interest as the spoil heaps support a rich flora with species such as Helianihemum chamaecistus, Campanula glomerata, Orchis fuchsii, Minuartia verna and Briza media. See also L. 124(1) and OW.44-
(b) Cressbrook Dale
SK 1773.    25 ha
The Dale runs in a north-south direction, is steep sided and contains some good limestone crags. The tree canopy is of ash with a little wych elm and a dense shrub layer of bird-cherry, field maple, buckthorn, guelder rose and hazel. There are patches of aspen- dominated scrub. The lower part of the Dale appears to have been disturbed to some extent and here sycamore is more abundant. There is some good cliff scrub with rowan, rock whitebeam, yew, small- leaved lime and wych elm. The field layer is dominated by Mercurialis perennis with patches of Allium ursinum and Convallaria majalis. Melica nutans and Campanula latifolia are frequent. There is an interesting juxtaposition of grassland and woodland in the Dale as well as species-rich mine spoil heaps where Minuartia verna is common. The Dale also contains the only known English locality for the rare moss Thamnium angustifolium. It has been suggested that the presence of small-leaved lime together with Convallaria majalis, bird-    cherry and dogwood indicates that at least a part of the area may be primary woodland. See also L. 124(1).
(c) Dove Dale Ashwood SK 1453.    20 ha
The craggy valley of the Dove runs north-south and has good woods on both east and west aspects. Dovedale Wood itself is dominated by ash with beech, holly (very local), field maple, sycamore and pedunculate oak. It has been suggested that the wood can be regarded as intermediate between pure ashwood and the oakwoods of western Britain. There are areas of fine cliff woodland dominated by yew together with Sorbus aucuparia, S. aria, S. rupicola, Prunus spinosa, Ribes alpinum, Rosa pimpinellifolia and Crataegus monogyna. The herbaceous flora is varied; areas near the river are dominated by Filipendula ulmaria, Phalaris arundinacea, Veronica beccabunga and Petasites hybridus whilst on many of the slopes Mercurialis perennis, Geum urbanum, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Fragaria vesca and Deschampsia cespitosa are dominant. Where the ground is broken by outcrops and the canopy is more open a rich assemblage of forbs is present, at times approaching a limestone grassland sward in composition. See also L. 124(1).
Devon
Axmouth/Lyme Undercliffs
W.&7.  AXMOUTH-LYME REGIS  UNDERCLIFFS, DEVON
SY 255898-333914. 320 ha 
Grade i
This site, on the south Devon coast on Lyme Bay, extends from west of Lyme Regis to the mouth of the River Axe.
The area is of stratigraphic importance and includes outcrops of Triassic, Rhaetic and basal Lower Lias exposures of the sub- Cretaceous unconformity, the most westerly exposure of the Gault Clay as a distinct lithology, examples of penecontemporaneous erosion in the Cenomanian Limestone and the most satisfactory exposure of the planus Zone of the Upper Chalk in Devon. Much of the interest of the area has arisen from a massive landslip in the mid nineteenth century when a large field became detached from the main cliff and moved seawards. This cliff area, now called Goat Island, and the chasm left when it moved, have largely become covered with woodland and scrub. A continuing series of minor slips has given an area of varied topography as well as exposing fresh areas for colonisation. The climate is typically western Atlantic and the frequent damp mists encourage a profuse, vigorous growth of ferns and climbers.
The woodland here is varied: photographic records establish that much of it has developed since 1905, and all ages of tree from that date are present. Some areas have regenerated naturally, such as the chasm between Goat Island and the mainland where ashwood has developed, whilst others have been planted. The main species in the planted areas include beech, ash, holm oak and Turkey oak, silver fir and pines. Extensive areas of the reserve are covered by a mixture of ash and field maple with a thick understorey of hazel, dogwood, spindle, blackthorn and other scrub species. The whole area is a mosaic of developing woodland and scrub together with abundant climbers, traveller's joy and ivy featuring prominently.
The ground flora varies in luxuriance depending on tree cover, ranging from areas dominated by ivy with abundant clumps of PhylKtis scolopendrium to almost open grassland where scrub is just developing. Species present in some abundance include Mercurialis perennis, Circaea lutetiana, Geranium robertianum, Carex pendula, Rubus fruticosus agg., Dryopteris filix-mas, D. dilatata and Polystichum setiferum together with the usual mesophilous herbs. A feature of some areas is a low scrub with much Rubus fruticosus agg., Ligustrum vulgare and Rubia peregrina. In proximity to this vegetation Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum is found.
See also C.26.
Black Tor
W.66. BLACK TOR COPSE, DEVON
sx 5689.    6 ha 
Grade i
Black Tor Copse is on the northern edge of Dartmoor but having similarities to the Wistman's Wood situation in that the area has developed over a granite clitter on the northwest-facing slope of the valley of the West Okement River. Pedunculate oak is again the dominant species but the trees are taller and it is possible to walk beneath much of the canopy. A rich and luxuriant epiphyte flora is present containing several species such as Antitrichia curtipendula and Douinia ovata which are of local, northern or western distribution. The ground flora contains acidophilous species such as bilberry together with grasses and ferns growing in crevices and on patches of soil. The majority of the granite blocks are covered with a carpet of bryophyte species such as Rhytidiadelphus loreus, Thuidium tamariscinum and Plagiothecium undulatum. See also L-92, P.25 and U.i.
Bovey Valley/Yarner
W.63-   BOVEY VALLEY AND  YARNER WOODS, DEVON
sx 7778.    385 ha  
Grade i
This woodland complex is one of the richest and most varied remaining in the Dartmoor National Park. The many different conditions of slope, aspect, and soil, together with the Atlantic climate, support a very rich and varied flora and fauna.
The woods lie in the valleys of the River Bovey and some of its tributary streams on the eastern fringe of Dartmoor. Included are Rudge Wood, parts of Houndtor and Hisley Woods, Water Cleave, Woodash, Wanford Cleave, Lust-leigh Cleave and Neadon Cleave, all in the main Bovey Valley, and the lower slopes of the valley of the Becka Brook, together with Yarner Wood to the south and the smaller detached block of Higher Knowle Wood to the east. Considerable parts of the site are already managed as the NNRs of Yarner Wood and Bovey Valley Woodlands.
Yarner Wood includes the valleys of the Yarner and Woodcock Streams, together with the intervening spur of land, giving an altitudinal range of 240 m. The tree canopy is composed mainly of sessile oak, with birch locally on the sites of old fields. There are also plantations of Scots pine and other conifers, and much planting of oak and other hardwoods has been done since the Reserve was declared in 1951. The wood is similar in character to some of the Welsh woodlands, but is generally drier, and some of the oaks are much larger than those typical of western British woods nowadays. Holly and rowan form an understorey, which is locally dense, and the ground flora of the drier slopes is dominated by bilberry, bracken, heather and Melampyrum pratense. The rare Lobelia wens is associated with some of the old field sites.
In the valleys, on better soils, ash and alder are frequent, with hazel below, over a mesophilous ground flora including such species as Primula vulgaris and Sanicula europaea. Osmunda regalis and Chrysosplenium oppositifolium occur locally, together with good epiphyte and bryophyte floras including such sensitive species as Hookeria lucens.
The main block in the Bovey Valley carries a variety of woodland types, including those already described. Whereas Yarner Wood is entirely on Culm rocks, however, much of this area is on granite, giving relatively base-rich soils often littered with granite boulders. On the lower slopes, bluebell and Holcus may dominate the field layer, with a mixture of ferns and Oxalis acetosella on flushed areas. Pedunculate oak replaces sessile oak, and ash, alder, birch and beech are all frequent over a relatively calcicolous field layer. The granite boulders in and near the river and the Becka Brook carry a very rich bryophyte flora.
Higher Knowle Wood, to the east of the main block, lies on an unusual conglomerate rock which is probably related to the nearby Bovey Beds (Oligocene). Pedunculate oak is the main tree, but beech, ash and many others also occur.
The fauna of the whole complex is characteristically western, with such birds as the dipper, grey wagtail and pied flycatcher.
Dendles
W.8o.   DENDLES  WOOD, DEVON
sx 6162.    65 ha
Grade 2
The site occupies the two arms and junction of a Y-shaped valley system on the south-west edge of Dartmoor. Sessile oak woodland is present over much of the site but on the east and south-west beech has been planted. The beech is gradually becoming dominant and a successional series is exhibited. The ground flora is for a large part a grassy sward containing species such as Holcus mollis, H. lanatus, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Potentilla reptans, Endymion non- scriptus and Pteridium aquilinum. There is a good epiphyte and bryophyte flora, the latter being particularly rich in the vicinity of the streams.
Heddon Valley
W.82.   HEDDON VALLEY  WOODS, DEVON
ss 6549.    165 ha
Grade 2
Heddon Valley is an unspoilt, steep-sided, straight valley leading down to the sea. The valley runs north-south and the woodland is at the landward (south) end. Included in the site is open, grassy moorland, damp meadowland on the valley floor and scree slopes at the seaward end of the valley. The woodland is dominated by sessile oak with some patches of ash. A wide range of tree and shrub species are present including alder, birch, beech, hazel, hawthorn, holly, traveller's joy and gorse. The field layer is varied and includes both basiphilous and acidophilous communities. There are areas containing dog's mercury, primrose,
Fragaria vesca, Euphorbia amygdaloides and Sanicula europaea which may be contrasted with areas supporting communities which include bilberry, heather, foxglove and bracken. Yet another facies represented is the damp, fern-rich woodland type with Dryopteris spp. abundant.
Hobby
W.83-   HOBBY WOODS, DEVON
ss 3323.    90 ha
Grade 2
The Hobby is an area of steep, wooded sea cliffs facing in a north- easterly direction over Barnstaple Bay on the north Devon coast. The tree dominant is sessile oak although within the woodland beech, ash and some planted conifers are present. These other species occur on the upper parts of the slopes, pure oak woodland being present on the steeper slopes close to the sea. Shrub species are represented by hazel, hawthorn, holly, blackthorn and gorse; some rhododendron is present. Large areas of the ground flora are dominated by a sward of Luzula sylvatica, other areas supporting a flora which includes Ajuga reptans, Geranium robertianum, Fragaria vesca, Sanicula europaea and Asperula odorata. A rich fern flora is present including Dryopteris borreri, D. filix-mas, D. dilatata and D. aemula. Epiphytes are well represented on the boles and branches of the trees, their presence emphasising the moist conditions found within this type of woodland.
Holne Chase
W.64-  HOLNE  CHASE, DEVON
3x7271.    290 ha
Grade i*
This is an extensive valley system of the rivers Dart and Webburn on the southern fringe of Dartmoor. Steep-sided valleys of nearly all aspects are present with altitude ranging from 75 to 230 m. There is a series of oakwoods, and sessile oak predominates in the area particularly on the valley alluvial soils. The oak occurs with other species such as ash, beech, small-leaved lime, hornbeam, aspen, wych elm, holly, hazel and willow. Planted larch and Douglas fir are also present. On the richer soils a mesophilous ground flora is to be found containing species such as dog's mercury, primrose and Sanicula europaea. The hillsides and more acidic soils support more pure stands of sessile oak under which a field layer dominated by bilberry, bramble, Luzula sylvatica and Lonicera periclymenum is present. Throughout the area, flushes are to be found containing much Chrysosplenium oppositifolium under an ash and alder canopy; at their edges these merge gradually into the surrounding oak woodland. At the uppermost edges of the valleys the epiphyte flora resembles that of the woodlands higher on the Moor although the flora is less varied. A point of particular note is the presence of a rich bryophyte flora, both in the woodland and in the rivers themselves; the very rare Fissidens poly-phyllus and F. serrulatus can be found in some quantity near Holne Bridge.
Piles Copse
W.79-   PILES  COPSE, DEVON
sx 6361.    5 ha 
Grade 2
This is a valley woodland on the southern edge of Dartmoor on the west- facing slope above the River Erme. Although
strewn with boulders the woodland floor does not exhibit such extreme clitter formations as found in Wistman's Wood or Black Tor Copse. The tree layer is again dominated by pedunculate oak but the trees are less stunted and the appearance is of a more ordinary woodland. The climate appears to be milder and more humid; there is little or no Antitrichia or Douinia but Jamesoniella autumnalis, Harp-anthus scutatus and Dicranum fiagellare occur, these not having been recorded anywhere else in Devon.
Watersmeet
W.&7.  AXMOUTH-LYME REGIS  UNDERCLIFFS, DEVON
SY 255898-333914. 320 ha 
Grade i
This site, on the south Devon coast on Lyme Bay, extends from west of Lyme Regis to the mouth of the River Axe.
The area is of stratigraphic importance and includes outcrops of Triassic, Rhaetic and basal Lower Lias exposures of the sub- Cretaceous unconformity, the most westerly exposure of the Gault Clay as a distinct lithology, examples of penecontemporaneous erosion in the Cenomanian Limestone and the most satisfactory exposure of the planus Zone of the Upper Chalk in Devon. Much of the interest of the area has arisen from a massive landslip in the mid nineteenth century when a large field became detached from the main cliff and moved seawards. This cliff area, now called Goat Island, and the chasm left when it moved, have largely become covered with woodland and scrub. A continuing series of minor slips has given an area of varied topography as well as exposing fresh areas for colonisation. The climate is typically western Atlantic and the frequent damp mists encourage a profuse, vigorous growth of ferns and climbers.
The woodland here is varied: photographic records establish that much of it has developed since 1905, and all ages of tree from that date are present. Some areas have regenerated naturally, such as the chasm between Goat Island and the mainland where ashwood has developed, whilst others have been planted. The main species in the planted areas include beech, ash, holm oak and Turkey oak, silver fir and pines. Extensive areas of the reserve are covered by a mixture of ash and field maple with a thick understorey of hazel, dogwood, spindle, blackthorn and other scrub species. The whole area is a mosaic of developing woodland and scrub together with abundant climbers, traveller's joy and ivy featuring prominently.
The ground flora varies in luxuriance depending on tree cover, ranging from areas dominated by ivy with abundant clumps of PhylKtis scolopendrium to almost open grassland where scrub is just developing. Species present in some abundance include Mercurialis perennis, Circaea lutetiana, Geranium robertianum, Carex pendula, Rubus fruticosus agg., Dryopteris filix-mas, D. dilatata and Polystichum setiferum together with the usual mesophilous herbs. A feature of some areas is a low scrub with much Rubus fruticosus agg., Ligustrum vulgare and Rubia peregrina. In proximity to this vegetation Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum is found.
See also C.26.
Wistmans
W.65_ WISTMAN'S WOOD, DEVON
sx 6177.    4 ha 
Grade i
This is a small area sited on the west-facing side of the West Dart river valley. The wood lies between 380 and 435 m on 'clitter', a granite block scree. In contrast with many Dartmoor woodlands pedunculate as opposed to sessile oak is dominant. The trees are gnarled and twisted, many having their lower branches resting on the granite blocks which form the woodland floor. There is some rowan, a little hazel, holly and willow (Salix aurita). The epiphyte flora, both bryophyte and vascular, is luxuriant and epiphytic lichens are well represented. Antitrichia curtipendula is known to occur as are many bryophytes with a western distribution such as Douinia ovata. The ground flora consists of a bryophyte carpet covering the blocks, and species such as bilberry, Luzula sylvatica, Holcus mollis and bramble grow in soil-filled crevices. Ferns form an important part of the ground flora.
Woody Bay
W.8l.   WOODY BAY, DEVON
ss 6748.    55 ha
Grade 2
A coastal woodland which has a generally north-facing aspect. The cliff slopes steeply and drops precipitously to the sea which forms one boundary, whilst on the landward side the woodland is bordered by moorland. The tree canopy is dominated by sessile oak, there being a little rowan and birch. The rare Sorbus devoniensis and S. sub- cuneata are found in this woodland. Other tree species include yew, holly, sallow and rose mainly as understorey species.
The ground flora is for the most part acidophilous with Vaccinium myrtillus, Melampyrum pratense, Deschampsia flexuosa, Calluna vulgaris and Erica cinerea being frequent. Some more base-rich areas support Allium ursinum, Fragaria vesca, Sanicula europaea and Circaea lutetiana. The fern and epiphyte floras are well developed; the ferns including Dryopteris aemula and Polystichum setiferum.
Dorset
Melbury Park
W-59.   MELBURY  PARK, DORSET
ST 5706.    170 ha  
Grade i
This ancient park is, for its size, one of the richest sites for epiphytic lichens known in Britain, due largely to its freedom from air pollution and from disturbance. Interesting comparisons can be made between the lichen flora of the south-western part, where ancient trees of oak, alder, birch and willow are associated with boggy ground in the valleys, and where there are also some ancient ash and beech, and that of the northern part where many old elms and other planted trees occur. Several of the lichens of the site are not known to occur elsewhere in Britain.
Durham
Castle Eden Dene
W.l6z.   CASTLE  EDEN  DENE, DURHAM
NZ 4339.    210 ha  
Grade 2
This is the best remaining example of the steep-sided wooded valleys which run through boulder clay-covered Magnesian Limestone to the coast in this region.
Two main types of Magnesian Limestone of the Middle Series, Shell Limestone Reef and Bedded Limestone, are exposed in cliffs up to 30 m high. The soils are derived from variable boulder clay and are mainly alkaline but leaching of sandy soil produces acid conditions locally.
Pedunculate oak and ash occur together with some yew, elder, hawthorn, hazel, rowan and rhododendron. The field layer is composed mainly of Pteridium aquilinum, with Anemone nemorosa, Mercurialis perennis, Deschampsia cespitosa, Holcus lanatus, Endymion non- scriptus and Blech-num spicant. Festuca ovina occurs on the leached sandy soils.
Beech has been planted in some areas and sycamore has established itself. There are also a number of mixed conifer plantations and some plantations of hardwoods. Cypripedium calceolus and Ophrys insectifera formerly occurred but are now thought to be extinct. Other notable species still occurring are Pyrola rotundifolia and Convallaria majalis.
The northern brown (Castle Eden) argus butterfly Aricia artaxerxes occurs here.
See also C.yo. 
Essex
Canfield Hart
W.53-   CANFIELD  HART  WOOD, ESSEX
TL 5619.    30 ha
Grade 2
Canfield Hart Wood lies close to Hatfield Forest on calcareous till. It is transitional in character between the oak-ash coppice-with- standards type widespread in eastern England, and the derived type dominated by elm. The ground flora has abundant oxlip and where the canopy is broken patches of grass occur. Many rare and local species are present, including Iris foetidissima, and Campanula glomerata, Anacamptis pyramidalis, Ophrys apifera, more characteristic of the grassland.
The wood is selected mainly as the southernmost population of oxlip. This is a species on which much research has been carried out and whose range-determining factors are not understood. This, coupled with the wood's diversity, justifies inclusion as a grade 2.
Epping Forest
W_55.  EPPING FOREST, ESSEX
TQ 4298.    1150 ha        
Grade 2
Epping Forest stands on London Clay overlain in places by gravel and sands, giving rise to a mosaic of neutral and acid soils with locally impeded drainage. Most of the woodland is ancient groves of pollarded beech, some of coppice origin, with some pedunculate oak, silver birch and holly. Hornbeam forms a separate woodland type with some pedunculate oak, mainly on the lower-lying clays. Throughout the Forest, birch and holly invade where there are gaps in the canopy. Although the woodland is mostly overmature, all the dominant species are regenerating sporadically, mainly on the margins of mature woodland. The ground flora is poor, often absent completely below beech and hornbeam, but along watercourses and beside ponds a marsh flora has developed. Epiphytes are much reduced by air pollution and shade.
This site represents both beech and pedunculate oak-hornbeam woodland but in view of pollution and public pressure the site is not considered to merit grade i status.
Hales
W-52.   HALES  WOOD, ESSEX
TL 5740.    8 ha          
Grade 2
In east Cambridge, west Suffolk and north Essex there is a series of coppice-with-standards woodlands over an area dominated by Chalky Boulder Clay. Hales Wood is a good example of such a woodland. The canopy is dominated by pedunculate oak together with ash, field maple, elm and hornbeam, the last forming an interesting link with the concentrations of this species in the Home counties. There is a wide range of shrub species present including hazel, hawthorn, dogwood, blackthorn, rose, wayfaring tree and guelder rose.
The most characteristic feature of the ground flora is an abundance of the true oxlip. Other species dominant in the field layer include Mercurialis perennis, Fragaria vesca, Sanicula europaea, Viola sp. and, in the wetter patches, Filipendula ulmaria. The dewberry is common in some parts of the wood whilst occasional small patches of Paris quadri-folia may be found.
Hatfield Forest
W-54-  HATFIELD  FOREST, ESSEX
TL 5320.    360 ha  
Grade 2
This former Royal Forest lies mainly on Chalky Boulder Clay with patches of gravel exposed near low-lying ground. Large oak, hornbeam and horse chestnut occur in the open parkland, but most of the woodland is coppice- with-standards from which many of the standards have been felled. Ash, hazel and field maple are now the most abundant species, with hornbeam and field maple standards. Within the Forest as a whole there are also ponds and streams. A wide variety of plants occur in the area, with Epipactis purpurata and Paris quadrifolia among the local species present.
The site is included as an example of eastern coppices with a composition somewhat intermediate between the hornbeam and the ash- hazei-maple coppices. It has the additional advantage that a variety of habitats occur in a single location.
Gloucestershire
Collinpark
W-74-   COLLINPARK WOOD, GLOUCESTERSHIRE
so 7528. 65 ha 
Grade i
Collinpark Wood lies on clay soils sloping gently into the alluvial plain of the River Leadon, and contains tributaries of this river. It is an overgrown coppice woodland of up to about 40 years' growth, dominated by sessile oak and small-leaved lime, with local concentrations of silver birch and a few ash and poplar. Wild service is also locally abundant and regenerating profusely. The sparse shrub layer includes hazel, broom, crab apple and willows. Soils are mostly heavy, neutral to acid. The ground flora has abundant bluebell and dog's mercury and a range of species including Galeobdolon luteum, Primula vulgaris, Pteridium aquilinum, Deschampsia cespitosa, Carex pendula and Chrysosplenium oppositifolium. Along the northern margin there is a massive causeway embankment and associated moat. The latter is filled with organic material with a fen-like flora, whilst the calcareous subsoil brought to the surface on the embankment has enabled calcicolous species such as wych elm, field maple and dog's mercury to become established.
The wood is selected as a representative of damp calcifuge lime woodland in western Britain, complementary to the Lincolnshire lime coppices, where, however, the oaks are almost entirely pedunculate.
Cotwold Commons/Beech
W.J2.   COTSWOLD  COMMONS  AND  BEECHWOODS, GLOUCESTERSHIRE
808913-9011.    740 ha
Grade i
Although there are many fine stands of beechwoods in the Cotswolds, the Birdlip-Painswick Woods are regarded as the finest example. The high forest beech here varies in age from about 300 years downwards, but the majority appear to be 150-160 years. The understorey of holly and yew is sparse, and only locally forms a closed canopy. Natural regeneration of beech, ash, holly and yew occurs, aided by the recent thinning of some of the canopy. The field layer consists mainly of Oxalis acetosella, Mercurialis perennis, Anemone nemorosa, Sanicula europaea, Circaea lutetiana, Helleborus viridis and Daphne laureola, but numerous other species have been recorded, including Cephalanthera rubra, Monotropa hypophegea, Neottia nidus-avis, Pyrola minor, Epipactis leptochila, E. vectensis, Convallaria majalis and Aquilegia vulgaris. Common rights exist over the land and this, coupled with the fact that the area carried beechwood in the fourteenth century, suggests that the woodland here is primary.
The neighbouring woods of Buckle, Witcombe, Cranham and Brockworth are also dominated by beech with an admixture of ash. Some appear to be of coppice origin. Holly forms the main understorey, but the absence of old individuals suggests that it has invaded recently. Within Cranham Wood is an open area, formerly grassland, now being invaded by a considerable variety of trees and shrubs, including beech, ash, yew, holly, hawthorn, whitebeam, hazel and oak. It appears that this is developing towards 'mixed beechwood' and constitutes an important variant of beech woodland.
The Sheepscombe Wood complex is extensive and lies on both sides and round the head of a valley above Sheepscombe. Although partly under conifers, there are substantial areas of beech woodland containing rare species. Together with Saltridge Hill Wood it is almost contiguous with the Birdlip-Painswick Woods.
The Painswick Beacon area is open grassland, scrub and small copses surrounded by extensive beech woodland which is used intensively by the public as an open space for recreation. The higher parts of the Hill, particularly the flat plateau, are used as a golf course, on which Erachy-podium pinnatum has been controlled by mowing. Many of the grasslands accessible from the road are used as carparks.
The lower slopes of the Hill are old quarry workings with typical Cotswold grassland species, being well-known for the abundance of musk orchids Herminum monorchis, pyramidal orchids Anacamptis pyramidalis and fragrant orchids Gymnadenia conopsea. Colonisation by subspon-taneous Scots pine has occurred in most of the old quarries - in some places trees are 6-10 m tall. Seedlings are widespread. Grassland is of the Brachypodium pinnatum-Bromus erectus type with a little Festtica ovina, Koeleria gracilis and Briza media. Cirsium acaulon is frequent, with good quantities of Lotus corniculatus and Anthyllisvulneraria. Hieracium exotericum, which is widespread on the open screes and quarry floors, is a feature of the Cotswolds.
Juniper is uncommon, 12 bushes being found in 1968, most of them 30- 46 cm high, although three moribund 1.2-1.5 m examples were found in mixed scrub under pine.
Forest of Dean
W-73.   FOREST  OF DEAN, GLOUCESTERSHIRE      
Grade I
The Forest of Dean, like the New Forest, was a Royal Forest which has survived as a large area of woodland. Although it has been exploited, mainly for large timber, for centuries the woodlands have been maintained by planting and careful management. In the past few decades large areas of The Dean have been converted to conifers but existing deciduous woodland still reflects differences in the underlying rocks.
The central region lies on Coal Measures from which a clay-loam soil has developed and which carries oak (Quercus robur) woodland and a poor, calcifuge ground flora. Surrounding this acid area are limestone and Old Red Sandstone. These form more fertile soils which bear a variety of woodland types over a richer ground flora. Oak woodland, which is often pure but may contain birch and beech, commonly grows over a bluebell, Holcus mollis and bracken field layer. In the more acid areas this is replaced by bilberry, and in the more base-rich areas by Sanicula europaea, Circaea lutetiana and primrose. Woodlands on the limestone are often mixtures of oak, beech, lime, ash and a variety of shrubs.
Conservation in the Forest of Dean, like the New Forest, is best effected by a broad agreement covering the whole of the Forest. Among sites which together constitute a more or less complete range of woodland types, the following are regarded as the most important.
See also W.g5.
(a) Nagshead Inclosure so 6008.    28 ha
This area of mature, broad-leaved woodland planted in 1814 lies on the Pennant Sandstone (Coal Measures). The main species is pedunculate oak with sweet chestnut, beech, birch and gean. The western part, which has been closed to grazing since 1947-48, has a developing and dense understorey of holly, rowan and other species and some tree regeneration, but not of oak. The eastern part remains open to grazing and has a sparse and scattered understorey of holly and rowan.
The field layer is dominated by Holcus mollis, Pteridium aquilinum and bramble with Deschampsia flexuosa, Endymion non-scriptus and Oxalis acetosella locally abundant.
This is a good example of the older age class of Forest of Dean oakwood on the Coal Measures. Since 1942 it has been the site of important ornithological studies mainly in connection with a series of nest boxes which totalled 238 in 1964. The four important species breeding in the boxes are pied flycatcher, redstart, blue tit and great tit. All these species nest here in some numbers and there are no other nest box areas in Britain where so many pairs of pied flycatcher and redstart breed. The study of the pied flycatcher is the most prolonged ever made and only Wytham, near Oxford, has a titmouse study of comparable size and duration. Recently a study of the wood warbler has been started and almost the whole population of adults and young have been ringed. There is nothing on a comparable scale elsewhere in Britain.
(b) Dingle Wood so 5611.    9 ha
This woodland lies on Carboniferous Limestone which has been quarried in the past. The result is a series of deep pits and gullies (or 'scowles') surrounded by irregular cliffs which have been abandoned for long enough to allow woodland to develop naturally. Part of the area has been planted.
The woodland consists of a great variety of species with beech and wych elm often dominant together with holly and yew in the shrub layer. Other trees present include birch, sweet chestnut, ash, oak, sycamore and rowan with a scattered shrub layer of holly and yew together with field maple, dogwood, hazel, hawthorn, willows, elder, roses and guelder rose.
The herb layer contains a rich variety of calcicolous species with Paris quadrifolia, Pyrola minor, Colchicum autumnale and Neottia nidus-avis of particular note. A good calcicolous bryophyte flora also occurs.
The woodland is particularly notable for the richness of its tree, shrub and herb layers and the scowles are floristically some of the richest areas of the Dean Forest.
(c) Speech House so 6212.    18 ha
An area of open woodland with very ancient oaks, beeches and hollies. The soils are poorly drained acid loams and patches ofjfuncus effusus occur. The ground flora is mostly a Pteridium- Rubus carpet with large areas of Agrostis tennis grassland.
The combination of large trees and open conditions has perpetuated an outstandingly rich epiphytic flora and 53 epiphytic lichens and 15 epiphytic bryophytes have been recorded. The epiphytic flora is one of the richest in central lowland England and is exceeded only by that of some of the ancient parks, e.g. Moccas Park in Herefordshire. Usnea spp. are now rare in the forests of lowland central, north and east England but they are finely developed here. Alectoria fuscescens is a species of northern (boreal) distribution and the Parmelias, especially P. caperata, show a luxuriance not otherwise seen in midland England. Per-tusaria hemisphaerica and Thelotrema lepadinum are probably relic species of the old forests as is P. flavida which is rare everywhere. Other relic species may be Haematomma elatinum, once thought to be confined to south-west Ireland and north-west Scotland, but now known in widely scattered areas of Britain, and Normandina pulchella, formerly considered as highly Atlantic.
Hudnalls
W.75-  HUDNALLS, GLOUCESTERSHIRE
so 5404, so 5303. 75 ha  
Grade i
The wide range of semi-natural coppice types in the lower Wye valley area includes a series on the more acidic sandstone rocks in which beech is the main constituent, even though other species are usually mixed with it. Much of this woodland occurred on the Monmouthshire side, where it has all, as far as is known, been allowed to develop to high forest or, more commonly, has been replaced by a variety of plantations. On the Gloucestershire side substantial tracts of these calcifuge coppice types survived as coppice into the present century, particularly to the north and south of the St Briavels meander, and extending north to the Staunton area. Recently, however, much has been cleared, notably at Lords Grove near Monmouth, and north from Wyegate Hill, but one group, centred on Hudnalls, remains virtually intact.
Hudnalls and adjacent woods occupy steep, north- and west-facing sandstone slopes. Much of the woodland is a mixture of beech and sessile oak over a ground flora of Luzula sylvatica, Blechnum spicant, Lonicera periclymenum and Melampyrum pratense. Part of this is a mixture which retains the small-coppice structure, but other parts on the steepest slopes are ancient beech high forest with very few oaks and a negligible field layer. Along the stream sides and in parts of the coppice, ash and small-leaved lime occur. All these are on strongly acid soils, but where streams drain down the slope and along flushed areas at the base of the slope a far richer coppice type occurs in which wych elm, ash and hazel are more abundant and the ground flora is extremely rich.
Hudnalls has a complex management history. Part was common woodland, but adjacent parts are coppice-with-68   Woodlands standards. Structural differences coincide partly with walls within the wood and are clearly a relict of use and management, but the composition of the wood appears to be natural.
Hampshire
New Forest
W.26.  NEW FOREST, HAMPSHIRE
su 20.    12 600 ha
Grade i*
This former Royal Forest lies on Tertiary sands, gravels and clays dissected by wide, shallow valleys. Its soil types encompass a considerable range from relatively base-rich brown earths to extremely acidic podsols, and from these to waterlogged clays, alluvium and acidic peats in flushed and low-lying situations. Only part of this area is wooded though the woods are extensive: within the New Forest as a whole the tracts of grassland, heathland and valley mire grade into woodland, forming a tremendous variety of transitional habitats of scientific importance. The woodlands themselves are partly unenclosed, these being known as the Ancient and Ornamental Woodlands, and managed largely for amenity and nature conservation, and partly within enclosures: the remainder, the Statutory Inclosures, are mostly managed commercially, but include a number of scientifically important sites.
The woodlands are of different types. The most extensive are mature and overmature stands of beech, pedunculate oak, sessile oak, and any combination of these (though it is rare to find both oaks together), with an understorey of holly and rarely other species such as yew and hawthorn. Structurally these are diverse, with a range of age classes from saplings to ancient, overmature trees, many of which have been pollarded. Over some sites on base-rich clays, ash and less commonly field maple are important constituents, but hazel, formerly common, is now rare within the unenclosed woodlands. The ground flora in the woodlands on acid soils is very poor, often no more than patchy Leucobryum glaucum, but on the deeper soils bramble and bracken may be abundant, and on base-rich clays a fairly rich basiphilous flora may develop.
Less extensive woodland types fall into four broad categories. In valley bottoms with alkaline and neutral ground water, alder carrs have developed, some with a rich, marsh flora including Impatiens noli-tangere and the national rarity Lud-wigia palustris: many of these have been coppiced until recently, but there are some with a range of age classes, including very old trees. Scrub, dominated by holly, but also including yew, whitebeam and hawthorn, has developed on the better, reasonably well-drained soils, and is in many places developing into a mixed woodland with pedunculate oak dominant. Self-  sown pinewoods occur on the more heathy areas and into areas of wet heath. Birch woodlands, though not uncommon, are found mainly around the margins of the larger stands of mature woodland.
The vascular flora of the New Forest woodlands is, with few exceptions, composed of widely occurring plants. Species of biogeographical interest in addition to the two species mentioned above include ferns such as Thelypteris phegopteris and T. palustris which are local in southern England. It is the cryptogamic flora of the New Forest that is extraordinarily rich. The bryophyte flora includes some rare species, e.g. Zygodon forsteri. In recent surveys over 180 species of epiphytic lichens have been recorded by F. Rose, including numerous species characteristic of ancient woodland (e.g. Lobaria pulmonaria), oceanic species reaching their eastern limit in the New Forest (e.g. Sticta limbata), hyper-oceanic species formerly thought to be confined to west Scotland, Wales or western Ireland (e.g. Mycoporellum sparsellum), boreal species not otherwise found south of north Wales, e.g. Alectoria subcana and
Pertusaria velata which is now apparently extinct elsewhere in Britain.
The New Forest woodlands are of international importance. In the lowland areas of north-west Europe, no area equals them in extent of old woodlands, the number of overmature trees, the relative lack of human interference over a long period, the invertebrate fauna and the epiphytic lichen flora. The woods are also an important breeding area for birds, with the honey buzzard and hobby as notable rare species. The scientific importance of the New Forest lies mainly in the unenclosed woodlands. The enclosed woodlands, with the exception of two areas enclosed early and still retaining their ancient woodland, are not so rich floristically although they have some important features (e.g. Pulmonaria longifolia and Illecebrum verticillatum in some rides). The Ancient and Ornamental Woodlands, and to a lesser but still significant extent the Statutory Inclosures, support a rich invertebrate fauna which is in many respects unique in Britain. The groups particularly well represented are the Heteroptera, Homoptera, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera (Aculeata and Symphyta), Diptera and Coleoptera. The fauna of dead and dying wood is of especial importance. Although the greatest interest naturally attaches to the insects associated with deciduous trees, especially oak, the fauna of the conifers, particularly Scots pine, is by no means negligible. This is a famous area for Lepidoptera and contains the only British localities for the interesting insect Cicadetta Montana.
The scientific value of the unenclosed and ancient woods results in part from their great extent and variety and therefore the selection of areas of outstanding importance within the complex must be carried out with caution. Present knowledge indicates that the biologically richer sites within the complex include Vinney Ridge, Mark Ash, Eyeworth Wood, Rufus Stone, Hollands Wood, Whitley Wood, Denny Wood, Mallerd Wood, Linwood, Bramshaw Wood, and South Bentley Inclosure.
See also L.ao, OW.6, and P.3.
Selborne Hanger
W.27-   SELBORNE  HANGER, HAMPSHIRE
su 7333. 95 ha 
Grade i
Selborne Hanger lies on the north-east-facing Chalk scarp overlooking the western limits of the Weald. It consists of a pure beechwood on a steep east-facing Chalk slope grading to Clay-with- Flints on a plateau with a more mixed woodland. The beech is of uniform age and 30 m tall, with a poorly developed shrub layer of hazel and yew. The most abundant plants are dog's mercury, ivy and bramble, with Sanicula europaea and Brachypodium sylvaticum locally abundant. The plateau is wooded common land with oak and ash, hazel and hawthorn over a field layer of Rubus fruticosus-Galeobdolon luteum. (Selborne Hanger is associated with Gilbert White.)
Selborne Hanger should be considered with Noar Hill (L-5o) and High Wood Hangers. These are not contiguous with Selborne but lie on the Chalk scarp about a kilometre to the south. Within this beechwood there is almost a complete range of aspects. The beech is uneven aged, but casts a dense shade which has allowed only local development of an understorey. Here yew is common, but many species are confined to the wood margin. Mercurialis perennis, Sanicula europaea, Galium odoratum and Hedera helix are the most abundant field layer species.
Noar Hill has the advantage that it is adjacent to floristi-cally rich chalk grassland, whereas Selborne has the additional plateau woodland feature.
Herefordshire
Brampton Bryan Park
W.I24-  BRAMPTON BRYAN PARK, HEREFORDSHIRE
503671.    60 ha 
Grade 2
Brampton Bryan Park lies at the northern end of Renword-ine Hill on steep east-, west- and north-facing slopes across a geological transition between Old Red Sandstone and Silurian strata. The woodland is ancient open oak parkland with sweet chestnut, beech, ash and holly, with an area of wych elm woodland above a vestigial dog's mercury field community. The ancient woodland is extremely rich in epiphytic lichens.
The biological richness of Brampton Bryan Park has been recognised only recently. It is clearly very similar to Moccas Park and its epiphyte flora is at least as rich but the invertebrate fauna has not received a similar degree of study. (See Appendix.)
Bushy Hazels/Cwmma Moors
W.I26.   BUSHY  HAZELS  AND  CWMMA  MOORS, HEREFORDSHIRE
302851.    30 ha 
Grade 2
This site lies c. 3 km from the Radnor border on a level and damp site, with loamy soils derived from Lower Old Red Sandstone rocks. Ash is most abundant in the canopy though coppiced wych elm is often co-dominant. Pedunculate oak and birch associate with them in varying amounts though these are completely absent in some parts. A stream divides off Bushy Hazels, a pure hazel coppice in the north- eastern corner. The understorey and shrub layers are not well developed throughout but the field layer is herb rich. Beneath the hazel coppice are Deschampsia cespitosa and Endymion non-scriptus with patches of Paris quadrifolia. In the ash-elm woodland, E. non- scriptus, Anemone nemorosa, Mercurialis perennis and D. cespitosa are predominant with Circaea lutetiana and Sanicula europaea. Wetter patches contain Filipendula ulmaria, Chrysosplenium oppositifolium and Carex pendula.
This site may be considered alternative to Hill Hole Dingle, i.e. it is an example of a mixed deciduous woodland on the Welsh borders. As it has been heavily managed in the past, fewer native woody species are present and the field layer is not as herb rich. The Dingle also has more variety in its micro-habitats.
Downton Gorge
W.I25-   DOWNTON  GORGE, HEREFORDSHIRE
so 4373. 55 ha 
Grade 2
The ravine below Downton Castle is wooded for a distance of over 2.4 km. The river has cut a deep gorge through Silurian rocks leaving soils of an acid to weakly calcareous character. At higher levels the woodland is mainly dominated by sessile oak, with a field layer of Luzula sylvatica, but at lower levels a mixed deciduous woodland occurs with ash and wych elm dominant. There is a wide range of age classes, and one cliff has an old holly-ash-wych elm wood with a vigorous colony of Festuca altissima. This is a sheltered site which at lower levels is very rich in bryophytes, including Plagiopus oederi, Pohlia cruda and many oceanic and submontane species. The epiphytic lichen flora, though not inspected yet in detail, is already known to be rich, with a fine colony of Lobaria pulmonaria, Graphina anguina on holly and Peltigera horizontalis.
Halesend
W.Il6.   HALESEND  WOOD, HEREFORDSHIRE
so 7449.    55 ha
Grade i
Halesend Wood lies largely on a Silurian limestone ridge near the northern end of the Malvern Hills. The woodland is coppice and coppice-with-standards in which sessile oak, hazel and common lime are the most abundant species but many other native tree and shrub species are frequent throughout the northern half of the wood, notably yew, wild service, field maple and ash. The southern end, whilst retaining the mixed deciduous character to some extent, has a high proportion of birch and ash. The ground flora is of the rich, basiphilous type, dominated by dog's mercury, bramble, wood anemone and bluebell, with local areas of Allium ursinum. Certain local forbs are common, including Campanula trachelium, Platanthera chlorantha, Lathraea squamaria and Narcissus pseudo-narcissus.
Although hybrid lime is one of the more abundant species here, it is intimately mixed with other tree and shrub species and occurs as coppice and ancient pollards. This unusual condition, and a number of old quarries, add to Halesend Wood's value as a representative of the rich, calcicolous woodlands of the south-west Midlands.
Hill Hole Dingle
W.IlS.   HILL  HOLE DINGLE, HEREFORDSHIRE
so 5354.    40 ha
Grade i
This is the steep-sided valley of the Humber Brook, about 1.6 km long, and cut through Old Red Sandstone. At its upper end the slopes are boulder strewn. The sides are wooded and undisturbed and a miniature alluvial plain bears ash-alder wood and willow carr. Ash is the most abundant species on the valley sides but sessile oak and elm are co-dominant in some areas. Birch, field maple and beech are also present. Shrubs include hazel, hawthorn, elder and blackthorn. The field layer illustrates the downwash of bases that has occurred; and varies from a community dominated by Deschampsia cespitosa with abundant primrose in upper, more open areas, through bluebell, bramble or wood anemone to dog's mercury. Flushes with Chryso- splenium oppositifolium and the rarer C. alternifolium are common. Also of great interest are large patches of Helle-borus viridis. Bryophytes carpet tufa springs, rock outcrops and rotting logs. Flanking the woodland are more open areas of bracken and gorse.
This has been chosen to represent a rich mixed deciduous woodland type characteristic of the west Midlands. It also has a range of wetland habitats within this small area and has the added advantage of being undisturbed. (See Appendix.)
Moccas Park
W.Iiy.   MOCCAS  PARK, HEREFORDSHIRE
SO 3442.    140 ha  
Grade i
Moccas Park is an ancient deer park lying on north-facing slopes of Old Red Sandstone, with flat ground below. The lower areas are occupied by open, ancient park woodland with pedunculate oak and sweet chestnut growing from an old grassland sward. On the higher slopes the woodland is less open and richer in species, including small-leaved lime, large-leaved lime, wych elm, field maple, holly, beech, yew and ash, with a number of ancient specimens of exotic trees, notably horse chestnut, sweet chestnut, and sycamore. The field layer, which is heavily grazed in places, has abundant bracken and other species of dry, mildly acid soils, such as foxglove, bluebell and bramble, and patches of dog's mercury. The bryophytes and epiphytic lichens are extremely rich, over 100 species of the latter having been recorded recently by F. Rose. The fauna has been relatively well studied, and is outstanding for Coleoptera, three species being known nowhere else in Britain, namely Pyrrhidium sanguineum (Cerambycidae), Hypebaeus flavipes (Malachiidae) and Ernoporus caucasicus (Scolytidae).
Existing information clearly suggests that Moccas is the best ancient park wood in the Midlands, but other sites have been so little studied that some may be of equal merit. Furthermore, recent ploughing and fertilising of the grassland may have damaged its ecological value. Brampton Bryan Park (W.I24) is at least as rich in its lichens and can be regarded in this respect as an alternative site but its Coleoptera have not been properly studied.
Hertfordshire
Wormley/Hoddesdon
W.I5-   WORMLEY WOOD-HODDESDON  PARK  WOOD, HERTFORDSHIRE
TL 3306. 570 ha  
Grade i
The site is a series of contiguous woods which include in the west Wormley Wood and in the east Hoddesdon Park Wood. Much of the intervening woodland has been recently felled and replanted with conifers but broad-leaved trees and patches of broad- leaved woodland still occur throughout. Part of the outstanding interest of the area lies in its large extent, which provides for a greater variety of woodland habitats and also for areas of scrub and rough grassland.
Wormley Wood lies mainly on the London Clay but there are also gravel deposits. The varied geology and former land-use have produced a mosaic of vegetation. Sessile oak is the principal standard species over a coppice of almost pure hornbeam, but there is a proportion of other tree species including ash, pedunculate oak and birch. There are also some areas of high forest structure with standards of both oak and hornbeam. The ground flora consists largely of communities dominated by bramble, wood anemone, bluebell, Luzula sylvatica and Lonicera periclymenum with bryophyte carpets of Dicranum majus on fairly acid areas under standards. On more calcareous areas the field layer is richer with Galium odoratum, Galeobdolon luteum, Mercurialis perennis and Carex pendula: such areas tend to have a high proportion of ash in the canopy. Within the site there are areas of hawthorn and blackthorn scrub and birchwood on old field sites. The wood is crossed by a small stream along which alder has developed.
Hoddesdon Park Wood is mainly high forest although there are areas of coppice. The oak is well grown and there is a wide range of sizes, including oak saplings and seedlings. Indeed the abundance of oak regeneration throughout this woodland complex is one of its interesting features. The more open canopy produces a ground flora richer in species of both vascular plants and bryophytes than the dense coppice areas. There is also a good variety of epiphytic species including a community of Dicranum spp. (montanum, flagellare and strictum) which occurs on the Continent.
Huntingdonshire
Bedford Purlieus
W-43-   BEDFORD  PURLIEUS  GROUP, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, HUNTINGDON  AND PETERBOROUGH
Grade i
(a) Bedford Purlieus  TL 0499.    185 ha
(b) Wittering Coppice TF 0200.    15 ha.
(c) Easton Hornstocks TF oioo.    50 ha
(d) Collyweston Great Wood TFOOOO.    145 ha
The royal forest of Rockingham once comprised an extensive tract of semi-natural coppices, some of which were in large, continuous woods many thousands of hectares in extent. These have now been fragmented by clearance and opencast mining, and most of the surviving woods have been converted to plantations. Of the remaining stands of semi- natural woodland, only the former Purlieu Woods at the north-eastern extremity of the forest are of outstanding importance. These formed one continuous woodland until the mid nineteenth century when the clearance of the western half of Thornhaw Woods cut the woods into two main blocks, Bedford Purlieus to the east and Easton Hornstocks to the west.
These woods lie mainly on Jurassic limestone covered in places by clay drift with patches of sand. Thus, although the soils tend to be calcareous and poorly drained, there are appreciable areas of freely drained soils of a variety of texture, and some tracts of acidic, sandy soils. The coppice in consequence includes a wide range of types including lime coppice on soils which are appreciably more calcareous than most of its eastern locations, ash, hazel, wych elm, maple coppice on calcareous clays, birch and poplar groves, sessile oak-hazel coppice on acidic sands, valley Ulmus procera woodland and extensive areas of sycamore invasion.
Bedford Purlieus is clearly the most important part of the group. Structurally it is very limited, having been clear-felled in recent decades and partly replanted. Its outstanding feature is its assemblage of herbaceous species (over 450 species of vascular plants have been recorded), which include Euphorbia lathyrus, a species of national rarity, Melica nutans at the southern edge of its range, and E. amygdaloides towards its northern limit. Within this wood both calcicolous and calcifuge species occur together with those found more commonly in northern and western woodlands, including Galium odoratum, Melampyrum pratense, Platanthera chlorantha, Allium ursinum, Conval-laria majalis, Aquilegia vulgaris, Ophrys insectifera, Blechnum spicant, Paris quadrifolia, Luzulasylvatica, Atropa belladonna and Serratula tinctoria. On the grounds of this floristic richness, Bedford Purlieus has been described as one of the most important woods in Britain.
The fauna is also rich, and although it is still relatively unknown, it is regarded as the richest locality in this part of the east Midlands. Among the butterflies recorded are the white admiral, pearl-    bordered fritillary, the silver washed fritillary, the dark green fritillary, high brown fritillary, chequered skipper, brown hairstreak, and white-letter hairstreak. Numerous local moths have been recorded here. It is an isolated east Midland locality for both the palmate newt and the adder.
Coppicing has now stopped entirely in the group. Part of Collyweston Great Wood has become a plantation whilst the centre was cleared for an RAF establishment. A large quarry occupies the centre of Easton Hornstocks. Part of Wittering Coppice has been converted to a poplar plantation. Substantial areas of Bedford Purlieus have been replanted with oak, beech and a variety of conifers, and other sections have been destroyed by quarrying and military needs in wartime. Despite all this, substantial areas of semi-natural woodland exist in all four component woods of the site.
Castor Hanglands
W-44-  CASTOR  HANGLANDS, HUNTINGDON AND PETERBOROUGH
TF noi.    45 ha 
Grade i
The woodlands of Castor Hanglands NNR straddle a zone of marked geological variety in Jurassic rocks, ranging in north-south sequence from limestone to clay, cornbrash, sand and then clay again. The soils reflect this sequence with a range from calcareous loams to calcareous and neutral gleys. Most of the woodland was formerly coppice-with-standards, most of which has been removed, leaving a mixed ash-pedunculate oak woodland, with hazel, privet, dogwood and spindle. On wetter soils, large ash stools occur with hazel, willow and aspen. Part of Moore Wood, also in the reserve, is high forest pedunculate oak. Corresponding with the soil variation, a wide range of field layer types occur; Rubus fruticosus is locally dominant, but Mercurialis perennis-Endymion non-scriptus is the most widespread type, with Primula vulgaris, Anemone nemorosa, Lonicera periclymenum and Euphorbia amygdaloides. Paris quadrifolia, Oxalis acetosella and Allium ursinum occur on the wetter soils. The rides and clearings are kept open and this encourages the rich invertebrate fauna.
The woodlands are a good example of oak-ash woodland, but their most important feature is that they constitute part of a complex of habitats on a range of soil types in a relatively small area.
See also L.8i. 
Holme Fen
W-4I.   HOLME FEN, HUNTINGDONSHIRE
TL 2189.    260 ha  
Grade i
The NNR of Holme Fen lies partly on the site of the former Whittlesey Mere. After drainage, part of the area was used for agriculture and later abandoned. Since then, extensive birchwoods (both species) have developed, which now constitute the finest development of this type of woodland in lowland Britain. Other tree species are present (oak, alder, willow and pine) in some areas, but in general the birch woodland is remarkably pure. Another feature, which is particularly valuable for experimental research, is the fact that stands of different ages are present, covering almost the entire life span of birch.
The area is additionally interesting as a relict location of raised mire species, including Sphagnum sp. and Calluna vulgaris. A recent survey has shown that Holme Fen is exceptionally rich in fungus species, including Naucoria langei which has been added to the British list.
Excavations for a new pond to supplement the existing duck decoy are well advanced. When completed this will be an important feature of the reserve and of the area generally.
Monk's Wood
W-42.   MONKS  WOOD, HUNTINGDONSHIRE
TL 2080.    157 ha  
Grade i
Centred on the Oxford Clay dip slope on the edge of the Fens, Monks Wood embodies the typical features of ancient woodlands of the Huntingdon area. It is predominantly an ash-pedunculate oak wood with local dominance of elm. It has been managed as coppice-with- standards, but in recent decades the system fell into neglect and the big timber was largely extracted and not replaced. A wide range of tree and shrub species occurs, including maple, aspen, wild service, birch (both species), hawthorn (both species and hybrids), many willows, hazel, guelder rose, wayfaring tree, spindle, privet, blackthorn and dogwood. The ground flora is extremely rich, ranging from dog's mercury on the well-drained sites to Filipendula ulmaria on the waterlogged areas, and diversified by the presence of rides, streams, ponds, overgrown old fields and small glades. Oxlip is absent although primrose is common: Monks Wood is evidently just outside the tolerance of oxlip. Recently, the management has partially restored the coppicing cycle, and with it the herb richness associated with the years following cutting. In addition to its floristic richness, Monks Wood has long been famous entomologically. Among the species for which it is noted is the black hairstreak Strymonidia pruni, which was first collected here in Britain, but the purple emperor has not been seen for some years. In certain years there is a large breeding population of woodcock, and the wood is still a good locality for the nightingale.
Kent
Alkham Valley
W-3-  ALKHAM VALLEY WOODS, KENT
TR 2644, TR 2742.    140 ha
Grade i
Lying on steep Chalk slopes, these woods have soils 30-60 cm deep of calcareous loam with few Chalk particles and a high siliceous fraction. They consist of mixed coppice of ash and pedunculate oak with some hornbeam, hazel and field maple, and only a few poorly grown standards of pedunculate oak. Beech is rare and entirely confined to the margins. The flora is very rich. Sladden Wood, probably the best single site within the group, includes Orchis purpurea, Ophrys insectifera, Cephalanthera damasonium, Neottia nidus-    avis, Platanthera chlorantha, Paris quadrifolia, Helle- borus viridis, Mercurialis perennis, Sanicula europaea, Adoxa moschatellina, Campanula trachelium, Ranunculus auricomus, Galium odoratum, Pimpinella major, Angelica sylvestris, Deschampsia cespitosa and Veronica montana.
The significance of these sites is that almost everywhere else on Chalk scarps the woodland is dominated by beech over a thin soil: possibly the Alkham Valley Woods lie on a relict soil type.
Asholt
W-5-  ASHOLT  WOOD, KENT
TR 1738.    70 ha
Grade i
Asholt Wood lies on gently undulating ground at the foot of the Chalk escarpment. Springs rising at the base of the Chalk flow through the wood. The soil, developed from Gault Clay and downwash from the Chalk, is highly calcareous but poorly drained. Its texture varies from heavy clay to clay loam, and small elevated areas appear to be neutral or mildly acid in reaction. Structurally the wood is mostly pedunculate oak standards over a range of coppice types, much neglected for the most part, but in places recently coppiced after a period of neglect. Much of the coppice is ash and hazel with some maple, dogwood and willows, but on the apparently acidic knolls, there is some hornbeam-ash coppice, and along the flood zones beside the streams a mixed coppice of alder, ash, maple and hazel has developed. The ground flora is rich, but no nationally rare species have been recorded.
This site is selected as a south-eastern counterpart of the chalky boulder clay coppices of East Anglia and the Midlands. It differs from them in having valley alder coppice, and lacking oxlip Primula elatior and Geum rivale. Other examples of this type are known, and one - Ryarsh Wood, Kent - has a richer flora, but Asholt is regarded as the best example because it has a canopy largely free of aliens, and is contiguous with a chalk grassland site (L.I5).
Blean
W.I.   BLEAN  WOODS, KENT
TR 1060.    305 ha  
Grade 1
The Blean forms the most extensive area of nearly continuous woodland on the London Clay in south-eastern England. Within this, Blean Woods National Nature Reserve (NNR) forms a typical example.
The whole area has a long-standing tradition of management as coppice-  with-standards with sessile oak as the dominant standard. Sessile oak coppice, mixed in part with beech, occurs in a large area on the western boundary, whilst the latter is dominant in a very small central area of open high forest. Hornbeam coppice dominates the northern parts and sweet chestnut coppice dominates the south-central and south-eastern parts and much of Crawford's Rough. Rowan is widespread whilst wild service and aspen are becoming increasingly common in the newly coppiced areas. Alder and guelder rose are also widespread. Along the southern parts of the wood the London Clay is overlain by two patches of recent 'head gravel', part of the terrace of an ancient valley floor of the Great Stour River. This acidic gravelly drift supports dense chestnut coppice with a honeysuckle, bluebell and Luzulapilosa field layer. A small area of ash coppice with pedunculate oak and hazel has a ground flora of Sani-cula europaea, Euphorbia amygdaloid.es and Ajuga reptans. Also in the south-east part of the wood are acidic areas with Calluna, Carex binervis, C. ovalis, C. demissa, Molinia caerulea, Sieglingia decumbens and Dactylorchis maculata, all rare in north-east Kent where heathlands are scarce. The areas of recently coppiced oak-beech-  hornbeam woodland have a rich ground flora which includes Luzula sylvatica, Teucrium scorodonia, Milium effusum, Melica uniflora, Lathy-rus montanus, Hypericum pulchrum, Sarothamnus scoparius and Ruscus aculeatus. In the more dense old hornbeam coppice Crataegus oxyacanthoides is an occasional associate.
The Blean has been a well-known haunt for entomologists since the latter part of the last century. It was originally scheduled to preserve one of the few remaining colonies of heath fritillary Melitaea athalia, the larvae of which feed on Melampyrum pratense. This plant flourishes particularly in the light phase of coppicing and along ride margins and is again plentiful in the Reserve. As a result, for example during early July 1969, following coppicing, this butterfly was a common sight in the open areas of the wood. Recent studies in the Reserve have revealed a wealth of rare species of a wide range of invertebrates. The wood ant Formica rufa is abundant in parts of the wood and some 15 species of myrmicophilous beetles have been found in its nests. A number of rare staphylinid beetles have been found in the wood including Gyrophaena joyioides (only known British locality), Borboropora kraatzi (first British record for over 100 years) and Staphylinus fulvipes which is quite common locally. Acritus homoepathicus (Coleoptera, Histeridae) is abundant in fire sites in the coppiced areas. The millipede Polyzonium germanicum, which has its British distribution almost restricted to Kent, is common in the Reserve, as is Choneiulus palmatus, another millipede more commonly recorded from greenhouses and gardens. Among an impressive list of Heteroptera bugs is included Charagochilus weberi (Miridae), a species new to Britain. The large area of woodland of The Blean provides a stepping stone by which many continental species enter the British Isles and become established.
Crookhorn
W.6.   CROOKHORN WOOD, KENT
TQ 6763.    no ha
Grade i
This is part of an extensive tract of woodland, scrub and grassland on the Chalk scarp and plateau of the North Downs all of which is of considerable scientific importance. Crookhorn Wood itself is a mature beechwood with ash and field maple in the canopy, and an understorey of yew. Structurally it is diverse, with a mixture of age classes, including some very old trees, forming a closed canopy. The humus lies deep over a shallow soil, and the ground flora, though sparse, includes Cephalanthera damasonium, Neottia nidus-avis and Daphne laureola. On the plateau over Clay-with-Flints the woodland is mainly pedunculate oak with some coppice of hazel, ash and sweet chestnut. Parts of the adjacent grassland have been invaded by scrub in which ash is (unusually) rare and the most abundant species are whitebeam, silver birch and dogwood, with patches of yew. Within this scrub Helleborusfoetidus, Aceras anthropophorum and a fine colony of Orchis purpurea are known.
The woodlands on Wouldham-Detling Escarpment are similar but contain serai ashwood as well as the range of types present in Crookhorn Wood.
Ellenden
W.l6.  ELLENDEN WOOD, KENT
TR 1062.    100 ha
Grade 2
Ellenden Wood is part of the ancient Blean Woods lying on London Clay and spreads of gravel drift. Within the one block of woodland are a number of woodland types. Coppice-with-standards of sessile oak, with rowan, holly and wild service occurs over a field layer dominated by Luzula sylvatica and Melampyrumpratense. Parts have been planted with sweet chestnut, managed as coppice. A small plateau area of clays has blackthorn, hornbeam and hazel with a neutral ground flora. Hornbeam coppice with some oak standards (both species) occurs on another area of clay with a predominantly calcicolous ground flora. Valley sides have local woodland types, including high forest of oak and beech, and of small-leaved elm, ash and crab apple. Taken as a whole the flora is extremely rich, with a wide ecological range, including heather and Galeobdolon luteum.
This site is close to and comparable with Blean Wood. Botanically, there is probably little to choose between the two, but Blean Wood is better known zoologically and is therefore chosen as the grade I site.
Ham Street
W.2.   HAM  STREET WOODS, KENT
TR 0034.    210 ha  
Grade i
These woodlands, parts of which are NNR, lie on the plateau, slopes and valley bottoms over Lower Weald Clay. Structurally they are coppice-with-standards throughout, although there is a wide range of coppice types. The standards are oak (mostly Quercus robur, but with about 10% Q. petraea) with a proportion of birch (mostly Eetula pubescent) which has entered as a weed species following the cutting of the coppice. Wild service, gean and aspen also occur as 'weed' standards.
Four types of coppice occur on the plateau areas. These, defined by their dominant species, are clearly the product of past management. Hornbeam coppice is the most widespread, some of the stools being massive indicators of the long history of such coppice on at least part of the site. Hazel coppice occurs mainly on the valley slopes. Chestnut coppice, still actively worked, occurs mainly in the northern block. Oak coppice occurs in Carter's Wood, but has evidently arisen from the felling of standard oaks. Other shrub species occur within these types, including willows (Salix atrocinerea and S. capred), both hawthorns and holly. The presence of midland hawthorn as well as wild service is circumstantial evidence that at least parts of Ham Street Woods are primary.
The woodland is diversified by the presence of valleys and rides. The former, which contain the richest areas floristic-ally, have ash and alder woodland, worked as coppice, with midland hawthorn and elder.
The ground flora develops and changes cyclically as coppicing proceeds, being least developed as the coppice becomes dense. Although the proposed future management of large areas of the woodland is of coppice-with-standards, much of the present wood is old, neglected, hornbeam coppice in which the ground flora consists of wood anemone, primrose, bluebell and honeysuckle. In the gills dog's mercury is locally dominant. Where the canopy is more open bracken and bramble are abundant. Rides in the north have heather, gorse and Potentilla erecta, indicating acid conditions which contrast with the base-rich nature of the valleys. The bryophyte flora, which includes such noteworthy species as Eucalyx hyalinus, Rhytidiadelphus loreus and Hylocomium brevirostre, supports the conclusion that woodland has been continuous on this site.
Ham Street Woods have long been famous entomologically.
Scords
W-4-   SCORDS  WOOD, KENT
TQ 4852.    340 ha  
Grade I
This site lies on a plateau of chert gravel derived from acidic Hythe Beds giving rise to a podsolised soil, falling to a valley in which first brown forest soils then calcareous soils derived from Kent ragstone and base-rich peaty soils occur in an apparent catena. Corresponding with this are four woodland types, respectively (i) sessile oak high forest and coppice over Vactinium myrtillus-Calluna vulgaris-Blechnum spicant, with Luzula sylvatica and Pyrola minor locally; (2) sessile oak high forest with birch and holly with a transitional ground flora of Endymion non-scriptus, Rubus fruti- cosus, Pteridium aquilinum, Euphorbia amygdaloides, and Primula vulgaris; (3) mixed coppice and high forest of pedunculate oak, field maple, ash, hazel and wych elm with a ground flora indicative of base-   rich conditions, including Mercurialis perennis, Sanicula europaea, Galium odoratum, Helleborus viridis, Lathraea squamaria, Listera ovata and Adoxa moschatellina; and (4) alder carr with Chrysosplenium oppositifolium, C. alternifolium, Carex strigosa and Equisetum telmateia.
With this exceptional range of habitats, the vascular flora is very rich. Both rowan and common whitebeam are present in the sessile oakwood, together with the hybrid. Numerous bryophyte and lichen species are recorded.
Wouldham/Dettling
W.y.   WOULDHAM-DETLING ESCARPMENT, KENT
TQ 723648-795588.    440 ha
Grade i
The woodlands on this south-west-facing scarp slope of the North Downs are extremely variable. They include almost the entire range of types associated with the Chalk scarp and Clay-with-Flints plateau sites. On the plateau, pedunculate oak woodland is prevalent over coppice which is partly of sweet chestnut, but mostly a mixture with hazel, ash and hawthorn. The field layer includes the range of communities from Mercurialis perennis-Sanicula europaea, through Endymion non-scriptus to Rubus fruticosus and Deschampsia cespitosa. The thin rendzina soils on the slopes bear beech woodland in part, and mixtures of ash, yew and hazel, over a discontinuous field layer. At the south-eastern end on Boxley Warren, chalk scrub of yew, hawthorn, dogwood and whitebeam is developing towards woodland.
The Escarpment contains a wide range of woodland types which individually may be better represented by examples elsewhere: e.g. beechwoods at Crookhorn Wood; yew-woods at Kingley Vale; plateau woods at Box Hill. Nevertheless the woodland complex taken as a whole and in conjunction with the associated grassland and scrub qualifies for grade i status (see also L.io).
Lancashire
Burton
W.I54-   BURTON WOOD, LANCASHIRE
SD 5466. 18 ha 
Grade 2
The site is on a steep slope at 15-140 m over rocks of the Bowland Series, which consist of a mixture of sandstone, mudstone and calcareous shales. The soils vary from shallow acid podsols through brown earth types on ridges to deep sandy mulls (pH 6.5) on the slopes of the two shaly ravines. The canopy, which appears to be uneven-aged, is dominated by sessile oak and ash; also present are birch, Scots pine, and gean. Wych elm and small-leaved lime are locally abundant. The shrub layer is only developed to any extent in the ravines and includes hazel, hawthorn, elder, rowan and guelder rose.
On the podsolic areas the ground flora is a Deschampsia flexuosa- Vactinium myrtillus dominated community, whilst Mercurialis perennis takes over on the neutral mull soils. Also present in the field layer are Endymion non-scriptus, Lonicera periclymenum, Primula vulgaris, Geranium roberti-anum, Oxalis acetosella, Holcus mollis and Luzula pilosa. Polystichum setiferum is abundant in the ravines and the very local liverwort Lophocolea fragrans occurs here.
Gait Barrows
W.I40.   GAIT  BARROWS, LANCASHIRE
so 4877.    31 ha
Grade i
The most important feature of this site is the massive central exposure of Carboniferous Limestone pavement, which is probably the finest example in Britain of this extremely local habitat. The vegetation of the pavement is described under lowland grasslands (L.I34). There is a patchy distribution on the pavement of a tall scrub with yew, hazel, juniper and young ash, and this has associated shrubs such as purging buckthorn, spindle, dogwood, privet, holly, small-leaved lime and Sorbus lancastriensis. This type of scrub grades into taller woodland on more broken and dissected pavement around the edges of the central mass, and there is a general increase in stature of species such as ash and hazel on deeper soils, where pedunculate oak also appears. This rather low and open type of woodland has a rich limestone flora, with species such as Convallaria majalis, Epipactis atrorubens, Atropa belladonna, Hypericum montanum, Rubus saxatilis, Carex digitata, Polygonatum odoratum and Melica nutans.
The pavement woodland passes into a broad peripheral zone of taller forest, though this varies in height and structure according to past differences in management. In general, there is a dense coppice of hazel, with standards of pedunculate oak, ash and sycamore. There are also thickets of silver birch, and hornbeam and beech occur locally, though both were probably introduced. The drift-derived soils in this part of the wood vary from basic to moderately acidic, and there is a lesser abundance of markedly calci-colous species than in the limestone woodland. Bramble is widespread throughout the coppice, and the field layer characteristically has Mercurialis perennis, Endymion non-scriptus, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Primula vulgaris, Sani-cula europaea, Circaea lutetiana and Viola riviniana.
Roeburndale
W.I4I.   ROEBURNDALE WOODS,  LANCASHIRE
so 6066.    35 ha
Grade i
This has been chosen as an example of a northern mixed deciduous woodland, and lies mainly on the east side of a deep glen draining the northern side of the Bowland Fells. It lies on Carboniferous shales and sandstones which give a range of soils from highly acidic to strongly basic, and it is ungrazed. The most acidic brown earths have typical sessile oakwood with Vaccinium myrtillus, Luzula sylvatica and heath mosses. This grades into a mixed oak-birch wood on slightly less acidic soils, and the field layer here is of Holcus mollis and Endymion non-scriptus, with Stettaria holostea, Athyrium filix-femina and Pteridium aquilinum. On wetter ground this type changes to alder-birch wood, with Deschampsia cespitosa, Carex remota, C. laevigata, C. sylvatica, Dryopteris spinulosa, D. austriaca and Ranunculus repens. On the most basic soils there is a mixed ash-oak-wych elm-hazel wood, with grass-herb communities of the Brachypodium sylvaticum-Deschampsia cespitosa and Mer-
curialis perennis-Allium ursinum type. Species of particular interest include Stellaria nemorum, Carex pendula, Festuca altissima, Phyllitis scolopendrium, Polystichum setiferum and P. lobatum.
Although this is a woodland developed on the steep sides of a glen, it extends over more level ground on top of the east bank, and covers a larger area than many gorge woods.
Roudsea
W.I39-  ROUDSEA WOOD, LANCASHIRE
503382.    n8ha
Grade i
This exceptionally diverse woodland lies almost at sea-level (0-20 m) on the east side of the Leven Estuary at the head of Morecambe Bay. It merges to the east into the northern end of an estuarine raised mire complex (the Holker Mosses) and to the west and north into salt marsh flanking the Leven Estuary. The wood itself covers two ridges of contrasting
geology separated by a shallow valley which contains a valley mire and small tarn.
The east ridge is of Carboniferous Limestone and carries an ash-oak wood with some small-leaved lime, gean and birch. The oak is mainly pedunculate but sessile and intermediate forms occur. Characteristic limestone shrubs include purging buckthorn, spindle, blackthorn and guelder rose, and there are also hazel, holly and hawthorn. The field layer of this ash-oak wood is markedly calcicolous, with a general predominance of Brachypodium sylvaticum and Mercurialis perennis, local abundance of Convallaria majalis, and a wide variety of species. The more local herbs include Allium scorodoprasum, Aquilegia vulgaris, Anacamptis pyramidalis, Brachypodium pinnatum, Campanula latifolia, Carex digitata, Hypericum montanum, Inula conyza, Lathraea squamaria, Lithospermum officinale, Neottia nidus- avis, Ophrys insectifera, Ornithogalum umbellatum, Rubus saxatilis and Sesleria albicans.
The west ridge is composed of greywackes of the Ban-nisdale Slate Series, with small areas of slate, and carries a contrasting sessile oakwood with birch and some rowan and hazel. The field layer is acidophilous, with dominance of Deschampsia flexuosa and Pteridium aquilinum, or Molinia caerulea where there is an overlying peaty alluvium.
The valley mire between the ridges has a fairly eutrophic fen vegetation, with Phragmites communis, Carex paniculata, C. vesicaria, C. diandra, C. disticha, C. pseudocyperus, Juncus subnodulosus, Calamagrostris canescens, Thalictrum fiavum, Thelypteris palustris, Lycopus europaeus, Lythrum salicaria and Lysimachia vulgaris. The tarn has species such as Baldellia ranunculoides and Alisma plantago- aquatica. There is a scattered growth of birch and alder on this wet ground. The greatest rarity of Roudsea Wood, Carex flava (here in its only known British station), occurs on the transition from dry limestone soils to peat, and flourishes along the rides in this habitat.
Where the limestone ridge passes into the raised mire system, there is a change to birchwood over peat, with rowan and some Scots pine. Where the canopy is open, there is dominance of bracken, but with deeper shade this is replaced by bilberry. Alder buckthorn is a conspicuous shrub in this transitional woodland. There is then a change to the open mire surface, somewhat dried by cutting, draining and burning, but still with characteristic plants such as Andromeda polifolia, Narthecium ossifragum and Drosera rotundifolia. The larger area of the adjoining Deer Dike and Stribers Mosses are a grade i peatland site (P.4y), and form with Roudsea Wood a single composite grade i site.
On the western and northern side there is a transition from oakwood through alderwood to estuarine salt marsh, a sequence seen in few other places, though the oak is on higher rocky bluffs and is not a serai development from salt marsh. The brackish transition zone is marked by the presence of such plants as Carex distans, C. extensa, C. otrubae, Samolus valerandi, Oenanthe lachenalii, Centaurium littorale and Scirpus maritimus.
This site contains an unusual range of habitats, and the flora of the Roudsea Wood site contains at least 340 vascular 90   Woodlands
species. The woodland and the adjoining mosses are also very rich in Lepidoptera, and this is a station for the rare white-marked moth Cerastis leucographa.
Leicstershire
Leighfield/Forest
W.I27.   LEIGHFIELD  FOREST, LEICESTERSHIRE
SK 7502. 170 ha  
Grade 2
Leighfield Forest was recommended for special status in Cmd 7122 (Ministry of Town and Country Planning, 1947) and relics of this ancient woodland still remain. The site is composed of four woods (Loddington Reddish, Tugby, Tilton and Skeffington woods) grouped in the Eye Brook valley which runs through Jurassic ironstone and clays. Deposits of boulder clays and gravels have resulted in rich loamy and calcareous clay soils. The tree canopy is mainly standards of oak plus wych elm, together with ash, often coppiced. The understorey of hazel and field maple is often dense and there is a mixed association of shrubs including dogwood, Midland hawthorn, privet, sallow, elder and buckthorn.
Filipendula ulmaria and Juncus spp. occur extensively in the rides with Rubus fruticosus and Pteridium aquilinum locally abundant. Beneath the coppice, Mercurialis perennis is dominant with clumps of Deschampsia cespitosa and Dryopteris filix-mas. Myosotis sylvatica is abundant and the presence of Vicia sylvatica, Campanula trachelium and Dipsacus pilosus is of interest.
The more important Lepidoptera of the Eye Brook valley include Cymatophorina diluta, Nola confusalis, Ladoga Camilla, Nymphalis polychloros, Quercusia quercus and Ochlodes venata which are rare or not present elsewhere. The list of Coleoptera from these woods includes a number of rare or localised species of which the following are the most noteworthy: Platyrrhinus resinosus, Anthribus fasciatus, Metoecusparadoxus, Lissodema quadripustulata, Hypophloeus bicolor, Agapanthis villosoviridescens, Tetropium gabrieli, Pediacus dermestoides and Nemosoma ekmgatum. The woods of this area are among the most northerly known British localities for many species of Coleoptera, including some of those listed above.
The earliest record of these sites is 1235 and it is believed that they have indeed been wooded since that time. The vegetation as a whole is typical of that found on heavy boulder clay but this is already represented in the grade I series by Monks Wood (W-42) and Castor Hanglands (W-44), so Leighfield Forest is given grade 2 status.
Lincolnshire
Bardney Forest
W-45(i).  BARDNEY FOREST (LINCOLNSHIRE LIMEWOODS), LINCOLNSHIRE 
Grade I
(a) Hatton Wood TF 1674.    35 ha
The eastern (non-conifer) part is high forest of lime and oak of some 80-90 years' growth over a sparse shrub layer of hazel. The ground flora includes Convallaria majalis, Luzula sylvatica and Campanula latifolia. The eastern end is secondary oak-ash woodland, as is the northern strip beside the stream. Adjacent to the high forest is an overgrown pond with Salix fragilis and S. viminalis. A small part of the main wood is well-developed oak standards over hazel coppice.
Hatton Wood lies on heavy clay, acid or neutral at the surface, with variable quantities of sandy drift overlying this in patches. Floristically, the wood is limited, but is selected as the limewood which most closely corresponds with a high forest structure.
(b) Newball and Hardy Gang Woods TF 0876, TF 0974.    88 ha
Newball and Hardy Gang Woods were almost continuous until the nineteenth century when the intervening Cold-stead Wood was cleared. They both lie on clay with a covering of sand which varies from over 50 cm in depth to negligible. On the clay soils, most of which are gleyed, there are extensive tracts of lime coppice, whilst on the low-     lying clays aspen, hazel and ash are abundant with no lime. On the deep sands, birch scrub with bracken and Holcus mollis is prevalent. Marginal to this, sessile oak and hazel dominate with the birches. The soils of both woods are almost entirely strongly to mildly acid, with small areas of heavy neutral soils notable for the increase in abundance of calci-coles such as field maple and dog's mercury. In Newball Wood there is a small patch of plateau alder coppice on locally waterlogged sand, which constitutes an important ecological line with the large fen-edge coppices near Woodhall Spa and Tumby. Both woods appear to have been simple coppice with only few oak standards, but the northern part of Newball has a number of oak standards. In Hardy Gang there is a small area where pedunculate oak is one of the main coppice species, with some large, ancient stools. Records to date indicate that Newball Wood alone is floristically the richest of the Lincolnshire limewoods, with Hardy Gang only slightly less rich: their flora includes many of the local woodland species. Furthermore, Newball is, on present evidence, the richest limewood entomo-logically.
Both sites have been partly felled and replanted with
conifers. The southern part of Newball was the scene of a Forestry Commission trial, and the small control plots of untouched coppice are important remnants which indicate the nature of the coppice over much of the land now under new plantations.
(c) Stain-field and Scotgrove Woods TF 1273, TF I37°- 87 ha 
Unlike other woodlands in central Lincolnshire, the Stain-field Woods occupy a shallow basin situation. The soils vary from sand with a high water table to strongly gleyed and well-drained acid and neutral clays. Much of the woodland is lime coppice but with a variety of other species, notably the birches. The wide range of ground flora communities extends to the Lonicera periclymenum, Convallaria majalis, Rubus- Section Suberecti community on strongly acidic, organic sand, and to Sphagnum where similar soils have the water table permanently at or near the surface.
Within a short distance of Stainfield Woods, but separated from it by arable farmland, is Scotgrove Wood. This is a good example of lime- oak coppice derived from oak over lime coppice-with-standards, developed mainly on acid, poorly drained clays, which have an appreciable sand fraction in surface horizons at the southern end. The marginal diversity characteristic of coppice woods shows well at Scotgrove, where wild service and wych elm are confined to the woodland edge. A drainage line runs through the southern area, along which mixed coppice of ash, maple, hazel occurs over a fen-like ground flora including Carex acutiformis. The northern boundary is marked by a massive dyke and bank, on which calcareous clay subsoil is exposed, and a rich flora has developed, including calcareous grassland, and mixed scrub and coppice.
Both woods have been partly felled and replanted with conifers. The most important areas for conservation are the western part of Scotgrove and the sections of Stainfield known as Great South and Demerose Woods. Of these the Stainfield part is more important for its unusual edaphic conditions.
(d) Potterhanworth Wood  ; TF 0767.    35 ha
The western half has been converted to conifers, but the eastern half remains as coppice derived from coppice-with-standards, on a site which is known to have been continuously wooded. The relatively strong relief gives rise to both receiving sites and freely drained slopes. Much of the wood lies on clay but a substantial tract lies on sandy loam above the clay. Most soils are neutral, but the textural and drainage variety is sufficient to enable a wide range of ground flora communities to develop. Most of the coppice consists of almost pure small-leaved lime but, towards the south, lime is rare, ash, oak and birch being the most abundant. The particular features of Potterhanworth are repeated to some extent in other Lincolnshire limewoods, but in the presence of Frangula alnus, Prunus avium and Campanula trachelium it has affinities with woods further south and west. The Roman-built Car Dyke runs along its eastern margin.

W-45(ii).  BARDNEY FOREST (LINCOLNSHIRE LIME-WOODS), LINCOLNSHIRE  
Grade 2
(a) Great West-Cocklode-Spring Woods TF 1076.    37 ha
Four contiguous woods occupy a relatively low-lying area along parish boundaries. Of these Little West, and substantial parts of Cocklode and Great West, have been felled and replanted with conifers. The remaining areas under lime woodland include one of the best high forest stands (Great West); a herb-rich coppice (Spring) in which Carex strigosa, Ophioglossum vulgatum and Myosotis sylvatica occur; and an area of uniform coppice of high potential research value (Cocklode), all on mainly neutral clay and sandy clay soils. In Cocklode, outlying parts of the earthworks of Bullington Priory extend into the wood and offer an opportunity to study the development of the characteristic woodland. Recently some two-thirds of Spring Wood was cleared for arable cultivation.
(b) Stainton-Fulnetby Woods' TF 0778.   68 ha
Stainton, Fulnetby and Rand Woods form contiguous stands, of which Rand has been completely felled and replanted with conifers. Stainton is typical high forest lime woodland in which lime is a minority element through part of the wood. Fulnetby is the best remaining stand of coppice-with-standards oak over lime, with spindle locally common, but is floristically impoverished in comparison with most other woods.
(c) Wickenby Wood TF 0882.   45 ha
Uniformly wet throughout, this coppice has a variety of woodland types, being partly dominated by lime, with areas of ash, maple and hazel and local dominance of willow. Wickenby is one of the richer woods floristically, and is markedly the most alkaline of all the Lincolnshire lime-woods. As such there is a case for including it as a grade I site, but most of its features can be found elsewhere in grade i sites, even if they are less well-developed than at Wickenby.
Kesteven
W.s8. KESTEVEN WOODS, LINCOLNSHIRE        
Grade 2
The concentration of woods in southern Lincolnshire and Rutland is mainly dominated by pedunculate oak, ash and hazel over predominantly calcareous clay soils. Most if not all have been managed as coppice- with-standards. They mostly have a rich assemblage of subordinate native tree and shrub species, including wild service, field maple, midland hawthorn, wayfaring tree, gean and aspen. The ground flora is usually dominated by mixtures including dog's mercury, Sanicula europaea, primrose, bluebell, wood anemone and bramble, but a number of local species are found, including Milium effusum, Sedum telephium, Epi-pactis helleborine, Carex strigosa and Dipsacus pilosus.
As a group they have both similarities with and fundamental differences from the Bardney Forest woods (W-45). They had a similar development and their range of coppice types overlap to some extent, but the Kesteven Woods have mainly calcareous soils and, correspondingly, limewood is relatively rare and calcicolous species such as Campanula trachelium are more abundant. Here, as in Bardney, the full range of variation is represented in a number of small woods, the differences between which yield information on the effects of management. The Kesteven Woods are placed in grade 2, but they are not regarded as a substitute as a group for the Bardney Forest woods.
The Kesteven Woods have not been surveyed in detail and the selection within them is extremely tentative. Further survey may reveal other sites which merit grade 2 status, either in addition to those selected, or more likely as replacements for them. In particular, Tortoiseshell Wood is a good example of calcareous coppice with an excellent structure, with large numbers of well- grown standard oaks and some magnificent standard wild service trees.
(a) Dole Wood
TF 0916.    5 ha
This is a small, coppice-with-standards wood of oak, hazel and ash, with abundant midland hawthorn, and small areas of lime and elm. The ground flora ranges to mildly acid communities with Holcus mollis, Teucrium scorodonia and Lonicera periclymenum.
(b) Dunsby Wood  
TF 0826.    60 ha    
Formerly this was coppice-with-standards, but most of the oak standards have been removed and the coppice has been allowed to grow up. The canopy is now mainly ash and field maple, with birch, aspen, gean and patches of invasive English elm. In the shrub layer, hazel, midland hawthorn, crab apple, and wild service are locally abundant. The ground flora includes Dipsacus pilosus and Carex strigosa.
(c) Kirton Wood
TF 9832.    30 ha
Kirton Wood still possesses its coppice-with-standards structure, but the coppice ash has now become rather overgrown. Small-leaved lime is abundant in parts. The ground flora is predominantly calcicole, with abundant Filipendula ulmaria, Geum rivale and Valeriana officinalis.
(d) Sapperton-Pickworth Woods 
TF 0334.    25 ha
Although formerly one wood, this has now been divided by partial clearing into three separate stands. These retain a good quality oak-  ash coppice-with-standards structure with local blackthorn thickets. Parts of the wood are invaded by English elm. The ground flora includes Campanula trachelium.
Norfolk
Bure Marshes
W-38.   BURE MARSHES, NORFOLK
TG 3316.    245 ha  
Grade i
Alder occurs extensively sometimes in association with ash, pedunculate oak and birch, and the shrubs include buckthorn, alder buckthorn, guelder rose and grey sallow.
Species of Ribes (R. nigrum, R. silvestre and R. wva-crispa) occur and are very characteristic of this woodland type as are the climbers Calystegia sepium, Humulus lupulus and Solanum dulcamara. The field layer contains Carex panicu-lata, Iris pseudacorus, Urtica dioica and Thelypteris palustris. The alder woodland here is probably the best example of its type in Britain, showing as it does a complete range of successional stages from open marsh, together with floristic richness. The site has also been given grade i* status as a peatland (P.y).
Felbrigg
W-5O. FELBRIGG WOODS, NORFOLK
TG 1940.    155 ha  
Grade 2
Felbrigg Great Wood and Felbrigg Park lie on the gravels of the Cromer End Moraine. The Great Wood is ancient beech forest, closed over large areas, but opened locally to admit birch regeneration. Mixed with beech are some oak and holly and these, together with the pollarded beech, add to the similarities between this site and some of the Wealden and New Forest woods. The ground flora is largely composed of bryophytes, with Dicranum scoparium, Plagiothecium undulatum, Polytrichum formosum and Leucobryum glaucum abundant. There is a rich epiphytic flora, including Iso-thecium myosuroides and Parmelia perlata, both rare in Norfolk.
Felbrigg Park is ancient, open oak woodland with some old sweet chestnut and sycamore. The pasture remains un-ploughed. The epiphytic lichen flora is one of the richest in Norfolk, with many old-forest species.
The site is selected primarily as a representative of beech-woods at the limit of their supposed native range. It is also worthy of selection as an overmature woodland with an epiflora rich by the standards of eastern England.
Foxley
W-47.  FOXLEY WOOD, NORFOLK
TG 0524.   65 ha 
Grade 2
Three broad woodland types occur in Foxley Wood. The most widespread, on wet clay soils, is mixed deciduous in which pedunculate oak and hazel are the most abundant, but ash, field maple and birch are common and a number of other tree and shrub species are present. The ground flora here is Filipendula ulmaria- Geum rivale grading to Mercurialis perennis- Endymion non-scriptus and Convallaria majalis on the drier areas. The 'sacred ground' near the wood's centre is sandy, with oak high forest over a discontinuous holly understorey and a ground flora dominated by bracken and Holms lanatus. Thirdly, a flushed tract is occupied by alder coppice, while alder also occurs as a constituent of coppice on the lighter soils. Floristically, Foxley is one of the richest woods in East Anglia: though no rare species are recorded, many are very local, notably Myosotis sylvatica, Sedum telephium, Sorbus torminalis, Primus padus and Carex strigosa.
Though Foxley has been partly replanted with conifers, and the remainder has been cleared of all worthwhile timber, the site is nevertheless important. As an ancient coppice site, it is unusual in possessing alder, and in some respects grades into fen woodland (Carex lepidocarpa and Prunuspadus are present). Furthermore, this ranges through to dry, acidophilous woodland. It is almost as important as Swanton Novers, and in many respects is similar and is graded as an alternative site.
Sexton
W-49-   SEXTON WOOD, NORFOLK
TM 2991.   40 ha 
Grade 2
Sexton Wood lies mostly on neutral clay soils and comprises an almost pure stand of hornbeam coppice with oak standards. Towards the southern end the soil is almost calcareous, and here maple is relatively abundant. Centrally there is a small, wet basin occupied by ash and willow and a poor-fen flora. At the north end where the soils are appreciably more sandy there is much more birch, and the oak is dense enough to form high forest above hornbeam shrub layer.
Sexton Wood is selected as a representative of hornbeam coppice near its geographical limit which is still cut sporadically. Its value for conservation is unfortunately much diminished by the state of the rides, which are all concrete tracks. Brooke Wood, Norfolk, was an excellent example, but it has been almost completely replanted with conifers, and Sexton Wood may be the best remaining example. However, the woods of south-east Norfolk are insufficiently known and other, better examples may b
Swanton Novers
W-39-   SWANTON NOVERS  WOODS, NORFOLK
TG 0131.    65 ha
Grade i*
This wood straddles a geological boundary between glacial sands and gravels to the north and calcareous boulder clay at the southern end. Correlated with this is the boundary between two contrasting woodland types. On the acid sands and gravels, coppice-with- standards with both species of oak in intimate mixture forms a closed canopy over Pteri-dium aquilinum, Lonicera periclymenum, Convallaria majalis and Calluna vulgaris with Teucrium scorodonia along the rides. Mixed deciduous woodland grows over the mildly acid and neutral boulder clay: this is coppice-with-standards with both oak species as standards over mixed coppice of small-leaved lime, ash, maple and willow. The ground flora here comprises Filipendula ulmaria, Geum rivale, Ranunculus repens on the damp areas, and Mer- curialis perennts, Endymion non-scriptus on the drier transition to the sands. In a very wet site on the western margin a third woodland type with oak, alder and bird-cherry exists. Floristically the site is exceptionally rich with at least 25 native tree and shrub species, and a number of rare and local herbs, notably Maianthemum bifolium in what is almost certainly a native location. Many bryophytes and epiphytic lichens have been recorded, but most of the species are common and widespread.
Swanton Novers is undoubtedly an important site, containing three woodland types, each of which on its own would have been enough to justify selection. Furthermore, the mixed coppice is still actively worked, but a small block has been felled and replanted with conifers. It is almost certainly a primary woodland site and as such constitutes an important contrast with the more widespread type of oak-ash-maple-hazel primary woodl
Wayland
W-48.  WAYLAND  WOOD, NORFOLK
TL 9399.    35 ha
Grade 2
Lying on wet, calcareous boulder clay, this is a coppice-with- standards woodland. Pedunculate oak is the main standard which with a few ash and birch forms a fairly open canopy. The coppice layer contains a limited amount of ash and field maple, but is mainly a hazel-bird-cherry mixture with dogwood, willow and groups of holly. At a point on the margin, elm has encroached into the wood. The soil is wet throughout, and the ground flora is mainly of the Filipendula ulmaria type with no Mercurialis perennis. Said to be rich floristically, this is the only site for Gagea lutea in Norfolk.
This is a good example of a coppice-with-standards woodland still managed as such. It is selected for this and the unusual combination of coppice species otherwise unknown in lowland England.
Northamptonshire
Pipewell
W.I28.  PIPEWELL  WOODS, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
SP 8286.    80 ha
Grade 2
Monks Arbour and Pipewell Woods lie on deep, calcareous clay soils at the south-western extremity of Rockingham Forest and have a coppice- with-standards structure. Pedunculate oak is the main standard species, with ash, birch and a few planted beech. The coppice layer is dominated by hazel, with ash, dogwood and field maple locally abundant in Monks Arbour Wood. The field layer ranges from Mercurialis perennis-Galeobdolon luteum on the drier soils, to Filipendula ulmaria-Ranunculus repens in waterlogged patches, and Pteridium aquilinum-Rubus fruticosus-Hokus lanatus on the more acidic patches. The ground flora includes such local species as Iris foetidissima and Campanula latifolia. At the southern end of Pipewell Wood, English elm has invaded from the hedge to form a nearly pure community.
This is one of the Ancient Forest coppices. It is typical of such woods and has the advantage that it is not damaged by ironstone working or replanting with conifers, and indeed the coppicing continues actively. Other woods in Rockingham Forest, however, were once known to be richer faunally.
Whittlewood Forest
W.I29-  WHITTLEWOOD FOREST, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
SP 7342. noha  
Grade 2
Three relics of this ancient woodland, in the south of the county, still remain. They once formed a link in the chain of woodlands which stretched across the clay belt from Oxfordshire to Huntingdon and Peterborough. Lying on calcareous clays and boulder clays they are typical examples of the woodlands on these soil types. Buckingham Thick Copse is the largest area; it contains fairly uniform oak-ash high forest. Understorey and shrub species are confined to the rides and edges; these include field maple, dogwood, Midland hawthorn and hazel. Sweet chestnut is also present. The ground flora is dominated by Rubus fruticosus, Chamaenerion angustifolium with Deschampsia cespitosa and Brachypodium sylvaticum. Patches of Lusula multiflora and Carex pendula indicate waterlogging. Say's and Smalladine Copses are similar but ash or English elm outnumber the oak in parts. The shrub layer is better developed here and is dominated by hazel. Cornus sanguined, Euonymus euro-paeus and Viburnum opulus are common in the hedgerows.
Lichens that are absent or rare elsewhere in the county are found here; these include Lecanora confusa, Usnea certatina, Opegrapha varia and Pertusaria lutescens.
East and West Ashall's Copses consist of ash scrub and
mature ash woodland and oak is only locally dominant. English elm occurs on the edge and hazel, hawthorn, field maple and Midland hawthorn are present in the understorey and shrub layers. The ground flora here is dominated by bramble interspersed with areas of Deschampsia cespitosa, Oxalis acetosella and Glechoma heeleracea. Other plants include Sanicula europaea, Epipactis helleborine, E. purpurata and Dactylorchis fuchsii.
Northumberland
Billsmoor Park/Grasslees
W.l66.   BILLSMOOR PARK AND   GRASSLEES  WOOD, NORTHUMBERLAND
NY 9496.    175 ha  
Grade 2
The site lies in a small valley fed by branches of the Grass-lees Burn. The woodland, mainly on shallow peat of gleyed alluvial soils, occupies the bottom and lower slopes of the valley and extends up the tributary glens. Alderwood occupies the area near the stream and this is surrounded by oak-hazel or birchwood on the higher, better- drained slopes. The alderwood is pure and contains a good spread of age classes from old senescent trees to young regeneration stages. The oak-hazel woodland contains many old hazel shrubs carrying good epiphyte communities. The ground flora under the alder is dominated by Juncus spp. including J. effusus, jf. articulatus and Agrostis stolonifera; also present are Mentha aquatica, Carex pendula, C. remota, C.paniculata and Sphagnum spp. A glade containing Myrica gale, Eriophorum latifolium, Parnassia palustris, Angelica sylvestris and Viola palustris is present. The bryophyte flora is rich and alkaline runnels contain species such as Fissidens osmundoides, Bryum pallens, Cratoneuron commutatum, Ctenidium molluscum and Mnium punctatum. The epiphyte flora of lichens and bryophytes is varied, because of the high humidity, and the species recorded include Antitrichia curtipendula, Pyrenola sp. and Arihonia spp. The area is also of ornithological interest. See also U.z8..
Hesleyside
W.l65-   HESLEYSIDE  PARK AND  HARESHAW  LINN, NORTHUMBERLAND 
NY 8183, NY 8484.    45 ha 
Grade 2
Two woods, Hesleyside Park and Hareshaw Linn, Northumberland, lie within 5 km of each other near Bellingham. Hesleyside is partly ancient parkland woods and partly a ravine woodland which, like Hareshaw Linn, is pedunculate oakwood over acid soils, grading to wych elm woodland on calcareous soils. The parkland area of ancient oaks and beech has a rich epiphytic lichen flora, including Parmeliop-   sis hyperopta and Haematomma elatinum.
Hesleyside has marginally the richer cryptogamic flora of the two sites.
Holystone
W.l63-   HOLYSTONE  WOODS, NORTHUMBERLAND
NT 9201, NT 9301, NT 9401.    30 ha  
Grade 2
This site has four separate units, three being composed principally of sessile oak woodland and the fourth a mixture of habitats including woodland and moorland in which juniper scrub is a significant feature.
The small sessile oakwoods occupy mainly the south-facing slope of a glen draining from the Carboniferous gritstone moorlands of the Harbottle Moors, south of the main Cheviot range. They are examples of this woodland type in a much drier climate than that of Lakeland or north Wales. They adjoin young conifer plantations and are now less grazed by sheep than formerly. In Holystone Burn there is open growth of medium-sized spreading oaks, some of which are large for a hill wood. North Wood consists in the main of twisted, many stemmed trees suggesting former coppicing. Underscrub is absent, and field communities are of the type found in Lakeland sessile oakwoods on acidic soils. There is an abundance of bracken in open places, and the field dominants include Deschampsia flexuosa, Vaccinium myrtillus, with much Galium saxatile, Potentilla erecta and Melampyrum pratense. Heath mosses cover part of the ground but Atlantic bryophytes are very few. The northern
herb Trientalis europaea is abundant. The steep opposite bank has birchwood with tall heather and a luxuriant carpet of heath mosses and Sphagnum which is the habitat of Lister a cor data.
Monk
W.l64-   MONK WOOD, NORTHUMBERLAND
NY 7856.    20 ha
Grade 2
Monk Wood and its surroundings are part of the ancient Whitfield Park, lying in the sheltered valley of the River West Alien. The parkland is open, old woodland of ash, wych elm and sycamore, with the richest epiphytic lichen flora known in north-east England. The main block of woodland, estimated at 250-300 years old, is an almost pure stand of sessile oak with only occasional beech, birch and rowan. The shrub layer is not well developed except towards the foot of the slope where rhododendron is abundant and hazel and hawthorn are locally common.
Where not shaded out by rhododendron, Luzula sylvatica forms a continuous carpet. While the variety of field layer species is not great, the presence of Vicia sylvatica is noteworthy. There is a luxuriant epiphytic lichen flora in which Lobaria pulmonaria is locally abundant. Although the wood has not been thoroughly examined it is already known to be an important site for epiphytic species.
Nottinghamshire
Sherwood Forest
W.I3O.   SHERWOOD  FOREST, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
SK 6368.    525 ha  
Grade 2
The Birklands and, to a lesser extent, the Bilhaugh are fine remnants of Sherwood Forest.They lie on deep, freely drained acidic soils developed from Bunter Sandstone. The woodlands are an actively regenerating population of both oak species in more or less equal numbers, with a wide size range from saplings to some of the largest oaks in the country. Between these extremes are younger, but mature generations of the oaks. Birch (mainly Betula pendula) is abundant, forming groves between the oaks, but the canopy is still rather open, enabling a dense bracken field layer to develop. The flora is very poor, restricted to calcifuge species, and the epiphyte lichen flora has been largely eliminated by pollution. The beetle fauna, however, is very rich and contains some extremely rare species.
The oak population here is exceptional but public pressure and atmospheric pollution have damaged the area, hence it is accorded grade 2 status.
Immediately to the north lies Budby South Forest Heath (170 ha) on soils derived from the Bunter Sandstone at an altitude of about 60 m. The heathland area is dry heath dominated by heather and Deschampsia flexuosa. Much of it (c. 50%) is covered by scattered birch or birch scrub. There is some gorse scrub but this habitat is by no means abundant on the site. Bracken is only locally abundant.
The heath is at present used as a military training area but there is little apparent physical damage and the site has not been extensively burnt in recent years. Its inclusion within the grade 2 site adds interest.
Oxfordshire
Aston Rowant
W.29-  ASTON ROWANT  WOODS,
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE/OXFORDSHIRE
su 7598.    275 ha  
Grade 2
Grove Wood is a scarp woodland dominated by tall vigorous beech. It appears to be even aged (123-169 years), and below gaps in the canopy there is a field layer of dog's mercury. Ash, sycamore and some beech regeneration occurs. Small groups of ash and one of common elm are present, Salix capraea is abundant in some wet sites and whitebeam is occasional in the canopy. Mature sycamore is absent but regeneration of this species is profuse in places. The shrub layer is not prominent and locally is lacking altogether. It consists of characteristic chalkland species such as elder, broom, buckthorn, hazel, box, field maple and whitebeam.
Upper Grove Wood lies on the plateau and, though pedunculate oak is the commonest species, the canopy contains frequent ash and beech with coppiced small-leaved lime, gean, hornbeam and hawthorn. Saplings of all these species, except oak, are present: Paris quadrifolia grows here.
Aston Wood forms a curving rectangular block facing north-west, to the south of and above the A4O trunk road. It is contiguous with the present NNR. Beech (90-150 years old) dominates the western two- thirds, but a number of other species share the canopy. Oak, whitebeam, sycamore and hornbeam are rare but ash and gean are locally abundant, filling in gaps left by selective felling. In addition to ash and gean, beech, sycamore and elder saplings are present, and some of the young beech is now 20-25 years old. Holly, hawthorn and elder form a sparse understorey
with rowan and hazel coppice stools in a depression at the eastern end. The eastern one-third of Aston Wood is dominated by ash, though beech occurs frequently and oak is abundant. Mixed with these are a few sycamore, gean, Norway spruce, elder, holly and large coppiced rowans. The boundary between the two parts of Aston Wood is marked by three large lime stools and a number of young trees.
On a narrow strip of sloping ground between the A4O and the old sunk way down the escarpment, lies a woodland of great ecological diversity. Beech and numerous pole ash form the canopy with some sycamore, and there is a thicket of blackthorn, a group of poorly grown larch, a group of common elm and poplar. There is some sapling horse chestnut, whitebeam and a stand of large field maple and shrubs include dogwood, wayfaring tree, hawthorn and elder.
Kingston Wood, one the largest woods in the area, extends down the scarp slope from the plateau. Beech dominates the plateau woodland but pedunculate oak is frequent and ash occasional. Regeneration of beech, ash, bird cherry and willow is taking place in the gaps. Sycamore invasion is at present being discouraged. In contrast, much of the scarp woodland is pure beech, forming large areas of unbroken canopy, therefore excluding both the shrub layer and regeneration. Crowell Hill Wood is virtually a pure beech-wood and on the whole not of outstanding interest though it contains a number of chalkland herbs, notably Ophrys insectifera and Epipactis purpurata.
Crowell Wood is a large block of woodland, most of which is situated on a north-east-facing dip slope. Beech is dominant throughout but occasional ash, oak and cherry share the canopy. Drastic thinning occurred during the First World War and probably resulted in the dense growth of bramble which covers the ground and may have prevented immediate regeneration.
High Wood is another dip slope woodland dominated by beech but, unlike Crowell, bramble is rare in the ground flora and the canopy is very dense. Ash is occasional and oak occurs on the upper areas. Elder forms a sparse understorey.
Waterperry
W.25- WATERPERRY WOOD, OXFORDSHIRE
SP 6009, SP 6008.    135 ha
Grade i
Waterperry Wood is part of Bernwood Forest where extensive insect records go back for 100 years or more. Bernwood Forest is famous for its Lepidoptera, which include rarities such as the purple emperor and black hairstreak butterflies. Waterperry is a deciduous high forest lying on gently sloping land on an outcrop of Oxford Clay, and is dominated by pedunculate oak with ash, elm, aspen and birch. It is similar floristically to other clay woodlands such as Monks Wood, but it is unlikely that Monks Wood can duplicate its entomological value. Much of it has been planted with. conifers although a final crop of oak is planned.
Wychwood Forest
W.24-   WYCHWOOD  FOREST, OXFORDSHIRE
SP 3316.    261 ha  
Grade i
This large block of woodland was formerly a Royal Forest, disafforested as late as 1858. It is a complex area ecologically, this complexity arising first from the variety of soil types derived from the limestone, clays, marls, sands and siliceous drifts on which it lies, and also from differences in management. Much, if not all, of the woods were managed as coppice-with-standards but this has now largely disappeared and the old coppice boundaries have been obscured by more recent developments. Parts of the woodland are now oak-wood with a proportion of ash, but large areas are dominated by hawthorn (both species and hybrids). Many other types of scrub occur, including blackthorn, willow, field maple and elder, the existence of which appears to be a direct result of different forms of management. Numerous exotic species of both soft and hard woods have been introduced in recent decades. Floristically, Wychwood is fairly rich, the variety of ground flora communities reflecting not only the variety of soils and tree cover, but also the presence of glades. It is an important site for the lichens of old woodland. The small marl ponds within the forest are given grade 2 for their open water interest (OW.n). (See Appendix.)
Shropshire
Habberley Valley
W.I3I. HABBERLEY VALLEY, SHROPSHIRE
sj 4104.    30 ha
Grade 2
This narrow, steep-sided valley cuts through base-rich Ordovician shales at its lower end and acidic pre-Cambrian conglomerates, which give rise to two contrasting soil types, and strong associated differences in the vegetation. The base-rich lower woodland is dominated by wych elm, large-leaved lime, ash and yew with some sessile oak: here the ground flora is a moderately rich assemblage of mainly calcicolous species, with abundant Mercurialis perennis and Polystichum setiferum, the rare Circaea intermedia and a range of calcicole and calcifuge bryophytes. On the acidic rocks sessile oak woodland grows over a ground flora of Vaccinium myrtillus, Blechnum spicant and Leucobryum glaucum, with a number of Atlantic bryophytes.
Several features have combined to justify including this site. It has good examples of two types of woodland whose distribution is clearly determined by the nature of the under-and holly is present, both as scrub and as a component of established woodland. These features reflect some of the characteristics of woodland under more oceanic conditions and indicate a somewhat different climate on the extreme west of the Peak District.
The woodlands of the Manifold Valley show an extremely wide range of variation in canopy structure and ground flora.
The grasslands included within the site are on the whole damp and well grazed. Agrostis spp. are generally dominant, but variations occur according to slope and aspect. Potentilla tabernaemontani, Carex pulicaris and Parnassia palustris are noteworthy amongst the herbs.
Rare plant species present include Polemonium caeruleum, Daphne mezereum, Hordelymus europaeus, Festuca altissima, and Cardamine impatiens. Daphne laureola, uncommon in the Peak District, is also present.
The area is also of interest for its karst topography. During periods of dry weather the River Manifold disappears down a series of swallets just below Wettonmill and the water resurges from springs at Ham Hall about 11 km downstream. Thors Cave is an impressive rock shelter perched on the side of the valley.
Tick
W.IIQ.   TICK WOOD, SHROPSHIRE
sj 6503.    55 ha
Grade i
This is a scarp woodland, mostly north-facing, near the site of Telford New Town and overlooking the Severn Valley. It overlies Silurian rocks, predominantly calcareous shales, though a band of Wenlock Limestone occurs along the top of the ridge.
It is essentially a pedunculate oak-lime (Tilia vulgaris, IT. cordata, IT. platyphyllos) high forest with ash and some elm. The site is not managed now though hazel has been coppiced in the past. There is one area of pure cherry in all stages of development, including some very old trees. Many other native species are present in the canopy including field maple, silver birch, holly, crab apple, wild service, rowan and yew, and there are shrubs such as spindle, privet, blackthorn, dogwood and guelder rose.
The topmost part of the site has extensive scrub woodland and here the ground flora is extremely rich in herbs, with abundance of Allium ursinum with Mercurialis perennis, Filipendula ulmaria, Geum rivale and Paris quadrifolia. Orchids include Listera ovata, Orchis mascula, Platanthera chlorantha and Epipactis helleborine. Over the rest of the wood Oxalis acetosella, Veronica montana and Deschampsia cespitosa are dominant but more local species such as Carex pendula, C. strigosa, Euphorbia amygdaloides and Campanula trachelium also occur.
Tick Wood differs both pedologically and floristically from better known limestone woodlands such as those of the Derbyshire Dales and the Cotswolds. Its vegetation is typical of woods on the highly calcareous shales of this region.
Wyre Forest
W.I2I.  WYRE FOREST, WORCESTERSHIRE, SHROPSHIRE
so 7576.   495 ha
Grade i
Wyre Forest lies astride the county boundary, west of the Severn, on either side of Dowles Brook, on the varied formations of the Coal Measures, which include sandstones, marls and conglomerates. The soils are mainly freely drained and acidic, but local calcareous pockets occur.
Sessile oakwood, mainly of coppice origin, is the widespread type but in the valleys, rich mixed deciduous woodland with wild service, ash, elm, small-leaved lime and alder have developed. The field layer is predominantly calci-fuge with Pteridium aquilinum, Vaccinium myrtillus, Calluna vulgaris, Erica cinerea and Melampyrum pratense. In the valleys, however, there is a wide variety of habitats from moderately acidic, to basic soligenous mire with Sphagnum spp., Molinia caerulea and Eriophorum latifolium, to communities on drier, base-rich soils with Brachypodium sylvaticum, Mercurialis perennis and Primula vulgaris. Within the woods many rare and local species occur, including Cephalanthera longifolia, Aquikgia vulgaris, Carex mantana, Convattaria majalis, Melica nutans, Geranium sylvaticum and G. sanguineum. The whole area is rich in bryophytes and epiphytic lichens (by comparison with the Midlands generally), especially the Seckley Wood ravine and other valleys. Over 320 species of fungi have been recorded here.
The forest fauna is one of the richest in the Midlands. The mammals include fallow deer, otter, dormouse and several species of bat, as well as the commoner woodland species. A wide variety of woodland and water-side birds breeds and the avifauna has been extensively studied. Amongst the reptiles the adder is common. The insects are outstanding for variety and number, and include some nationally rare species. The Kentish glory and alder kitten moths are two notable examples amongst the Lepidoptera. The rare cerambycid beetle Strangalia nigra occurs in one of its most northerly stations, and Wyre Forest is one of the few British localities for the terrestrial caddis fly, Enoicylapusilla. Rare spiders and sawflies are also recorded.
These woodlands constitute an important meeting point of a number of woodland features. The oaks, though mainly sessile, have characters intermediate with pedunculate, yet the plateau woods are structurally and floristically allied to the oak coppices of Wales. The valley woods on the other hand have the small-leaved lime and wild service characteristic of the southern Welsh borderlands. Local developments of hazel, ash and dogwood over dog's mercury and primrose on clays are reminiscent of East Anglian woods. Floristically, too, the area is intermediate, with, for example, Melica nutans and Geranium sylvaticum on the edge of their range. The forest as a whole is outstanding for invertebrates and forms one of the most important wildlife environments in the Midlands. The most important parts are Seckley
Wood, Dowles Brook and its tributary stream valleys, and the coppices east of Park Brook.
Somerset
Ashen Copse
W.85-   ASHEN  COPSE, SOMERSET
ST 7942.    35 ha
Grade 2
This is a very fine example of coppice-with-standards woodland with pedunculate oak over hazel on Oxford Clay. Ash is common and other associates are field maple and alder (along the ditches). In addition to hazel the shrub layer contains hawthorn, blackthorn, sallows, guelder rose and Rosa spp.
The oaks are particularly well-grown here and, as the understorey has not been cut extensively for many years, an interestingly varied understorey is developing.
The field layer is characteristic of clay woodlands with species such as Anemone nemorosa, Rubus fruticosus agg., Endymion non- scriptus, Viola spp., Brachypodium sylvaticum, Fragaria vesca, Galeobdolon luteum, Mercurialis perennis, Ajuga reptans, Allium ursinum, Carex pendula and C. sylvatica and Filipendula ulmaria.
Ashen Copse has features resembling the eastern boulder clay coppices and is thus, like Salisbury Wood, Monmouthshire, one of the westernmost of this type. It is adjacent to Longleat Woods and Park, additional remnants of the former Selwood Forest. These woods which contrast with Ashen Copse include ancient oak-beech high forest, mature but younger high forest and old, open park woodland, which together have a very rich epiphytic lichen flora including numerous old forest relic species.
Avon Gorge
W.yo.   AVON  GORGE  (LEIGH  WOODS), GLOUCESTERSHIRE, SOMERSET
ST 5675.    105 ha  
Grade i
Leigh Woods are situated on the western side of the gorge of the River Avon at Bristol. The area covers those woodlands on the plateau and on the gorge side.
The plateau woodland occurs on a shallow marl and a clay soil. A mixture of sessile and pedunculate oak is present together with ash, wych elm and small-leaved lime. Yew is found on some of the more stony sites. Beech has been planted in the area and occasional specimens of hornbeam are to be found. An important consideration in this region is the number of rare endemic whitebeams (Sorbus spp.) present in the woodland. S. wilmottiana and S. bristoliensis are endemic to this area whilst S. eminent, S. porrigenti-formis and S. anglica are all local limestone species. The ground flora contains the common species such as Mer-curialis perennis, Endymion non- scriptus, Euphorbia amygda-loides, Fragaria vesca, Viola sp., Anemone nemorosa and Rubus fruticosus agg., as well as those of more particular note such as Aquilegia vulgaris, Carex digitata, Neottia nidus-avis, Rubia peregrina, Orobanche hederae, Lathraea squamaria and Helkboris viridis. Ferns include Thelypteris phegopteris and Polystichum setiferum.
The bryophytes of this area include Dicranum montanum, D. strictum and Nowellia curvifolia.
The scrub woodland of the gorge side, particularly near the quarry areas, is of particular conservation value as it contains a mixture of the usual calcareous scrub species, rare Sorbus spp. and in the associated grassy areas rare plants including Veronica spicata ssp. hybrida, Hornungia petraea, Carex humilis, Potentilla tabernaemontani, Trinia glauca and Scilla autumnalis.
There is an interesting list of Lepidoptera recorded. The scarce hook-   tip moth was formerly found in association with the small- leaved lime.
See also L.ioz.
Gt Breach/Copley
W.86.   GREAT  BREACH  AND  COPLEY WOODS, SOMERSET
ST 5031.    60 ha       
Grade 2
Mainly an oak-ash woodland on wet Lower Lias clays.
The woodland is extensive and covers some 400 ha but felling and replanting with beech and conifers have taken place.
The woodland varies from almost pure oakwood in some areas, through oak-ash woodland to some stands of almost pure hornbeam and of English elm. There is a wide range of associated trees and shrubs which include field maple, sycamore, alder, sweet chestnut, beech and sallows. The shrubs include traveller's joy, dogwood, hazel, hawthorn, spindle, privet, blackthorn, elder, gorse and wayfaring tree. There are also many spruces, larches and pines.
The field layer is characteristic of the more base-rich clays with Mercurialis perennis, Carex pendula and Rubus fruticosus agg. locally abundant, and a good variety of other species.
The area forms a good example of a western oak-ash wood on clay with a wide range of associated species.
Holford/Hodders Combes
W.84-   HOLFORD  AND  HODDER'S  COMBES, SOMERSET
ST 1540.    325 ha  
Grade 2
The Quantock Hills consist of Devonian sandstone and grits. At the northern end two steep-sided combes above Holford are clothed for much of their lengths in sessile oak woodland of coppice origin. Other species are present in small numbers, including birch, holly, rowan and alder. Structurally the stands vary from dense, young coppice to mature, but short, high forest. Growing only 3 km from the coast at elevations up to 300 m, the more exposed portions are severely wind-pruned. The ground flora is dominated by bilberry, bracken, heather and other calcifuges, with only local development of base-rich conditions with primrose and Chrysosplenium oppositifolium.
The woodlands of the two combes are not quite contiguous, but are linked by heathland of Calluna vulgaris, Ulex gallii and Erica cinerea. The site extends up the combes to Bircham Wood and the Dowsborough respectively.
Holnecote/Horner Water
W.69-  HOLNICOTE AND  HORNER WATER, SOMERSET
ss 8943.   405 ha
Grade i
This area, part of an extensive complex of woodlands owned by the National Trust, lies mainly on Lower Old Red Sandstone which produces relatively poor soils. The valley bottoms contain high forest of pedunculate oak together with ash, wych elm and birch. The shrub layer in this valley woodland contains hazel and holly with Rosa spp. The field layer is dominated by bramble but species such as Geranium robertianum, Glechoma hederacea, Teucrium scorodonia, Viola spp. and Oxalis acetosella also occur.
Higher up the slopes the pedunculate oakwood gives way to sessile oakwood which was formerly coppiced. The associated species here are much more acidophilous and include birch and rowan in the shrub layer and Blechnum spicant, Luzula pilosa, Holcus mollis, bracken and bilberry in the field layer. The acidophilous oakwood gradually merges into moorland on its upper edge with Calluna vulgaris, Erica cinerea and Ulex sp. The upper edge of the woodland is particularly exposed and the wind shapes the canopy here to near ground level.
The lichen flora is very rich both in numbers of species (no) and in the presence of many rarities, such as Usnea articulata, which are now confined to south-western England because of air pollution elsewhere. This assemblage of species is very characteristic of ancient forest areas in northwestern Europe.
This is an extensive area of characteristic Exmoor woodland which shows the transition from moorland to valley woodland particularly well. It is also an important wintering area for the Exmoor red deer which form one of the three largest concentrations of red deer in England.
See also L.ioy and U.2.
Mendip
W.yi. MENDIP WOODLANDS, SOMERSETGrade i (
a) Rodney Stoke ST 4950. 35 ha
Although five facies of ashwood and one each of oak, lime and elm have been recognised the intermediate types are so extensive that the area is best considered as a varied ash-wood. These woodland types occur over Carboniferous Limestone with some areas of Dolomitic conglomerate. Pedunculate oak is an important associate and field maple, wych elm, small-leaved lime and whitebeam are of lesser importance. Other species which occur are crab apple, blackthorn, hawthorn, buckthorn, sallows, elder and wayfaring tree. Holly and yew however are rare, as are specimens of the endemic Sorbus anglica and of wild service.
Spurge laurel is unusually common particularly on the rockier slopes, and privet occurs extensively. Under more open conditions spindle and dogwood occur. Ivy is abundant but honeysuckle is not common and traveller's joy is rare.
The dominant species of the ground flora are dog's mercury and ivy and widespread associates include Ranunculus ficaria, Anemone nemorosa, Endymion non-scriptus, Primula vulgaris, Galeobdolon luteum, Euphorbia amygda-loides, Campanula trachelium, Lithospermum purpuro-caeruleum, Geranium robertianum, Viola spp., Colchicum autumnale and Phyllitis scolopendrium.
The fauna includes a characteristic range of species with no particular rarities.
The Mendip Woodlands are an interesting and floristic-ally rich variant of the ashwoods found throughout Britain
on Carboniferous Limestone. Rodney Stoke is the best example of the drier facies of this woodland type. The woodland interest is enhanced by the limestone grassland and abandoned agricultural land which also occur in the reserve.
(b) Asham Wood
ST 7045.    195 ha    
This wood lies on a steep limestone gorge with a cliff and alluvial floor. The western area is a plateau woodland. The presence of a stream is an unusual feature of these Mendip Woodlands.
Ash is dominant but there is a very extreme variety of trees and shrubs. Small-leaved lime is common and other tree associates are wych elm, pedunculate oak, gean, birch species, alder, yew (rare), and field maple. The shrubs include dogwood, hazel, hawthorn, spindle (rare), holly (rare), crab apple, blackthorn, blackcurrant, gooseberry, sallows, whitebeam, rowan, elder, wayfaring tree and guelder rose.
The ground flora of Asham Wood contains a great variety of limestone species although it is unusual that Daphne laureola and Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum are absent. Particularly notable plants here include Polygonatum multi-florum, Convallaria majalis, Dipsacus pilosus, Colchicum autumnale, swarms of the Geum hybrids (G. urbanum x G. rivale), Vicia lutea and V. sylvatica.
In addition rare Diptera have been recorded as well as the wood white Leptidea sinapis butterfly and the rare mountain Bulin snail Ena montana.
The importance of this floristically outstanding Mendip ashwood has long been recognised and it represents the wetter facies of this woodland type (cf. Rodney Stoke).
(c) Ebbor Gorge
ST 5248.    45 ha.                     
The site is on the south-west-facing slope of the Mendip hills and consists of a steep-sided gorge in Carboniferous Limestone together with an associated tributary valley. Added interest is given to the site by caves of palaeonto-logical value. The canopy of the mature woodland is dominated by ash and pedunculate oak. Other species present are wych elm, beech and hornbeam (rare). The understorey, together with the scrub that is a feature of the area, contains a range of species and includes field maple, traveller's joy, dogwood, hazel, spindle, ivy, holly, buckthorn, small-leaved lime, wayfaring tree and guelder rose. The woodland has been managed in the past and most has been coppiced to some extent.
The ground flora is indicative of the basiphilous nature of the site, dog's mercury, wood anemone, bluebell and Asperula odorata being abundant together with primrose, Sanicula europaea, Ajuga reptans, Circaea lutetiana, Galeobdolon luteum, and Viola sp. A more mesophilous vegetation is represented by patches where bracken, Lonicera periclymenum, bramble and grasses are present. In the sheltered gorge a damp woodland facies is found; bryophytes are abundant as is Phyllitis scolopendrium. Scree areas are present within the woodland area in which scattered ash regeneration is to be found together with plants of Geranium robertianum.
Weston
W.8y.   WESTON BIG WOOD, SOMERSET
ST 4575.    40 ha
Grade 2
An attractive and varied woodland, formerly coppiced, on Carboniferous Limestone.
The tree layer is dominated by pedunculate oak with small-leaved lime and wych elm locally abundant. In addition there is field maple, ash, gean, common lime and English elm. The Sorbus spp. are particularly interesting; S. torminalis occurs, as does S. aria and the hybrid between them. A Sorbus close to S. rupicola is also found here.
The shrub layer has abundant hazel with dogwood, hawthorn, spindle, abundant holly, privet, crab apple, currant, Rosa spp., wayfaring tree and guelder rose. The field layer is dominated by bramble, Brachypodium sylvaticum and dog's mercury but a very wide range of calcicolous species also occurs.
This is a fine example of a mixed deciduous woodland with a rich variety of plant species. The Sorbus spp. need further study.
Staffordshire
Cannock Chase
W.I22.  CANNOCK  CHASE, STAFFORDSHIRE
sj 9818.    880 ha  
Grade 2
Most of the site is covered by heather heathland, grading into valley fen and bog, but the woods occupy a substantial part of the area, particularly in the north. Four main woodland types can be recognised:
1 Oak-birch woodland. Quercus petraea and Betula verrucosa form a closed canopy over much of Brocton Coppice, but large clearings exist, and the margin of the wood grades into surrounding heathland. The oaks are clearly much older than the birch, perhaps 150-200 years in most cases, with a few individuals of greater age.
2 Birch woodland. Betula verrucosa woodland occurs in the vicinity of Brocton Coppice and elsewhere in small clumps.
3 Alder coppice. The Sherbrook valley has alder coppice along most of its length.
4 Willow scrub. Contrasting strongly with the Sherbrook valley, the Oldacre valley has a discontinuous line of Salix cinerea in the marsh of the valley bottom.
The open heath is invaded by trees and shrubs and birch woodland is the most widespread serai stage. Other species also occur, notably sycamore in the Sycamore Hill area, Scots pine and beech in the southern area, hawthorn in the vicinity of Brocton Field, pedunculate oak particularly among the birch in the Oldacre valley and gorse at various points on the heath.
Bracken is dominant over some areas and apparently on the increase in others. The heathland is a noted locality for hybrid Vaccinium myrtillus and V. vitis-idaea (Vaccinium x intermedium). Empetrum nigrum is also present.
There are several valley bogs, reminiscent of those in the New Forest. The best has a large expanse of Thelypteris palustris and Equisetum sylvaticum, with a rich assemblage of bog plants including Anagallis tenella, Carex pulicaris, C. dioica, C. hostiana, Drosera rotundifolia, D. anglica, Eleocha-ris quinqueflora, Hydrocotyle vulgaris, Orchis fuchsii, Par-nassia palustris, Pinguicula vulgaris, Vaccinium oxycoccus and Valeriana dioica. Narthecium ossifragum occurs in one of the valleys.
The insect fauna of the whole area is extremely rich. Two of the most notable Lepidoptera are Stilbia anomala and Enargia paleacea.
Hamps/Manifold Valleys
W.I23-   HAMPS  AND  MANIFOLD  VALLEYS, STAFFORDSHIRE
SK 0955.    325 ha  
Grade 2
The site follows the valley of the River Manifold from Ecton southwards towards Ham and incorporates part of the valley of the River Hamps. The valleys contain woodland and scrub as well as grassland. The woodlands are similar in many respects to the ash woodlands of the Derbyshire Dales but exhibit some unusual features. Thus old oak trees of Quercus robur and Q. petraea occur in several places; and holly is present, both as scrub and as a component of established woodland. These features reflect some of the characteristics of woodland under more oceanic conditions and indicate a somewhat different climate on the extreme west of the Peak District.
The woodlands of the Manifold Valley show an extremely wide range of variation in canopy structure and ground flora.
The grasslands included within the site are on the whole damp and well grazed. Agrostis spp. are generally dominant, but variations occur according to slope and aspect. Potentilla tabernaemontani, Carex pulicaris and Parnassia palustris are noteworthy amongst the herbs.
Rare plant species present include Polemonium caeruleum, Daphne mezereum, Hordelymus europaeus, Festuca altissima, and Cardamine impatiens. Daphne laureola, uncommon in the Peak District, is also present.
The area is also of interest for its karst topography. During periods of dry weather the River Manifold disappears down a series of swallets just below Wettonmill and the water resurges from springs at Ham Hall about 11 km downstream. Thors Cave is an impressive rock shelter perched on the side of the valley.
Suffolk
Benacre Park
W-46. BENACRE PARK, SUFFOLK
TM 5084.    135 ha  
Grade 2
Benacre Park contains similar areas of ancient oak with a rich epiphytic flora as described for Sotterley Park, and must be considered as an alternative to it though the two areas are close together and complement each other. It too contains species of lichen that are now extremely rare elsewhere in East Anglia.
Cavenham/Tuddenham
W.36.   CAVENHAM-TUDDENHAM WOODS, SUFFOLK
TL 7573.     80 ha  
Grade i
Woodland forms an important component of the interesting habitat complex of this Breckland site, and shows a range of types serai to dry heath and to rich-fen. The dry parts of both heaths have a good deal of birchwood (of both birch species), varying considerably in stature and stocking density of the trees. There are dense thickets and pole stands with little but litter beneath, but more open birch growths have either bracken or heather with well-developed carpets of the common acidophilous heath and woodland mosses. On Tuddenham Heath, dense swards of Carex arenaria occur within the birchwoods in places. There are scattered trees of Scots pine and oak, but though oak seedlings are numerous on the heaths, few survive, perhaps as a result of roe deer browsing or unfavourable soil conditions. Where the ground becomes damper, there is a change
beneath the birch to a field layer with Deschampsia cespitosa, Molinia caerulea, Agrostis stolonifera and abundant Lonicera periclymenum. There are ferns such as Dryopteris austriaca, D. spinulosa, D. filix-mas and Athyrium filix-femina, and mosses here include Eurhynchium praelongum, Mnium hornum, M. undulatum and Aulacomnium androgynum. In still wetter places within the birchwoods, there are transitions to fen communities with Phragmites communis, Fili-pendula ulmaria, Lycopus europaeus, Mentha aquatica, Eupatorium cannabinum, Iris pseudacorus, Urtica dioica, Equisetum palustre and Carex acutiformis. Ash plantation probably has less ash than formerly, as there are some large dead trees of this species, but ash and alder are mixed with birch in the damper part of this wood, which also has an abundance of Thelypteris palustris. Towards the River Lark (OW.ig), the birchwoods give way to dense areas of willow carr, mainly of Salix cinerea, which grade into open fen communities.
Felshamhall
W-35.   FELSHAMHALL AND  MONKS  PARK  WOODS, SUFFOLK
TL9357- 7° ha  
Grade i* Thes e two contiguous woodlands are ancient primary woodland which has been managed as coppice and coppice-with- standards for many centuries, but unlike most other woods of similar origins in East Anglia, these have been coppiced on a commercial scale up to the present time and have thus suffered less floristic deterioration than those sites in which the coppice cycle has been discontinued. Felshamhall is almost certainly the demesne wood of Bury St Edmunds Abbey and Monks Park is likewise a park given to the Abbey in the early twelfth century.
Four main types of woodland have been distinguished: (i) the typical oak-ash-hazel-maple-type of the boulder clay woods; (2) a wet variant of this, with alder and Salix alba (this feature is very unusual); (3) an oak-birch woodland where the boulder clay gives way to sand and sandy gravel; and (4) secondary woodland, occupying the sites of former clearings which were the launds of the old mediaeval park. Associated with these types are distinctive ground flora communities and important transition types, including the Primula elatior- Filipendula ulmaria-Mercurialis perennis association widespread in these woods. In this site bluebell is unusually rare. Bracken and Sarothamnm scoparius occur on the sand, and a totally distinctive assemblage with Neottia nidus-avis marks the secondary woodland. A total of over 280 species of vascular plants has so far been recorded, including all the tree species of the primaeval mixed oak forest.
Historical evidence of woodland continuity is good. Coppicing was practised at least as early as the thirteenth century. As in many boulder clay woods, the oak standards were felled some time ago and not replaced, but unusually a good natural crop of young oaks is developing to restore the oak canopy.
The fauna is apparently unknown, though among the birds there is an obvious abundance of woodland warblers, but on botanical and historical grounds alone this site is regarded as the most important of the ancient boulder clay woods of East Anglia. Its vascular flora is already known to be richer than almost every other wood in eastern England. The record of its existence and management is unusually detailed as far back as the twelfth century. As such it is a site of both botanical and archaeological importance.
Hintlesham
W-33-   HINTLESHAM WOODS, SUFFOLK
(a) Hintlesham and Ramsey Woods TM 0743. 80 ha
(b) Wolves Wood  TM 0544.  40 ha
Grade 1
These distinct woodlands are separated by less than 0.5 km of arable land and as they are complementary they have been considered as a single aggregate site. The larger wood is a complex of two ancient woods, Hintlesham and Ramsey, and secondary woodland of various dates surrounding and linking the two ancient nuclei. Wolves Wood is likewise mainly ancient woodland with some secondary extensions, which probably include the small Keeble's Grove, continuous with Wolves Wood.
These woods lie on boulder clay of a lighter and less chalky type than is found in the east Midlands and western parts of East Anglia. The clay soil is mainly neutral or mildly acidic with only small areas of a calcareous nature. Much of the woodland is the oak-hazel- birch combination with much ash on the wetter sites, but the heavier, neutral or slightly calcareous soils have relatively little birch and some maple. Other calcifuge coppice types occur, notably lime coppice in Hintlesham Wood and hornbeam coppice mainly in Wolves Wood. Part of Wolves Wood occupies a basin situation in which the water table is high and aspen and willows are abundant in the coppice. In addition there is a series of secondary elm woodland in the Hintlesham part, and a series of elm coppice types in the ancient parts of Wolves Wood, some of which have apparently invaded other coppice types whilst others are evidently non-invasive and of local origin. There is a range of ground flora communities corresponding with the wide range of edaphic conditions, which includes a number of local woodland species such as Paris quadrifolia and Helleborus viridis.
These woods have an unusually complex system of earthworks and apparently have a good historical record. Only Ramsey is a complete ancient wood, but a substantial portion of the other ancient woods have survived. All the existing woodland is semi-natural. Many primary woods or parts thereof survive in east Suffolk, and a proportion of them have been examined in detail recently, but none has been found which surpasses these two as examples of the coppice types on the lighter glacial deposits.
Sotterley Park
W-37. SOTTERLEY PARK, SUFFOLK
TM 4685.    205 ha  
Grade i
This is one of the finest examples of the deer park habitat remaining in East Anglia. The park is at least of early mediaeval origin and hence may have been formed by the enclosure of more or less primary forest. The records indicate that it was even more wooded in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries than it is today but it still contains numbers of ancient oaks and areas of old woodland.
Four main habitat types are recognised in the park:
(i) The ornamental landscaped garden area around the gardens of the Hall itself with both woodland and open parkland areas containing native trees and some exotics such as walnut.
(ii) The open parkland north-west of the Hall with avenues and groups of elms and ash trees, many of which are of great age, and also some sycamore.
(iii) The areas of very old oak woodland, or oak in open canopy in which are also old ash trees.
(iv) Areas of enclosed woodland largely oak but with beech, chestnut, hazel and other trees. Of these four habitats the first three are most important. Many of the oaks are of huge size and great age and the epiflora is very rich. The fourth type appears less rich but needs further study.
The epiphyte flora of 89 species of lichens and 14 bryo-phytes is the richest known in East Anglia today for an area of comparable size. The most notable lichens are Anaptychia ciliaris, Calicium dbietinum, Chaenotheca brunneola, Norman-dia pulchella, Opegrapha sonedufera, and Ramalinafraxinea. Other species found in abundance here include Opegrapha lyncea, Rinodina roborus and Hechancha premnea.
Staverton Park
W-34- STAVERTON PARK, SUFFOLK
TM 3550.    85 ha.        
Grade i
This site lies on freely drained, glacial sands wholly within the boundary of a former mediaeval park. Documentary evidence suggests that this is one of the few sites on the Suffolk Sandlings which contains primary woodland. This is supported by the absence of a podsol profile in an area where such soils are widespread following woodland clearance, and by the presence'of a rich assemblage of corticolous and lignicolous lichens.
The existing woods are in two parts. The Park is occupied by open woodland of ancient pollarded oaks (Quercus robur) and holly, with local dominance of mature birch (both species) over a poor ground flora dominated by bracken and Holcus mottis. The Thicks has developed from this in the last 170 years, by an upsurge of holly, which now forms an almost closed canopy with the oak, beneath which ground flora is absent. Among these are some huge hollies, reaching over 21 m in height and over 3 m in girth. Indeed, the site is remarkable for the profusion of individuals of oak, holly birch, rowan and hawthorn sharing the extreme forms adopted by these species after long and vigorous growth. The only locally rare vascular plant is Corydalis claviculata, but the epiphytic lichen flora includes a number of rare and Atlantic species, such as Haematomma elatinum, Lecanora cinnabarina, Thelotrema lepadinum, Phaeographis ramificans, Stenocybe septata, Phlyctis agelaea and Opegrapha lyncea.
In addition to the floristic and historical interest, Staver-ton Park and its immediate environment have a number of relatively rare birds, such as sparrowhawk and stone curlew. The invertebrate fauna is unknown in detail but on casual inspection appears to be rich.
Surrey
Colters Hanger
W.20.   COLTERS  HANGER, SURREY
TQ 0448.    35 ha
Grade 2
This wood occupies a south-facing slope running down to the River Tillingbourne. Like Scords Wood it has a range of woodland types zoned on this slope to correspond with marked differences in soil nutrient status and water content. The highest zone over dry, sandy soil is oak woodland over a field layer dominated by bracken. The intermediate zone is mixed deciduous woodland of oak standards and hazel coppice with wych elm, ash and field maple over a basi-philous ground flora including Mercurialis perennis, Adoxa moschatellina and Campanula trachelium. On a springline below is alder woodland containing Chrysosplenium oppositi-folium, C. alternifolium, Equisetum telmateia and Cardamine amara.
This site is selected partly to represent eutrophic alder carr in the south-east, where it is particularly characteristic of springlines and the floors of gills and valleys. It is, however, preferred to other, more extensive alder carrs in the district (e.g. at Iping) because of the diversity of woodland types present, related to geological diversity in the escarpment at different levels.
Glovers
W.2i. GLOVER'S WOOD, SURREY
TQ 2240.    95 ha
Grade 2
This is a substantial wood which lies on neutral and mildly acid clays across the incised valley of the Welland Gill. Two main woodland types may be distinguished. On the steep-sided gill there is hornbeam coppice with a limited proportion of ash, wych elm, maple, hazel and small-leaved lime, and a ground flora with Galeobdolon luteum, Endymion non-scriptus, Rubus-Section Sylvatici and patches of Mercurialis perennis. This woodland appears to be primary, and can be distinguished from the plateau woodland which has developed in the last century or more on abandoned fields. Much of the plateau woodland is of birch, hazel and pedunculate oak, but numerous other tree and shrub species are present, including hornbeam, which is now invading from the former hedgerows. The ground flora is mainly .Rates-     Section Sylvatici, honeysuckle and small patches of bracken.
This site is one of many in the Weald with a mixture of primary and secondary woodland, and relatively uniform coppices. It is selected partly because of its large size and also because it has small populations of lime and wych elm which are rare in the Weald.
Staffhurst
W.I9-   STAFFHURST WOOD, SURREY
TQ 4148.    50 ha
Grade 2
Staffhurst is a former common woodland lying on Weald Clay. Structurally it is very irregular coppice-with-standards in which cutting has been sporadic rather than systematic. The dominant species, pedunculate oak, beech and hornbeam, all occur as standards, but only the latter two have been coppiced. The shrub layer, in addition to the coppice species, contains holly and yew. Throughout the wood the ground flora is dominated by bramble, bracken and bluebell. Two subsidiary woodland types also occur. On the western side is a small area of open woodland of ancient oaks and yew, with a number of epiphytic lichens. On low-lying base-rich and partly flushed areas a mixed deciduous woodland with oak, hornbeam, ash, field maple and wild service occurs over a ground flora including Brachypodium sylva-ticum, Mercurialis perennis, Primula vulgaris and Sanicuia ewopaea, with the local sedge Carex strigosa. Marginal to the Staffhurst Common is Butcherswood Bank, a small area of hazel and hornbeam coppice with oak and birch as standards.
Taken as a whole, this wood is important as one of the few woods with a wide range of structural types and age classes, associated with a range of field layer communities.
Sussex
Ashburnham
W.iy.  ASHBURNHAM PARK, SUSSEX
706914,107016.    no ha  
Grade 2
Ashburnham is a former mediaeval deer park lying on Tunbridge Wells Sandstone and Wadhurst Clay, much of which is now arable. The woodland is of two types, (i) closed, high forest of oak, beech, birch and holly with planted sweet chestnut, and (2) very old, open oak-beech woodland. Both types are overmature and contain a rich assemblage of epiphytic lichens, second only to those in Bridge Park, including species characteristically on holly which are not so well developed east of the New Forest. The ground flora is limited, but includes Dryopteris aemula on sandstone. In its general character and many other features this site is similar to the ancient oak-beech- holly woods of the New Forest.
Bicknor Hill
W.8.  BIGNOR HILL, SUSSEX
su 9713.    160 ha  
Grade i
Bignor Hill is at the southern end of extensive woodlands situated on the north- and east-facing Chalk scarp slopes. These woods are not quite continuous, and stretch in a broken chain from Duncton Down in the north to Great Bottom on the dip slope in the south. Beech is dominant, with ash as a more or less constant associate. The stand has a limited range of age, but recent thinning has facilitated some regeneration, mainly of ash. Birch and field maple are also present in the canopy, while the shrub layer of yew, whitebeam, dogwood and spindle is reasonably well developed. Ground flora communities cover the usual range from Mercurialis perennis- Sanicula europaea on dry, calcareous soil to Endymion non-scriptus- Rubus fruticosus on the deeper plateau soils. Local variations occur on Duncton Hanger where, in a valley along a springline, a wych elm woodland has developed; at Bignor Hill, where an ashwood on scree includes the only locality in the south-east for Thelypteris robertiana; and at Great Bottom, where on the west side there are some of the largest and possibly oldest pollarded beeches in the south-east.
There are many other stands of beechwood on the South Downs, but those at Bignor Hill are regarded as the best developed, with a number of local variations related to geological and edaphic differences.
Ebernoe Common
W.II.  EBERNOE COMMON, SUSSEX
su 9727.    110 ha  
Grade i
Ebernoe Common and Willand Wood together form a continuous block of woodland with a wide range of structural, floristic and soil types in the western Weald. The underlying strata range from heavy clay to sandstone and limestone, giving rise to the three main soil types of the area.
Ebernoe Common has three main woodland types. The most extensive is mature, closed beech woodland with some pedunculate oak and a dense understorey of holly with some yew. Some beech have fallen recently to produce gaps in which regeneration occurs sparingly. Along the eastern side and over base-rich soils, younger mature woodland of field maple, pedunculate oak and ash is found, with a few beech and a sparse understorey of holly. At the northern end a third type occurs, open ancient woodland of oak and beech with scattered thickets of holly. Not all the Common is wooded: large areas remain under grass and bramble, and other parts of former grassland are now occupied by scrub of gorse, blackthorn and willow with thickets of oak and birch saplings. The ground flora, virtually absent beneath the closed beech canopy, varies considerably between the Mercurialis perennis-Primula vulgaris-Sanicula europaea community of the base- rich soils to Rubus fruticosus and Deschampsia cespitosa on the clays. The local species include Narcissus pseudo-narcissus, Ruscus aculeatus and Carex strigosa. The epiphyte flora is fairly rich, but lacks a number of old forest indicators. In addition to the woods, scrub and grassland, the Common contains large ponds and marsh areas.
Willand Wood consists of coppice-with-standards typical of West Sussex, with pedunculate oak standards over mixed coppice of hornbeam, hazel and ash. The ground flora is dominated by wood anemone, bluebell and primrose.
Fairlight/ Ecclesbourne/ Warren Glens
W.I4-  FAIRLIGHT, ECCLESBOURNE AND  WARREN GLENS, SUSSEX
TQ 8511.    205 ha  
Grade i
The Lower Cretaceous rocks of the Weald are exposed along this stretch of coast. Magnificent cliff sections include the Fairlight Clays (type locality), Ashdown Sand and Wadhurst Clay. Considerable slipping and erosion has occurred creating a distinct undercliff zone which is heavily overgrown with scrub. Isolated boulders in this zone support a number of interesting bryophytes including Tortula cuneifolia, T. marginata, Desmatodon convolutus and Lophocolea fragrans in its only station east of Dorset.
The three glens have been cut down through the Wad-hurst Clay, Ashdown Sand and in the case of Fairlight and Warren Glens through the Fairlight Clays as well. The valleys produced have steep sides covered in parts with mature woodland consisting of oak, beech, and ash with yew, holly, field maple, birch and alder which grade into a coastal scrub towards the cliff edge consisting of wind-pruned thickets of privet and blackthorn. The ground flora varies from bracken-dominated communities on the sands, to communities of Mercurialis perennis with Carex pendula and Epipactis purpurata on the clays. Flush communities with for example Chrysosplenium oppositifolium and Allium ursinum occur with the alder.
Floristically, Fairlight Glen is of considerable importance for the presence of the rare hepatic Dumortiera hirsuta and the moss Fissidens rivularis in their only stations east of Devon and a number of lichen species characteristic of old forest, e.g. Normandina pukhella, Dimerella lutea and Graphina anguina. Its coastal situation is rare in lowland English woods.
The area known as the Fire Hills was at one time covered with a low growing heath community of Calluna vulgaris and Erica cinerea; this has now been largely replaced by Ulex emopaeus.
Kingley Vale
W.IO.   KINGLEY VALE, SUSSEX
su 8211.    160 ha
Grade I*
Within the general area of Kingley Vale only part of the land is occupied by woodland. This lies on the south-facing Chalk slopes and on clay in the valley bottom. Two broad woodland types occur, yew woodland on Chalk and oak on the clay, of which the former is much the more extensive. The yew woodland is almost pure in parts, but with a range of age classes. Elsewhere within the yew-wood, ash is common, and whitebeam, holly and blackthorn occur sparingly. Juniper formerly occurred there abundantly but successional changes have greatly reduced its extent. The field layer is absent, or represented by sparse development of, for example, Fragaria vesca and Brachypodium sylvaticum. The woodland on clay is dominated by pedunculate oak and ash, with an understorey of yew, holly and hawthorn.
The Kingley Vale woodland is selected as a representative of yew- dominated stands on calcareous soils. As such it is regarded as the most important site in Britain and is reputed to be the best yew- wood in Europe. Though yew woodland occurs elsewhere, e.g. Old Winchester Hill, Blackcliff, Box Hill, the stands are either less extensive or are mixed with other, taller species such as beech. A further important feature of Kingley Vale is the presence of all stages in the development from scrub  on grassland to mature yew woodland. See also L.Q.
Parham Park
W.l8.   PARHAM  PARK, SUSSEX
TQ 0514.    280 ha  
Grade 2
Parham Park lies on Folkestone Sands at the foot of the South Downs. It is a mediaeval deer park which still contains deer. Parts of the woodland comprise open forest of huge, ancient oaks, probably the best remaining stand of overmature oaks in south-east England. North Park Wood is closed canopy high forest of beech and oak with an under -storey of holly. Despite the presence of sheltered valleys, the vascular flora is very limited, but the epiflora is richer than all other sites in the south-east except Bridge Park and Ashburnham Park. Among the 103 lichen species are Thelopsis rubella and Ophegrapha rufescens, known nowhere else east of the New Forest.
Saxonbury
W-9-   SAXONBURY  HILL/ERIDGE  PARK, SUSSEX
TQ 5734.    600 ha  
Grade i*
This site comprises an ancient deer park, a more recent park now used for deer, and adjacent woodlands on Saxonbury Hill, situated in the High Weald. The parks, particularly the northern half of the Old Park, have an open woodland of
ancient oaks, maple, ash and beech beneath which the ground vegetation is a mosaic of bracken, Molinia caerulea and heather heath, and in the lower parts on Wadhurst Clay a relatively rich woodland ground flora has developed. Small, low-lying areas are occupied by alder carrs, small areas of calcareous fen and some acidic flushes. Saxonbury Hill includes a mixture of woodland types. Mature, closed oak-beech forest occurs on plateau areas where yew and holly are also frequent. In the valley, alder occurs beside the stream, and on flushed parts of the slopes near the valley bottom. On the drier slopes woodland of oak and birch occurs locally.
Taken as a whole the site has one of the richest epiphytic lichen floras of any single park in Britain. So far 167 species have been recorded. It is the only site in south-east England where a well- developed Lobarion association occurs. Numerous species characteristic of old forests have been recorded, including Lobaria pulmonaria, L. laetevirens, Nephroma laevigatum, Parmeliella plumbea, Leptogium lichenoides, L. minutissimum, Buellia schaereri, Parmelia crinita, Xylographa vitiligo and Dimerella lutea. Bryophyte epiphytes include Frullania fragilifolia and Orthotrichum stramineum, which are otherwise unknown in south-east England. In Saxonbury Hill woods there is a small sandrock outcrop with Dryopteris aemula and Hymenophyllum tun-brigense, and a number of western bryophytes such as Scapania gracilis and Bazzania trilobata.
Although much of the central area of the Old Park has been reseeded, this site is undoubtedly one of the most important of all the ancient parklands selected, because the woodlands are diverse and the epiphyte flora is unsurpassed.
Wakenhurst/Chiddingly
W.I2.   WAKEHURST AND  CHIDDINGLY WOODS,
SUSSEX
TQ 3331, TQ 3432.    150 ha
Grade i
These woods occupy the steep slopes and bottoms where the Ardingly and Cob Brooks have cut deeply incised valleys and exposed large areas of Tunbridge Wells Sandstone. At Chiddingly, the woodland on the plateau has been largely modified, consisting now in parts of scrub, coppice and planted pine with a number of exotic tree species. However, on the rocky slopes below the sandrock outcrops, a dry oak (mainly pedunculate) wood with birch, yew, holly and some beech, shades ground covered in large boulders. At points in the ravine where the soil is deep alluvium there is a local development of ash and alder woodland, grading to ash-oak on drier ground. Within this woodland there are a number of mature trees, some planted exotics and a local spread of rhododendron. The sandrock outcrops, which are the most extensive, sheltered exposures of the formation, have the richest development of the associated communities of Hymenophyllum tunbrigense and suboceanic bryophytes, Dicranum scottianum, Orthodontium gracile, Tetraphis browniana, Bazzania trilobata, Scapaniagracilis, Pallavicinia lyellii, Harpanthus scutatus, Blepharostoma trichophyllum, Scapania umbrosa, Odontoschisma denudatum, Tritomaria exsectiformis and Lepidozia sylvatica.
Wakehurst Woods are part of one of the most extensive stands of High Weald gill woodland with one of the largest sandrock outcrops. Much of the woodland is oak or oak-beech mixture, mature but with few really ancient trees, but along springlines alder and ash woodland occurs. Woodland types occurring in small quantity are open woodland of birch and oak, and areas of coppice, principally of sweet chestnut and hazel on lower slopes. At the higher levels bracken, bilberry, Deschampsia flexuosa and Lonicera peri-clymenum dominate the ground flora; whilst at lower levels on the clays, bramble, primrose, bluebell and wood anemone are prevalent, and flush communities with Carex laevigata and Chrysosplenium oppositifolium occur with the alder. The epiphytic lichen flora is moderately rich, but includes no exceptional occurrences. The ground flora includes Dryop-teris aemula and Wahlenbergia hederacea. The most important feature is the community of the sandrock outcrop, second only to those in Chiddingly Wood, which includes Hymenophyllum tunbrigense and a number of rare bryophytes and saxicolous lichens.
At their nearest point these two woods are no more than 200 m apart. Collectively they form easily the richest of the sandrock communities. The two sites complement each other in that some of the characteristic species absent in Chiddingly are present in Wakehurst, and vice versa. In neither case are the tree and shrub strata of particular importance, except that the continuity of a substantial tract of high forest with few large clearings is essential for the continued existence of the sandrock communities.
Wens/Cut/Bedham
W.I3-  THE MENS AND THE CUT AND BEDHAM ESCARPMENT, SUSSEX    
TQ 0223. I9° na  
Grade i
This extensive common woodland lies along the parish boundaries of Kirdford and Fittleworth from Idehurst Hurst to the Bedham Escarpment. For the most part it is on flat, low-lying ground drained by the headwaters of the River Arun, but at the south- west end it rises to a small hill. This is where the sandy Hythe Beds outcrop above Ather-field Clay, and give rise to acidic, sandy soils which are nevertheless imperfectly drained. Most of the site lies on Lower Weald Clay, but through Hammonds Wood there are numerous sandstone bands, and Paludina Limestone outcrops in a narrow band across The Cut.
The woodland is mostly high forest of sessile and pedunculate oaks, beech and locally ash, wild service and the birches. There is a tendency for beech to be dominant over a holly or yew understorey on the lighter soils, and for oaks and ash to be dominant over a mixed shrub layer on the heavy soils. A few ancient oaks are present, but most of the trees are probably less than 100 years old. Even so, the structure of the wood is one of its important features, for all stages of the regeneration cycle are well represented. The ground vegetation is limited for a site of this size, but many characteristic woodland species are present, including Carex pendula, C. strigosa and Milium effusum. There is a moderately rich bryophyte flora which includes, at the Bedham end, a number of local species on small boulders, Campylostelium saxicola, Brachydontium trichoides, Mar-supella emarginata and M. ustulata. The epiphytic lichen flora is not fully known, but is certainly among the richest for woodland in the south- east. Recent detailed examination of the fungal flora has revealed that, in this respect, The Mens and The Cut is one of the richest woods in Britain, and may even be the richest: included in the list are three Russula spp. not known elsewhere in Britain, and another two known only from one or two other sites. Entomologic-ally, this site is regarded as extremely rich, especially in the Crimbourne Wood area, with many extremely rare beetles on record and thriving populations of most of the woodland butterflies.
Warwickshire
Long Itchington/Upton
W.I2O.   LONG  ITCHINGTON AND  UFTON WOODS, WARWICKSHIRE
SP 3862.    80 ha
Grade i
These woods are situated on a gentle north-east-facing slope, rising to a plateau at 90-120 m, with soils which vary from medium clay to loam. This is a fine example of oak-hazel coppice woodland that is still managed as such. There are well grown standards of pedunculate oak, open grown and up to 15 m in height; the coppice layer is dominated by vigorous hazel which is coppiced in rotation, several different age classes being present. Other shrubs are present including hawthorn, roses, wayfaring tree and dogwood.
The ground flora may be divided into two main types. The upper parts of the slope and the edge of the plateau are dominated by species such as Rubus fruticosus agg., Deschampsia cespitosa and Carex spp. In the damper areas and along the ditches there is an abundance of Geum rivale. On the lower slopes the soil is a rich loam and there is a meso-philous field layer dominated by dog's mercury, bluebell and primrose, with occasional patches of Paris quadrifolia. There are a number of orchids in the wood including Listera ovata, Platanthera bifolia, Neottia nidus-avis and Epipactis helleborine.
Wiltshire
Cranborne Chase
W-32.   CRANBORNE  CHASE, WILTSHIRE/DORSET
ST 9619. 680 ha  
Grade 2
Cranborne Chase is a large wooded tract lying over Chalk along the Wiltshire-Dorset county boundary. Within this the Rushmore Park Estate comprises a large wooded plateau area and slopes leading down to chalk grassland in the valley. The woodland includes what may be the largest remaining area of worked hazel coppice, with pedunculate oak and some ash and maple standards. On the plateau Clay-with- Flints soil there is high forest of pedunculate oak and some beech. In the valley, grading into open grassland, is closed woodland of ash and field maple with some pedunculate oak, beech, yew and holly and some coppiced hazel. The ground flora throughout is rich with abundant Mercurialisperennis, Sanicula europaea and Galium odoratum. The ash- maple woodland is notable for epiphytes, with abundant Viscum album and the local cryptogams Leptodon smithii, Lobaria pulmonaria and Sticta limbata.
Savernake Forest
W-3I.   SAVERNAKE FOREST, WILTSHIRE
su 2366.    930 ha  
Grade 2
Savernake was one of the ancient Royal Forests, and is largely managed commercially. Most of the area lies on Clay-with-Flints. The woodland is open pedunculate oak, with numerous huge and ancient trees, which has recently been interplanted with oak. As in most ancient parkland woods the ground flora is limited, but the epiphytic lichen flora is outstandingly rich, over 100 species having been recorded recently by F. Rose. It includes species of a more continental distribution than are found in the more coastal New Forest, e.g. Caloplaca herbidella. Amongst the bryo-phytes are the local species Pterogonium gracile and Dicranum montanum.
Though this site is of less importance than the New Forest, the average age of its oaks is considerably greater and the epiphytes are less oceanic.
Worcestershire
Chaddesley/Randan
W.I32.   CHADDESLEY-RANDAN WOODS, WORCESTERSHIRE
so 9273.    170 ha  
Grade 2
These woods lie on Keuper Marl from which a poorly drained, rather acidic, loamy clay soil develops, but the higher ground is capped by glacial drift of a sandy and gravelly character on which freely or excessively drained, light, strongly acidic soils have formed. The woodland is almost entirely dominated by mature oak high forest in which both native species are represented. There is a tendency for most oaks on the light soil to be Quercus petraea and most on heavy soils to be Q. robur, but this is not a particularly close relationship and mixed populations are widespread. A coppice and shrub layer is present throughout, although it is thin on the most acid soils, and consists of a mixture of species, including hazel, ash, alder and birch. A considerable number of native tree and shrub species are present in small numbers. Along the deeply incised stream lines, influenced by calcareous water, a rich alderwood has developed.
A number of local plant species are present, including Epipactis purpurata and Carex strigosa, but no nationally rare species are recorded. The fauna includes the rare terrestrial caddis fly Enoicyla pusilla.
The scientific interest is not confined to the woodland for a number of small herb-rich meadows and green lanes occur within the woods. One in particular, in the centre of Chaddesley Woods, occupies a receiving site on heavy clay, and has developed as a meadow/marsh in which Serratula tinctoria, Silaum silaus and various Dactylorchis spp. are present.
Chaddesley-Randan Woods are undoubtedly the most important to nature conservation of the group of woods which were formerly within Feckenham Forest. The others, centred on the parish of Himbledon, are much more uniform where they survive as native woodland. The richest woods in this group have recently been clear-felled, but it is doubtful whether even they were richer than Chaddesley-Randan Woods.
These woods have been included in the Review primarily as an extensive and rich example of the oak woodlands in the West Midlands, and are more closely related to the Wealden oak woodlands than the coppice-with-standards woods typical of much of the Midlands. In so far as they possess significant stands of sessile oak woodland on acidic, freely drained sandy soils, in association with pedunculate oak-wood in an apparently natural distribution, Chaddesley-Randan Woods are similar to Wyre Forest (W.i2i).
Westmorland
Birkfell
W.I37-   BIRK FELL, WESTMORLAND
NY 4018.    ioo ha  
Grade i
This is the most extensive continuous stand of juniper in Lakeland, and equals or exceeds that of Upper Teesdale in size. Unlike juniper scrub considered under the lowland calcareous habitats it grows on leached skeletal brown earths over Borrowdale Volcanic rocks and has few basi-philous associates, though there are some patches of richer soil locally. The relationship with woodland is fairly close and this juniper scrub passes below into a stand of birch-wood which occupies the base of the slope. Towards the edges of the wood, the junipers are smaller, probably as a result of grazing by sheep and red deer. The individual trees of the Tynron Juniper Wood have a generally greater stature, but Tynron Wood covers a much smaller area than the Birk Fell juniper wood. In the Highlands juniper scrubs mostly occur as the shrub layer of pine and birch woods, and stands on open moorland tend to occupy damp hollows rather than dry slopes as in Lakeland.
The birchwood may be a serai derivative of sessile oak-wood, for it occupies the habitat held by the latter elsewhere in the Ullswater valley. The field layer of this wood is virtually identical with that of the other Lakeland oakwoods on acidic soils, and the bryophyte communities are also typical, but with poor representation of Atlantic species. The filmy fern Hymenophyllum wilsonii occurs sparingly.
Eaves
W.I52.   LOWTHER PARK, WESTMORLAND
NY 5223.    105 ha
Grade 2
This is a park woodland of great antiquity lying on Carboniferous Limestone south of Penrith at around 230 m. The park is reputed to be over 1000 years old and was probably enclosed from the open waste. Most of the ancient trees are oaks, some very large indeed, with a number of old ash and wych elm. The former deer park stretches for several kilometres and includes ancient avenues of yew, with elm, oak, sweet chestnut, lime and other avenues of more recent date. The epiphyte lichen flora has been subject to only a cursory examination, but even this revealed 59 species, one of the richest of such assemblages in northern England. Two river valleys cross the park, and these contain woodland with a basiphilous field layer.
Helbeck/Swindale
W.I38.   HELBECK AND  SWINDALE  WOODS, WESTMORLAND
NY 7816-8016.    135 ha
Grade i*
This is the northernmost of the internationally important series of ashwoods on the Carboniferous Limestone and lies on the Eden valley scarp slope of the Westmorland Pennines, above Brough. Helbeck Wood is on the frontal slope which rises in ridges and tiers of limestone scar towards Little Fell at the southern end of the Cross Fell range, while Swindale is the adjoining deep and cliff-lined valley cutting this slope at the eastern end. The ashwood is fairly pure in places, but there is locally a good deal of wych elm, and towards the edges more open birchwood with hawthorn takes over. Oak is scattered and there are varying amounts of hazel, aspen, rowan, holly, gean and bird-cherry. Southern species of tall shrubs are represented: Crataegus oxyacanthoides occurs sparingly here, its northern limit; buckthorn is recorded; and there is a small amount of spindle. The northern willow Salix phylicifolia occurs alongside Swindale Beck. Non-native species such as larch, sycamore and beech are present, but in rather small quantity, and they thus add to the diversity of the woods rather than detract from their quality.
Parts of the woods are ungrazed or lightly grazed, and there is a rich development of herbaceous communities, with the usual Allium ursinum-Mercurialis perennis types conspicuous, but also a variety of others associated with more open conditions, especially on screes and outcrops. The more local herbs include Myosotis sylvatica, Cepha-  lanthera longifolia, Convallaria majalis, Vicia sylvatica, Paris quadrifolia, Aquilegia vulgaris, Campanula latifolia, Epipactis helleborine, Rubus saxatilis, Geranium lucidum, Cirsium heterophyllum and Polygonatum officinale. On steep rocks are Hippocrepis comosa and Car ex ornithopoda. The two rare horsetails Equisetum pratense and E. hyemale grow within the site.
Other field communities include the grassy type, dominated by Brachypodium sylvaticum and there are also transitions to the Sesleria albicans and Festuca grasslands of the open hillside. In places there is dominance of bluebell with bracken, especially around the lower edges of Swindale. Within Helbeck Wood is a small tarn, with fringing calcareous marsh of sedges and 'brown mosses', with an abundance of Primula farinosa and Valeriana dioica. Altogether, the diversity of habitat and floristics, and the gradation into other important upland communities, make this a most important site. It is contiguous with the Appleby Fells grade i upland site (U.22).
Lowther Park
W.I52.   LOWTHER PARK, WESTMORLAND
NY 5223.    105 ha
Grade 2
This is a park woodland of great antiquity lying on Carboniferous Limestone south of Penrith at around 230 m. The park is reputed to be over 1000 years old and was probably enclosed from the open waste. Most of the ancient trees are oaks, some very large indeed, with a number of old ash and wych elm. The former deer park stretches for several kilometres and includes ancient avenues of yew, with elm, oak, sweet chestnut, lime and other avenues of more recent date. The epiphyte lichen flora has been subject to only a cursory examination, but even this revealed 59 species, one of the richest of such assemblages in northern England. Two river valleys cross the park, and these contain woodland with a basiphilous field layer.
Naddle Low Forest
W.I49-   NADDLE  LOW FOREST, WESTMORLAND
NY 5015.    no ha
Grade 2
Naddle Low Forest is situated at 200-400 m on the slope overlooking the lower end of Haweswater and on both sides of a re-entrant valley joining the main river just below the foot of the lake. The aspect is mainly north-west, but on the spur between the two main sections varies through north to east. The parent rock belongs to the Borrowdale Volcanic Series, and contains calcite in places, so that the soils vary from acidic to basic brown earths, while the slopes are generally steep and locally precipitous. The poor soils of steep ground have sessile oakwood, but birch locally replaces oak, evidently through selective extraction of the latter. Ash-hazel wood is well developed on the richer soils, and where the slope flattens to the river, beyond the dam, there is a good mixed deciduous wood, and alder-Care* swamp in places. The slopes are thickly strewn with blocks and here there is a profusion of ferns and bryophytes. Lightly grazed sections of the wood have herbs such as Geranium sylvaticum and in open places there are soligenous mires with Juncus acutifiorus and Primula farinosa.
Naddle Low Forest shows much the same range of habitat and vegetational variation as the Borrowdale Woods, but is regarded as a second choice for the following reasons.
(i) There is a much lesser representation of good oak and a correspondingly greater amount of probably serai birch.
(ii) There is a smaller extent of ash-hazel wood.   .
(iii) There is a lesser range of aspect.
(iv) Though luxuriant and rich, the bryophyte flora is much poorer in Atlantic species, probably because of the eastern position of Naddle Low Forest.
Naddle Low Forest has the advantage of being in two almost continuous blocks and probably contains a few herbs not present in the Borrowdale Woods.
Smardale
W.I5I.   SMARDALE  WOODS, WESTMORLAND
NY 7207.    30 ha
Grade 2
This deep gill, draining through the Carboniferous Limestone belt west of Kirkby Stephen at 200-260 m, has a fairly extensive ashwood, grading to open hazel and hawthorn, with rich grasslands containing much Sesleria caerulea, Helianthemum chamaecistus, Poterium sanguisorba and Geranium sanguineum. There is, however, less diversity than in the Helbeck-Swindale Woods, and the prevailing field layer is of Mercurialis perennis with Brachypodium sylvati- cum. Above the railway the wood is mostly a mixture of birch, hazel and hawthorn. See also U.25-
Whitebarrow/Witherslack
W.I36.   WHITBARROW AND  WITHERSLACK  WOODS, WESTMORLAND
so 4487.    160 ha  
Grade i
The area contains two main blocks of woodland. On the west side in a slight valley, below the west-facing Carboniferous Limestone scarp of Whitbarrow Scar (see L.I36), is a large stand of high forest, grading into scrub as the slope steepens. On the eastern, dip slope of Whitbarrow Scar, is a much more heterogeneous woodland with a mosaic of coppice, scrub and planted conifers on discontinuous limestone pavement.
The high forest, extending from Pool Bank to Wither-slack Hall, consists of a mixed sessile oak-ash wood, becoming purer oakwood near the road, where the rock changes to Silurian slate. This wood is important for its relatively large area of tall, well-grown oak, a relatively rare feature in this district where so much of the woodland has been coppiced. Although the wood is ungrazed, the field layer is not species rich, and the influence of the limestone is not particularly obvious until the slope of the Scar is reached. Rubus fruticosus is dominant locally, though R. saxatilis is also abundant near the road. There is local abundance of Mercurialis perennis and Brachypodium sylvaticum but the herb flora is not large. Thelypteris phegopteris is locally luxuriant. Birch is quite abundant, there are patches of hazel thicket, and dense ash regeneration occurs in places. Wych elm is frequent and small-leaved lime occurs here in one of its northernmost localities.
On the slope falling from Whitbarrow Scar there is a belt of pure yew-   wood and above this a lower growth of oak, ash and hazel, passing on the scarp to scrub with juniper, yew, hazel, birch, buckthorn and Sorbus lancastriensis. There are old records of Daphne mezereum.
To the west of the road there is a change to ashwood on and beneath a second, smaller, and east-facing limestone scarp. The flora here is richer than that of the oakwood, with most of the typical ashwood species, and more local plants such as Ophrys insectifera, and the shady rocks have an abundance of calcicolous bryophytes.
The native woodland on the dip slope is mainly a scrubby ash-hazel growth, grading into sessile oak locally, and the field layer contains much Brachypodium sylvaticum and Sesleria caerulea, with Carex ornithopoda and Melica nutans quite plentiful. The grikes have Phyllitis and Dryopteris villarii, and Epipactis atrorubens occurs in more open places, while interesting bryophytes include the northern Rhytidium rugosum and the southern Atlantic Marchesinia mackaii. There was formerly a native colony of Allium schoenoprasum near Rus Mickle. Basiphilous woodland herbs are well represented and there are all transitions to open pavement with its characteristic flora (see under Lowland Grasslands, Heaths and Scrub). Despite conifer planting, which clearly causes surface acidification and impoverishment of this interesting flora, it is apparent that there will always be a patchy occurrence of native scrub and associated field/ ground communities on the rockier, unplantable ground, and this eastern area is included in this important grade i site for its great botanical interest.
Yorkshire
Ashberry/Reins
W.I58.   ASHBERRY AND  REINS  WOODS, YORKSHIRE
SE 5685.    80 ha
Grade 2
These form part of an extensive group of woodlands at 90-150 m on the steep sides of upper Rye Dale near Rievaulx, one of the deep glens draining the south-western part of the North York Moors.
The woods lie on the west slope of this valley and on both aspects of the ridge bounding the east side. Soil conditions range from acidic to strongly calcareous, and from dry to permanently water- logged. On the acidic soils oak and birch dominate over a field layer of Rubus fruticosus, Pteridium aquilinum, Vaccinium myrtillus, Lonicera peridymenum and Luzula sylvatica. On calcareous soils, mixed deciduous woodland of ash, field maple, wych elm, hazel and small- leaved lime grows over Brachypodium sylvaticum, Des-champsia cespitosa and a rich variety of herbs including Actaea spicata and Ophrys insectifera. The lower 15 m of the valley are occupied by fragments of alderwood and more extensive Juncus-Carex calcareous marsh and wet grassland, with an unusual number of rare and local species, notably Primula farinosa, Trollius europaeus, Epipactis palustris, Schoenus nigricans and Carex aquatilis. Adjacent to the mixed deciduous woodland is limestone grassland with numerous herb species (e.g. Cirsium eriophorum) showing invasion by hawthorn. The whole forms an important woodland-grassland-mire complex of great floristic interest.
Beast Cliff
W.l6o.  BEAST CLIFF, YORKSHIRE
SE 998999-TA 005988.    20 ha 
Grade 2
This coastal site, about 11 km north of Scarborough, is on a system of slipped Jurassic strata of considerable size and contains steep scrubbed-over areas that are accessible only with great difficulty. The area is apparently undisturbed by man and an extensive undercliff woodland complex of oak and ash within which much scrub has developed. Shrub species present include rowan, willows, hawthorn, birch, broom, gorse, rose and sycamore. The ground flora list is extensive and contains a wide range of species including those of coastal habitats. Under the best-developed woodland dog's mercury, bramble and bracken are dominant; in other flushed areas Luzula sylvatica and fern species form the main cover whilst some rocky outcrops are colonised by Calluna vulgaris and Succisa pratensis. Additional habitats are provided by two pools colonised by Scirpus lacustris and Potamogeton spp. surrounded by a fringe of Salix spp. See also C.68.
Beckhole
W.I59-   BECKHOLE  WOODS, YORKSHIRE
NZ 8202. 170 ha  
Grade 2
Here there is ash-elm-small-leaved lime-oak woodland in a ravine with a very mixed field layer including acidophilous and basiphilous communities in the valley bottom. The woodland further up the slopes loses some of its diversity and consists mainly of oak over a Vaccinium- Melampyrum-Deschampsia flexuosa field layer.
Coniston/Bastow
W.I43-   CONISTONE  OLD  PASTURE AND  BASTOW WOOD, YORKSHIRE
SD 9867.    380 ha  
Grade i
The site occupies part of the Carboniferous Limestone escarpment on the eastern side of upper Wharfedale. Great Scar limestone, divided into two main blocks by a narrow gorge, outcrops as pavement, scar and associated scree. Much of the soil is thin humus-carbonate occurring in patches on the exposed limestone, but on the valley sides and in depressions a deeper clay has developed, and in some places acid, sandy loam. The more southerly of the blocks is wooded; closed woodland mainly of ash, wych elm, and hazel with calcicolous shrubs such as privet, buckthorn, and whitebeam, considerably invaded by sycamore, characterises Grass Wood, while in the contiguous Bastow Wood birch is predominant over much of the area and forms an open canopy. This difference is probably related to site history, in addition to somewhat greater elevation, for Bastow Wood overlies a Celtic field system, and the contrast is now being accentuated by re- forestation of Grass Wood, mostly on a shelter wood system, but locally by clear felling and replanting with conifers. Dib Scar, descending steeply into the gorge drained by Dib Beck, forms the northern limit of this block, beyond which rises the complementary limestone grassland and pavement of Conistone Old Pasture, characterised by typical close-cropped species- rich swards and a grike flora. Ecologically this site belongs partly with the lowland calcareous grasslands, and gives an interesting comparison with the more distinctly montane limestone communities in Cowside valley and the higher slopes of Malham-Arncliffe (U.24).
The main feature of interest is the herbaceous flora which is outstandingly rich. The woods of the area are known as a locality for the very rare Cypripedium calceolus, which has been reduced almost to extinction by plant collectors. Herbs still present include Polemonium caeruleum, Thalictmm minus, Geranium sanguineum, Polygonatum odoratum, Paris quadrifolia, and Origanum vulgare. More open ground in the area has Draba incana, Arabis hirsuta, Polygala amara, Saxifraga hypnoides, and Sedum telephium, while flushes and damper pastures have an abundance of Primula farinosa and Parnassia palustris. The afforestation programme may ultimately reduce the variety to some extent, but most species and the general richness of the habitat are expected to survive.
Hawkswick
W.I55-   HAWKSWICK  WOOD, YORKSHIRE
SD 9471. 12 ha 
Grade 2
This Littondale ashwood has a rather open growth of medium-sized trees on a south-west-facing slope of Carboniferous Limestone with scree and scar at 200-300 m. There are rich brown loams, supporting a varied herbaceous field layer with mixed grasses and forbs, including Brachypodium syhaticum, Allium ursinum, Anemone nemorosa, Endymion non- scriptus and Mercurialis perennis as the chief dominants. Other abundant species include Primula vulgaris, Fragaria vesca, Potentilla sterilis, Viola riviniana, Prunella vulgaris, Circaea lutetiana and, more locally, Paris quadrifolia and Convattaria majalis. This wood is evidently only lightly grazed, and is probably the best remaining limestone wood of the Wharfedale area, the rest having been ecologically degraded in recent years by felling or sheep-grazing.
Kisdon Force
W.l6l.   KISDON FORCE  WOODS, YORKSHIRE
NY 9000.    12 ha
Grade 2
These woods are on Carboniferous Limestone of the Yore-dale Series in steep gorges associated with the west-east-flowing River Swale and its small north-south-flowing tributary, East Gill, near Keld. While forming an ecological unit, they are physically separated by a field in the angle of the junction of the rivers. The altitude is 270-350 m, so that the woods have a submontane character.
The woods are dominated by ash, particularly fine specimens occurring on the south side of the Swale. Birch is important as a constituent of the canopy toward the upper woodland edges whilst wych elm is locally abundant near the rivers and alder follows some small side streams on the south side of the Swale. Hawthorn, bird- cherry, blackthorn, and rowan are present as understorey or shrubs; hazel occurs, and is particularly well developed on some relatively open and more level ground south of the Swale. Though variable, the average height of the tree canopy is about 8 m.
The ground flora varies according to the substrata which range from limestone to acidic sandstone and, alongside East Gill, to base-rich alluvium, but in general reflects only moderately base-rich conditions. A disused lead mine tip with Minuartia verna forms a scree, cutting through the wood on the north side of the Swale. The range of forbs includes such species as Brachypodium sylvaticum, Mer-  curialis perennis, Allium ursinum, Primula vulgaris, Sanicula europaea, Filipendula ulmaria and Viola spp. In East Gill, Campanula latifolia and Cirsium heterophyllum also occur at lower levels and the woodland ground flora gives way to a small piece of attractive, wet, calcicolous meadow flora between wood and river. Ferns, notably Athyrium filix-femina, are prominent on the south side of the Swale among the bigger trees. A range of bryophyte communities is also represented.
Raincliffe
W.I44-   RAINCLIFFE WOOD, YORKSHIRE
SE 9888.    130 ha  
Grade I
The east side of the valley has been partly felled and replanted but it still shows a fine gradation from alder in the valley bottom through ash- wych elm woodland with a basiphilous field layer to pedunculate oakwood with an acidophilous field layer near the top of the slopes. Scarwell Wood on the west side has an alder-ash woodland with willow and a very varied and well-developed field layer on the valley bottom. Above this there is ash-elm woodland with sycamore and extensive Mercurialis perennis and Allium ursinum communities. A feature of this zone are the well-developed tufa areas with a characteristic calcicolous moss flora. The upper slopes carry oak- sycamore woodland with some elm, birch, rowan and hazel over a less calcicolous field layer of Rubus fruticosus, Lonicera periclymenum, Endymion non-scriptus, Anemone nemorosa, Oxalis acetosella, etc., with patches of Luzula sylvatica.
Ribblehead
W.I42.   RIBBLEHEAD  WOODS, YORKSHIREGrade I
(a) Colt Park
so 7778-7776.    9 ha
(b) Ling Gill SD 8078.    5 ha
These sites are regarded as fragments of a once more extensive subalpine ashwood covering much of the lower slopes of the Craven Pennines and have survived by virtue of physical features; a limestone pavement in the case of Colt Park and a steep-sided ravine at Ling Gill, both of which afford protection from grazing. Both woods are on Carboniferous Limestone; Colt Park is developed over a pavement of limestone at about 340 m whilst Ling Gill is cut into the upper part of the Great Scar limestone, at a similar elevation, 3 km to the north-east.
The tree layer in both woodlands is composed mainly of rather open and somewhat stunted ash. In Ling Gill the ash tends to be more abundant on the crags and gill sides. In both woodlands a shrub layer is present and contains hazel, hawthorn, bird-cherry and rowan. Wych elm, birch and (in Ling Gill) aspen are also to be found scattered throughout the canopy in places. Both areas have a rich flora as a result of the calcareous substratum and lack of grazing. Tall-herb communities are well developed and contain Trollius europaeus, Geranium sylvaticum, Cirsium heterophyllum, Actaea spicata, Crepis paludosa, C. mollis, Geum rivale, Angelica sylvestris, Campanula latifolia and Paris quadrifolia. Gagea lutea is less frequent. Submontane plants include Potentilla crantzii, Galium boreale and Asplenium viride. In Ling Gill podsolic soils above the rocky ravine slopes have an acidiphilous field layer with Pteridium aquilinum, Molinia caerulea, Potentilla erecta and Galium hercynicum.
The moist atmosphere and shade of Ling Gill ravine and the grikes at Colt Park have led to the occurrence of a rich bryophyte flora on the limestone.
See also OW-50 and 11.23.
Shipley
W.I45-  SHIPLEY   WOOD, DURHAM/YORKSHIRE
NZ 0021.    60 ha
Grade i
These woods occupy the rocky gorge of the River Tees cut through the Carboniferous Series, 6.4 km above Barnard Castle. The lower parts of the wood are high forest of wych elm, ash, pedunculate oak and alder, with yew, hazel, holly, rowan and bird- cherry locally. There is a wide range of age classes, but some of the elm has been coppiced or pollarded. At the southern end where the wood was once cut-over, birch, hawthorn and willow dominate. These woods are on limestone, but the upper levels over acidic rocks are dominated by oak and birch. The ground flora of the lower levels is particularly rich with abundant Myosotis sylvatica, Geranium sylvaticum, Geum rivale, Paris quadrifolia, Chrysosplenium spp., Allium ursinum, Luzula sylvatica and numerous ferns. The bryophyte flora is quite rich, both in calcicolous elements on the damp boulders lower down, and in calcifuge species on the acid loamy soil and rocks higher up. The wood is, however, outstanding for its flora of epiphytic lichens, which includes the relict forest species Lobaria pulmonaria, L. laetevirens and Baccidia affinis: this is the first definite British record of the last-named lichen.
Skoska
W.I56.   SCOSKA WOOD, YORKSHIRE
SD 9172.    35 ha       
Grade 2
This is a second Littondale ashwood but lies on the opposite, north- east-facing slope to Hawkswick Wood, and is more heavily grazed in places. The rock is again Carboniferous Limestone and the altitude 250-370 m. The wood also contains some sycamore, a few larch and spruce, and birch is locally abundant. The shrubs include hazel, hawthorn and willows with bird cherry and Ribes sylvestre in places. The middle level of the wood is broken by a line of low scar and scree, and here, since grazing is less heavy than at the margins, the field layer is very rich. A wide range of mesophilous and calcicolous species is represented and includes Actaea spicata, Paris quadrifolia, Sesleria caerulea, Cirsium heterophyllum and Asplenium viride. Grazing has increased within the wood in recent years and there has been modification of the field layer communities, with grasses spreading at the expense of forbs. See also U.24.
Thornton/Twistleton Glens
W.I57-   THORNTON AND  TWISLETON  GLENS, YORKSHIRE
SD 6974, SD 7074.    45 ha 
Grade 2
These two valleys north of Ingleton lie at 120-200 m on strongly contrasting rock types, namely Carboniferous Limestone which is confined to the western glen, and Silurian slate in the eastern and part of the western glen. The limestone woodland has pedunculate oak, wych elm, ash mixtures with a range of age classes, but over the slates sessile oak is dominant, with rowan, birch and, beside the stream, small-leaved lime. Though the vascular flora reflects the strong contrast in underlying lithology and is rich in aggregate, the site is more important for its outstanding bryophyte and lichen floras. The bryophytes include many species of calcareous habitats, but also a number of moisture-loving oceanic species surviving in an area of relatively low rainfall and calcareous rocks. After the Lodore Falls in the Borrowdale Woods (W.I33), this is probably the best locality in northern England for Atlantic liverworts characteristic of damp, waterfall glens at low elevations. Some of these species are unknown elsewhere in the Pennines, for they avoid limestone. The site owes this bryological richness, unusual also in an area of relatively low rainfall, to its western position, the presence of relatively acidic rocks and the probable historical continuity of tree cover in these glens. The lichen flora includes a number of rare species of old forests, notably Thelotrema lapadinum, Normandina pulchella, Lobaria laetevirens and Opegrapha rufescens.
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