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Gloucestershire Naturalists' Society |
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Gloucestershire Naturalists' Society |
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A introduction to some county wildlife sites
A Spring walk round the lanes and footpaths near Painswick
This is the first part of a new series of brief articles on important and interesting sites for wildlife in our county. We are blessed with a tremendous variety of geology and landscapes in Gloucestershire and there are still many hidden and quiet places in which wildlife abounds and often goes unnoticed by many. These articles are intended as an introduction to a selection of those places in the hope that some of you are inspired to make a visit, enjoy the wildlife and record what you see. And, of course, pass your records on to the county recorders.
More information will be published on the GNS website and the intention is to build up a growing directory of sites and add more information as it comes to light.
Each set of sites will have seasonal interest at the time of publication, but many are good to visit at any time of year, and will be selected from the various regions of the county. The first set contains well known and well visited areas. I make no apologies for this, information is readily available and therefore makes my job easier and this is a pilot to test the format and reception of this information. Later in the series I hope to include sites that are less well known and have records of species that are outside my sphere of interest. It depends on the feedback received. For this introduction I have selected the Bill Smylie Butterfly Conservation reserve on Prestbury Hill, the RSPB’s Highnam Woods reserve, the Upper Wye Gorge, which includes Symonds Yat, and Newent Lake.
The next set of sites I plan to cover are Woodchester Mansion, Woorgreens Lake, Pittville Park in Cheltenham and Guscar Rocks. If anyone has information they would like to share on these areas, or those already covered, I would be more than happy to receive it. My e-mail address is neil.pryce.jones at ntlworld.com.
The view north-west to the Malverns, taken from the reserve
Main Habitats
This 31 hectare nature reserve consists of two areas of limestone grassland high on the Cotswold scarp slope to the north-east of Cheltenham. Thin deposits of windblown sands cover the Oolitic limestone in places and give rise to a very rich mix of limestone and neutral grassland flora. The southern half of the reserve, known as the Bill Smyllie Reserve, extends southwards as a narrow valley containing belts of scrub. It is separated from the northern half by a beech plantation.
Visiting and Access
Entrances and parking at SO 993244 and SO 994247.
By Car - From the A40 east of Cheltenham turn off into Whittington village. Turn west at the T-junction, then north-west just past Whalley Farm and follow the road northwards. The minor no-through road to the communications masts on the southern edge of Cleeve Common gives access to both areas of the reserve.
If using public transport, from Cheltenham town centre, take a bus to Prestbury (not Sundays), then about 2km of walking up Mill Lane brings you to the reserve entrance. Please note that much of the reserve is steep and can be slippery.
Designations and Management
The reserve is owned and managed by Butterfly Conservation. The grassland is grazed by cattle throughout the year and some scrub clearance has been undertaken.
Important Species and/or Communities
This is an outstanding area for butterflies, notable species include: Duke of Burgundy, Brown Argus, Chalkhill Blue, Small Blue, Green Hairstreak, Dark Green Fritillary, Marbled White and Grayling. Many day-flying and nocturnal moths are also present and there is a large community of orthopterans.
Cowslips on the reserve in May.
In addition the grassland has good numbers of a variety of orchids including bee, fragrant, musk and frog, with broad-leaved helleborine in the woodland. Buzzards and Ravens are an increasingly common sight and a variety of passerines, including Redstart, can be found in the scrub.
Best times to visit Mid-may is best for Green Hairstreak, Duke of Burgundy and early orchids. June is best for most of the orchids, while butterflies are most diverse and numerous in July and August.
Other sites nearby
Cleeve Common lies adjacent to the reserve, to the north, and has a similar flora and fauna spread over a much larger area.
Main Habitats
Damp oak woodland with coppice. This is managed on a rotation to provide a mosaic of cleared areas and different age classes and structure.
Visiting and Access
The entrance to the reserve is signposted off the A40, 3 miles east of the Over Bridge at SO779190, just to the west of the petrol station. The reserve is open at all times and there are information boards and nature trails, although these can be muddy. A single hide overlooks a pond and feeding station.
Designations and Management
The reserve is managed by the RSPB.
Important Species and/or Communities
The principal interest here is the strong population of nightingales at the western edge of it’s British range. There are many other woodland bird species, including all three species of woodpecker. In spring there are abundant woodland flowers and the cleared areas and widened rides are attracting more butterflies during the summer months.
An unusual use of a Highnam nest box - a hornet's nest in October.
Best times to visit
Spring for the nightingales and woodland flora. Winter can be good for flocks of finches, tits and woodpeckers.
Main Habitats
This area is one of the most extensive blocks of semi-natural broadleaved woodland in the whole of the Wye Valley, clothing the gorge that cuts through Old Red Sandstone and Carboniferous Limestone. The woodlands of the lower Wye valley are one of the most important woodland conservation sites in the country, forming a large and almost continuous block throughout the gorge, with a mixture of many types of woodland and rare species.
Visiting and Access
Much of the SSSI is in Herefordshire on the north side of the river. Of the areas in Gloucestershire, Lady Park Wood and The Slaughter can be reached along a forestry track from a car park at SO566138 at Hillersland. The woodlands south of Symonds Yat can be accessed by parking at SO565157 (can be very busy in summer) and exploring east of the B4432. OS Sheet 162. A Peregrine watchpoint run by the RSPB is at the Symonds Yat viewpoint.
Designations and Management
An SSSI, part of which is in Gloucestershire. Lady Park Wood is a National Nature Reserve and receives no management to study the natural succession of semi-natural woodland.
Important Species and/or Communities
Sessile oak-lime woodland is the predominant plant community, in association with beech, ash and silver birch. Rare tree species include large-leaved lime and several species of whitebeam. Greater and lesser horseshoe bats use the site and hibernate in caves within the SSSI. The bird community is diverse and includes wood warbler, buzzard and pied flycatcher. Peregrines nest on the cliff ledges. There is also a rich assemblage of invertebrates including the uncommon wood white, pearl bordered fritillary and white admiral butterflies.
Best times to visit
Spring is best to hear and see the woodland birds. Summer for the peregrines and butterflies. Autumn can provide spectacular woodland colour and is good for fungi and lower plants.
Other sites nearby
The rest of the SSSI is on the Herefordshire side of the river.
Main Habitats
A man-made lake surrounded by a small park with mature trees.
Visiting and Access
There is a small car-park at SO723261 near the parish church in the centre of the town.
Designations and Management
Unknown
Important Species and/or Communities
The lake is best known as a feeding area for several bat species, including Common and Soprano Pipistrelle, Daubenton’s and Noctule bats.
Best times to visit
Summer evenings just after sunset.
Other sites nearby
Newent Woods and May Hill are about 5 miles to the south-west and the GWT reserve of Collinpark Wood, an ancient semi-natural woodland, is about 4 miles to the north-east. The area, particularly to the north of Newent, is renowned for wild daffodils in the spring.
Neil Pryce-Jones, January 2005
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