Chaddesley Woods National Nature Reserve

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Overview

Chaddesley Woods NNR is a remnant of the former Royal Forest of Feckenham, and part of an extensive woodland area that can be traced back to the 13th century. The presence of ancient woodland indicator species, such as yellow archangel, herb Paris and dog’s mercury and trees like small-leaved lime and wild service trees, bear witness to the age of the woodland. The eastern half of the reserve is an ancient woodland dominated by mature oak with hazel coppice. The understorey contains holly, rowan and other berry-bearing shrubs, which are popular with winter thrushes such as fieldfares. The western half of the reserve is mainly a planted woodland of broad-leaved species with extensive areas of conifer, such as Scots and Corsican pine, European and Japanese larch and Norway spruce, which are gradually being cleared and replaced with native hardwoods, which attract summer migrants like chiffchaff and blackcap. Crossbills sometimes breed in the conifer plantations, where their unusual cross-tipped beaks allow them to feed on the cones.

Location

WOODCOTE GREEN, Bromsgrove, DY10 4NX

About the area

Worcestershire is a county of rolling hills, save for the flat Vale of Evesham in the east and the prominent spine of the Malverns in the west. Nearly all of the land is worked in some way; arable farming predominates – oilseed rape, cereals and potatoes – but there are concentrated areas of specific land uses, such as market gardening and plum growing.