Halesend Wood

Also within

Herefordshire County Malvern Hills Scenic Area

Condition (Natural England)

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Silurian · Rock Type: Limestone

Description

Area, 53.0 ha. 130.9 ac. Description Halesend Wood lies on a ridge of Wenlock Limestone Silurian to the north of the Malvern Hills. This woodland is exceptionally rich and includes twenty tree and shrub species. The majority of the site is dominated by ash Fraxinus excelsior with small leaved lime Tilia cordata and sessile oak Quercus petraea. On other parts of the site the oak and lime are replaced by wych elm Ulmus glabra or field maple Acer campestre. Associated tree species include silver birch Betula pendula, which is particularly abundant at the northern end of the wood, aspen Populus tremula and wild cherry Prunus avium. Wild service tree Sorbus torminalis and yew Taxus baccata are abundant throughout most of the wood and show a considerable age range from seedlings to ancient trees. As well as small leaved lime, a number of the rarer, native large leaved lime Tilia platyphyllos occur, some as large old pollards. In addition there are natural hybrids between the two. The shrub layer includes hazel Corylus avellana, holly Ilex aquifolium and goat willow Salix caprea as well as several characteristic calcicole species such as dogwood Cornus sanguinea, spindle Euonymus europaeus and wild privet Ligustrum vulgare. Amongst the locally uncommon plants found in the ground flora are wild daffodil Narcissus pseudonarcissus, toothwort Lathraea squamaria, southern wood rush Luzula forsteri, greater butterfly orchid Platanthera chlorantha, bird’s nest orchid Neottia nidus-avis and common twayblade Neottia ovata. Within the woodland are several old disused limestone quarries which have largely been colonised by trees and shrubs. They support a rich variety of ferns including maidenhair spleenwort Asplenium trichomanes hart’s tongue Asplenium scolopendrium, broad buckler fern Dryopteris dilatata and polypody Polypodium vulgare. The woodland provides habitat for a number of animals including badger Meles meles, dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius and the native polecat Mustela putorius.

Species mentioned

Insects to look out for

These moths, butterflies and beetles are known to feed on plants recorded at this site, and carry a notable UK conservation status — but a host-plant being present doesn't mean the insect has actually been recorded here. Treat this as "worth watching for," not a confirmed sighting.

Host-plant data: Cook et al. (2025), Traits data for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, 2024, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology / Butterfly Conservation; and Padovani et al. (2020), Database of Insects and their Food Plants (DBIF), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (both Open Government Licence). Contains data supplied by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.