Chorley Covert and Deserts Wood

Also within

Shropshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Bracken scrub, Fast flowing river and stream

Description

Area, 74.3 ha. 183.6 ac. Description The Coal Measures plateau of south east Shropshire, dissected by tributaries of the Severn, is a comparatively well wooded part of the county. Woods occur mainly in the stream valleys and several areas retain a high degree of scientific interest. These woods occur on geological strata and soils similar to those of the Wyre Forest, a few miles to the south and this is reflected in the flora and fauna. However, because of this geographical separation, the Wyre Forest is treated as a separate site. Chorley Covert and Deserts Wood comprise a large wood, mainly on acid soils which have developed from the Kinlet Beds of the Coal Measures. Most of the wood is dominated by sessile oak Quercus petraea and downy birch Betula pubescens, with abundant hazel Corylus avellana. The oak dominated areas have a ground flora which is characteristic of acid soils and which consists of creeping soft grass Holcus mollis, wavy hair grass Deschampsia flexuosa, bracken Pteridium aquilinum, bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta and, locally, heather Calluna vulgaris and bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus. Alongside the stream, damper, more fertile soils have developed and these support woodland in which alder Alnus glutinosa and ash Fraxinus excelsior are abundant. The ground flora in this community includes woodruff Galium odoratum, ramsons Allium ursinum, yellow archangel Lamiastrum galeobdolon and sanicle Sanicula europaea and the uncommon species, alternate leaved golden saxifrage Chrysosplenium alternifolium and columbine Aquilegia vulgaris. The comparatively scarce shrub, alder buckthorn Frangula alnus also occurs. Chorley Covert and Deserts Wood are especially valuable as a habitat for butterflies. Several uncommon species occur including the white admiral Limenitis camilla which here is at the northern limit of its range.

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.

Plant communities