Chaceley Meadow

Also within

Gloucestershire County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Fast flowing river and stream

Birds & fish recorded

Birds

Description

Area, 1.98 ha. 4.9 ac. Description Chaceley Meadow is an unimproved herb rich neutral grassland, a habitat formerly widespread in the Severn Vale. Locally the grassland is damp and is subject to occasional flooding by the River Severn in winter. The meadow is managed traditionally for hay with aftermath grazing. The sward is composed largely of sweet vernal grass Anthoxanthum odoratum, meadow foxtail Alopecurus pratensis, crested dog's tail Cynosurus cristatus, red fescue Festuca rubra and soft brome Bromus hordeaceous and also contains a number of rushes and sedges including brown sedge Carex disticha, hairy sedge Carex hirta and glaucous sedge Carex flacca. The meadow supports a good range of herb species typical of meadows of this type, in particular, meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria, great burnet Sanguisorba officinalis, meadow vetchling Lathyrus pratensis, cuckoo-flower Cardamine pratensis and ragged-robin Silene flos-cuculi. Of particular interest is the large population of slender spike rush Eleocharis uniglumis, a rare species within Gloucestershire. The site is bounded by mature hawthorn Crataegus monogyna and blackthorn Prunus spinosa hedges with numerous large White willow Salix alba pollards. Open ditches along the northern boundary provide additional aquatic species interest to the site.

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