Hildersham Wood

Also within

Cambridgeshire CountyEssex County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Ancient woodland, Coppiced woodland

Geology & landscape

Rock Type: Glacial Till

Landscape processes: Glacial

Description

Area, 7.3 hectares 18.0 ac Description Hildersham Wood is an ancient woodland of ash maple type lying on the chalky Boulder Clay. Its ancient origin is reflected in the rich variety of woodland plants and associated communities which it supports. Such woodland habitat is now very localised in extent, both locally and in lowland England as a whole. In a Cambridgeshire context the wood is notable for a number of locally rare species. Although the wood is of the ash maple classification type these species do not dominate the tree canopy. Pendunculate oak Quercus robur forms the major canopy species, occurring as mature standards. The shrub layer is mainly of sparse hazel Corylus avellana coppice and hawthorn Crataegus monogyna. Ash Fraxinus excelsior occurs as occasional coppice throughout the wood and field maple Acer campestre is frequent as coppice and maiden trees. Typical shrubs include hawthorn Crataegus monogyna, blackthorn Prunus spinosa, guelder rose Viburnum opulus and a number of wild rose species Rosa sp. The ground flora is rich and variable. Dog’s mercury Mercurialis perennis and bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta are locally dominant but comparatively absent in other areas. Other species include early purple orchid Orchis mascula, remote sedge Carex remota, primrose Primula vulgaris and wood anemone Anemone nemorosa. Of additional note is the presence of a number of locally rare species such as broad leaved helleborine Epipactis helleborine, sweet woodruff Asperula odorata and oval and pale sedges Carex leporina and C. pallescens. A good number of ferns and mosses also occur reflecting the particular wetness of this woodland. The rides, which give additional diversity to the habitat, are generally wet and dominated by sedge species Carex spp. and other damp loving species such as meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria.

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.