Titsey Woods

Also within

Surrey County Surrey Hills Scenic Area

Condition (Natural England)

Geology & landscape

Geological Feature: Rock Outcrop

Description

Description This site, comprising Titsey, Clacket, Church and Square Woods is selected primarily as an example of wet semi natural woodland on the Gault Clay, which has a limited outcrop in Surrey. The diverse ground flora includes several species which are rare in Surrey, while the woods also support several uncommon Lepidoptera moths and butterflies. Much of the woodland consists of mature pedunculate oak Quercus robur with ash Fraxinus excelsior, hazel Corylus avellana and field maple Acer campestre. Wych elm Ulmus glabra, birch Betula pendula and hawthorn Crataegus monogyna also occur in the woods with grey willow Salix cinerea. Four small areas have been modified by the planting of conifers Scot's pine Pinus sylvestris and western hemlock Tsuga heterophylla. The ground flora is locally species rich, varying according to the nature of the soils and drainage. Bramble Rubus fruticosus and bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta are abundant, while other common species include traveller's joy Clematis vitalba, ground ivy Glechoma hederacea, yellow archangel Lamiastrum galeobdolon and enchanter's nightshade Circaea lutetiana. Several locally uncommon plants occur in the woods including early purple orchid Orchis mascula, greater butterfly orchid Platanthera chlorantha and greater burnet saxifrage Pimpinella major. To the north the woods become progressively damper, with a subsequent increase in the number of sedges, including pendulous sedge Carex pendula and the locally distributed thin spiked wood sedge Carex strigosa. Herb paris Paris quadrifolia also occurs in the damp areas, while the rare ivy leaved water crowfoot Ranunculus hederaceus is also found on some of the wet areas of Tit'sey Woods. The woodlands support a number of uncommon butterflies and moths, including the silver washed fritillary Argynnis paphia and the white-letter hairstreak Satyrium w-album and a range of uncommon moths including the rose marbled Elaphria venustula and the alder kitten Furcula bicuspis.

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.