Nunn Wood

Also within

Essex County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Coppiced woodland, Fast flowing river and stream

Geology & landscape

Rock Type: Glacial Till

Landscape processes: Glacial

Description

Description Nunn Wood is an ancient pedunculate oak hornbeam coppice with standards woodland situated to the north of Saffron Walden on the Chalky Boulder Clay of north west Essex. It supports one of the largest known colonies of early purple orchid Orchis mascula together with the nationally uncommon oxlip Primula elatior, which is restricted to East Anglia. The woodland is dominated by hornbeam Carpinus betulus coppice, forming almost pure stands in the south, while ash Fraxinus excelsior and field maple Acer campestre coppice tend to dominate in the north eastern corner. However, both hornbeam and ash occur throughout. There are relatively few standards, which are mostly ash with some pedunculate oak Quercus robur. aspen Populus tremula is occasional along the sides of the shallow stream that cuts west east through the wood. The ground flora is dominated by bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta and dog's mercury Mercurialis perennis with occasional bramble Rubus sp. Rough meadow grass Poa trivialis is dominant in damper areas, replacing bluebell. Locally abundant ramsons Allium ursinum borders the stream. Both oxlip and early purple orchid are occasional throughout the wood. The open rides are herb rich with wild strawberry Fragaria vesca, hairy St. John's wort Hypericum hirsutum, bugle Ajuga reptans, red bartsia Odontites verna, ragged-robin Silene flos-cuculi, soft rush Juncus effusus, hard rush J. inflexus, pendulous sedge Carex pendula and wood sedge C. sylvatica and provide valuable additional habitat for invertebrates and birds.

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