Knavenhill Wood

Also within

Warwickshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Ancient woodland

Geology & landscape

Rock Type: Glacial Till

Landscape processes: Glacial

Description

Description The woodland occupies a low hill of Lower Lias clays capped with boulder clay lying to the south of Stratford upon Avon. It is an ancient woodland and is an important site in Warwickshire for fungi. Knavenhill Wood is an example of a wet ash Fraxinus excelsior wood on heavy calcareous clay soils in which the canopy is mainly dominated by ash, silver birch Betula pendula and pedunculate oak Quercus robur. Goat willow Salix caprea, wild cherry Prunus avium and wych elm Ulmus glabra are also present. The understorey includes hawthorn Crataegus monogyna, hazel Corylus avellana, wild privet Ligustrum vulgare, dogwood Cornus sanguinea and elder Sambucus nigra. The ground flora is dominated by bramble Rubus fruticosus agg. and tufted hair grass Deschampsia cespitosa and in wetter areas by soft rush Juncus effusus and wood small reed Calamagrostis epigejos. Other species include dog’s mercury Mercurialis perennis, enchanter’s nightshade Circaea lutetiana, male fern Dryopteris filix-mas, honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum and wood sedge Carex sylvatica. A small area of the woodland has been interplanted with conifers and the occasional exotic oak. sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus is invasive in some areas. Knavenhill Wood has a rich fungal flora. These include a number of species rare in Warwickshire such as Russula gracillima, Laccaria tortilis and Physarum galbeum. The wood also supports twenty two species of butterfly including wood white Leptidea sinapis and purple hairstreak Favonius quercus. A rare fly, Keroplatus testaceus, has also been recorded.

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.