Hang Wood

Also within

Wiltshire County Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs Scenic Area

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Bracken scrub, Coppiced woodland, Fast flowing river and stream

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Jurassic

Birds & fish recorded

Birds

Description

Area, 20.3 ha. 50.2 ac. Description Hang Wood is a botanically rich woodland and is representative of the wet ash maple and acid pedunculate oak hazel ash woodland types. It lies on thick deposits of Kimmeridge Clay. Woodland covers the sides of a valley through which runs a small stream flowing to the south west. Moderate slopes run up from the valley bottom, levelling out to gentler slopes above. The woodland composition varies with topography. Standards of oak and ash dominate the streamside. The ground flora includes several species of sedge, with pendulous sedge Carex pendula particularly abundant. Ramsons Allium ursinum, water avens Geum rivale and opposite leaved golden saxifrage Chrysosplenium oppositifolium are also locally abundant. A small stand of wet ash wych elm occurs along the streamside. Above the stream on moderate slopes, the woodland is a mixture of maiden standards of oak and ash, with abundant formerly coppiced ash, field maple and hazel. The understorey is rich and includes guelder rose Viburnum opulus, blackthorn Prunus spinosa, dogwood Cornus sanguinea and apple Malus sylvestris. The ground flora is dominated by bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta, dog's mercury Mercurialis perennis and sweet woodruff Galium odoratum. Early purple orchid Orchis mascula is locally abundant, with typical woodland species such as primrose Primula vulgaris, wood sedge Carex sylvatica and yellow archangel Lamiastrum galeobdolon frequent. On gentler slopes on higher ground the structure of the wood becomes high forest with standards of oak and ash over a sparse shrub layer. Scattered old birch Betula pubescens occur, possibly dating from the last felling. The limited understorey consists mainly of scattered hazel and holly with honeysuckle frequent. Here the ground flora is dominated by greater stitchwort Stellaria holostea, creeping soft grass Holcus mollis, bracken Pteridium aquilinum, goosegrass Galium aparine and exceptionally large numbers of bluebell. sycamore and beech have been planted locally, with limited sycamore regeneration occurring. Hang Wood has one of the richest floras known from a Wiltshire wood lying on Jurassic clay. Of note is the occurrence of hard shield fern Polystichum aculeatum, thin spiked wood sedge Carex strigosa, violet helleborine Epipactis purpurata and broadleaved helleborine Epipactis helleborine. Ornithological interest is not well documented but the wood is possibly one of the few Wiltshire breeding sites for both buzzard and wood warbler. Mammalian inhabitants include roe deer, fox and badger. A diverse invertebrate fauna is likely to frequent the streamsides and areas of standing and fallen dead wood. These are important habitats for certain groups, such as diptera, although detailed recording has yet to be carried out.

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