Collyweston Great Wood and Easton Hornstocks

Also within

Cambridgeshire CountyNorthamptonshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Climate exposure

This is about exposure to a nationwide pressure this habitat type carries — not a verdict on this site's own management.

Habitats

Bracken scrub, Coppiced woodland

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Jurassic · Rock Type: Glacial Till, Limestone

Landscape processes: Coastal, Glacial

Description

Area, 149.5 hectares 369.4 ac Description Collyweston great Wood and Easton Hornstocks is the largest Northamptonshire remnant of the ancient Purlieu coppices of Rockingham Forest. The underlying rock is Jurassic Lower Lincolnshire Limestone overlain by Upper Estuarine ‘Series’ sands and Boulder Clay drift. This has given rise to a range of soils of widely differing drainage and chemistry which in turn support an outstanding range of semi natural woodland types. Little of the site has been affected by re afforestation so that a complex mosaic of vegetation occurs, closely correlated with soil characteristics. The main coppice types are variants of ash lime and oak lime woodland with small leaved lime Tilia cordata, the dominant component. The latter has a restricted distribution and lime woodland is therefore nationally uncommon. Of particular interest is the combination of lime and sessile oak Quercus petraea one of the very few localities in the East Midlands. Wild service tree Sorbus torminalis occurs frequently in association and, like lime, is virtually confined to ancient woods.* Other major coppice types represented include birch oak, ash maple and hazel ash. The ground flora is extremely rich due to the combination of calcareous and acidic soils and there are many locally rare plants, e.g. lily of the valley Convallaria majalis, wood spurge Euphorbia amygdaloides, great wood rush Luzula sylvatica, violet helleborine Epipactis purpurata, nettle leaved bellflower Campanula trachelium, fly orchid Ophrys insectifera and columbine Aquilegia vulgaris. Dog’s mercury Mercurialis perennis, wood anemone Anemone nemorosa, creeping soft grass Holcus mollis, wood sorrel Oxalis acetosella and false brome Brachypodium sylvaticum are some of the more widespread plants. Several large areas of bracken Pteridium aquilinum occur and are often associated with tree pipits, one of the less common species from a good representative breeding bird fauna. * Sites with a continuous history of woodland cover from the Middle Ages or before.

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