Lower Wood, Ashwellthorpe

Also within

Norfolk County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Ancient woodland, Coppiced woodland

Geology & landscape

Rock Type: Glacial Till

Landscape processes: Glacial

Description

Area, 36 hectares 90 ac Description Lower Wood is a relatively large area of ancient woodland containing a nationally rare stand type. The wood lies on a boulder clay plateau and the chalky nature of the clay is reflected in the exceptionally diverse ground flora. The structure of the wood is predominantly coppice with standards and a large proportion of the wood contains semi-natural stands. The major stand type in the wood is plateau alder wood. A large number of tree and shrub species are associated with this stand type, including standard oak Quercus robur, ash Fraxinus excelsior and hornbeam Carpinus betulus and coppiced hazel Corylus avellana, field maple Acer campestre and sallow Salix caprea. The ground is wet, due to the poorly drained soils and the field layer is dominated by dog’s mercury Mercurialis perennis. A number of uncommon species are present, including herb paris Paris quadrifolia, wood spruge Euphorbia amygdaloides, early purple orchid Orchis mascula, common twayblade Neottia ovata, ramsons Allium ursinum, water avens Geum rivale and woodruff Galium odoratum. On the drier soils, a number of stand types are present but ash, oak, hornbeam, field maple and hazel all occur in varied quantities. The calcareous nature of the soil is shown by the shrub species which include spindle tree Euonymus europaeus, guelder rose Viburnum opulus and dogwood Cornus sanguinea. The ground flora is dominated by bramble Rubus fruticosus and patches of bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta and wood anemone Anemone nemorosa. A well developed network of rides is present in the wood and these support an interesting and diverse flora.

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.