Hall Wood

Also within

Gloucestershire CountyHerefordshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Ancient woodland, Coppiced woodland

Geology & landscape

Rock Type: Sandstone

Description

Area, 17.9 ha. 44.2 ac. Description Hail Wood is a block of ancient broadleaved woodland situated on the Gloucestershire – Herefordshire border, four miles south of Ledbury. It lies on poorly drained, neutral, clay soils derived from the underlying Old Red Sandstone. The site is an ancient woodland containing some types of woodland which are nationally restricted. Hall Wood is also of historical importance as it is one of the earliest documented woods in Britain, with records dating from the thirteenth century. The majority of the site is covered by woodland characterised by pedunculate oak Quercus robur and ash Fraxinus excelsior with an understorey of hazel Corylus avellana. Silver birch Betula pendula and wild service tree Sorbus torminalis also occur in the canopy. As well as hazel the shrub layer includes guelder rose Viburnum opulus, dogwood Cornus sanguinea and holly Ilex aquifolium. There is a rich ground flora dominated by bramble Rubus fruticosus with a number of locally uncommon species such as wild daffodil Narcissus pseudonarcissus, common twayblade Neottia ovata, meadow saffron Colchicum autumnale and spurge laurel Daphne laureola. In the northern part of the site is an area of plateau alder woodland – an uncommon type nationally and largely confined to the south east of England. Here alder Alnus glutinosa is associated with pedunculate oak, ash and aspen Populus tremula. Below this there is again a dense shrub layer of coppiced hazel with small amounts of hawthorn Crataegus monogyna and field maple Acer campestre. In addition to bramble, the herb layer includes male fern Dryopteris filix-mas, wood sedge Carex sylvatica and wood sorrel Oxalisa cetosella. Two other nationally restricted types of woodland, characterised by maple, ash and small leaved lime Tilia cordata and pedunculate oak and small leaved lime occur in the western part of Hall Wood. The latter includes some areas which consist of almost pure coppiced small leaved lime. The woodland supports a rich invertebrate fauna, particularly of species associated with dead wood. Several nationally scarce beetles have been recorded including Crepidodera nitidula and Ischnomera sanguinicollis and a nationally scarce fly, Criorhina berberina.

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.