Cage Brook Valley

Also within

Herefordshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Description

Area, 4.93 ha. 12.2 ac. Description The site consists of two blocks of semi natural woodland and small areas of unimproved neutral grassland in the valley of the Cage Brook. The woodland in the northern section is dominated by ash Fraxinus excelsior with some sessile oak Quercus petraea and silver birch Betula pendula. The dense shrub layer is dominated by hazel Corylus avellana. In the southern section ash is again dominant, but here it is associated with wild cherry Prunus avium. hazel and hawthorn Crataegus monogyna form the shrub layer. Areas of damp alder Alnus glutinosa woodland occur in the areas immediately adjacent to the Cage Brook, together with willows Salix caprea and S. fragilis. In the drier parts of the woodland the ground flora is dominated by such characteristic species as dog’s mercury Mercurialis perennis, enchanter’s nightshade Circaea lutetiana and herb robert Geranium robertianum. In the wetter alder woodland the ground flora contains a number of plants which are uncommon in Herefordshire. These include greater tussock sedge Carex paniculata and monk’s hood Aconitum napellus. The latter species is uncommon in Britain and this colony is one of the largest in the West Midlands. Some plants also occur in the small areas of grassland. The grassland is dominated in the drier parts by crested dog’s tail Cynosurus cristatus and Yorkshire fog Holcus lanatus. In the damper areas soft rush Juncus effusus and floating sweet grass Glyceria fluitans occur together with hemlock water dropwort Oenanthe crocata and great willow herb Epilobium hirsutum.

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.