Halstock Wood

Also within

Devon County DARTMOOR National Park

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Ancient woodland, Coppiced woodland, Fast flowing river and stream

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Carboniferous · Rock Type: Chert, Slate

Landscape processes: Volcanic / Igneous

Birds & fish recorded

Birds

Description

Halstock Wood SSSI Description Within Dartmoor National Park. Halstock Wood, on the northern edge of Dartmoor, is an example of an upland sessile oak wood, supporting a wide range of plants and birds. This ancient semi-natural woodland lies on east-facing slopes above the East Okement River, at an altitude of 250–300 metres. The steep-sided valley bears thin, well-drained soils overlying a variety of rock types – predominantly chert, slate and tuff of Lower Carboniferous age. The dominant tree species is sessile oak Quercus petraea, largely of stored coppice origin, with ash Fraxinus excelsior and pedunculate oak Quercus robur interspersed throughout, and alder Alnus glutinosa on the river banks. hazel Corylus avellana dominates the understorey, with occasional holly Ilex aquifolium and guelder-rose Viburnum opulus. The woodland floor shows a diverse ground flora including bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta, wood anemone Anemone nemorosa, pignut Conopodium majus, sanicle Sanicula europaea, common cow-wheat Melampyrum pratense and ramsons Allium ursinum and with bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus in more acidic parts. Occasional wet flushes occur on the lower slopes, and these are characterised by meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria and opposite-leaved golden-saxifrage Chrysosplenium oppositifolium. At least 79 species of lichen occur in the wood, with a particularly well-developed Parmelietum laevigatae community on the trees: the species Graphina ruiziana, found on smooth-barked trees near the river, is a local species on Dartmoor. Some 30 species of bird breed in the wood, including raven Corvus corax, buzzard Buteo buteo, redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus and wood warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix. The woods along the East Okement, of which Halstock Wood forms a large part, are of particular interest as the site has one of the largest colonies of pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca in south west England.

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