King's Wood and Urchin Wood

Also within

Somerset County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Ancient woodland, Bracken scrub, Coppiced woodland

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Carboniferous · Rock Type: Carboniferous Limestone, Limestone

Description

Description King’s Wood – Urchin Wood represents one of the largest areas of ancient woodland remaining in Avon. The presence of boundary banks and large pollarded small leaved lime Tilia cordata on the periphery of the wood suggests that some of the boundaries have remained unchanged for centuries. The wood overlies Carboniferous limestone which outcrops in a number of areas throughout the wood and forms a steep escarpment to the south east. Shallow, calcareous soils occur over most of the site with deeper, more acidic soils being restricted to the far eastern part. The site has long been renowned for its botanical interest and records date back to the County Flora of 1893. The woodland supports a particularly high diversity of vascular plants, including populations of the nationally rare plant purple gromwell Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum and the scarce angular Solomon’s seal Polygonatum odoratum. In many areas the canopy is dominated by small leaved lime, both maiden and coppice trees, in association with pedunculate oak Quercus robur and ash Fraxinus excelsior. Other canopy species include cherry Prunus avium, field maple Acer campestre, whitebeam Sorbus aria and mountain ash Sorbus aucuparia, whilst on the large limestone outcrops, yew Taxus baccata occurs. Of particular interest is the presence of wild service tree Sorbus torminalis, a species largely confined to ancient woodland. hazel Corylus avellana and wych elm Ulmus glabra are abundant in the shrub layer, which also includes hawthorn Crataegus monogyna, holly Ilex aquifolium, spindle Euonymus europaeus, wayfaring tree Viburnum lantana, guelder rose Viburnum opulus, dogwood Cornus sanguinea, spurge laurel Daphne laureola and buckthorn Rhamnus cathartica. The field layer is variable. Although large areas are dominated by bramble Rubus fruticosus and ivy Hedera helix other species attain local dominance including bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta, ramsons Allium ursinum and dog’s mercury Mercurialis perennis. The field layer contains many species characteristic of ancient woodland including moschatel Adoxa moschatellina, columbine Aquilegia vulgaris, pignut Conopodium majus, stinking iris Iris foetidissima, toothwort Lathraea squamaria, woodruff Galium odoratum, wood sorrel Oxalis acetosella, herb paris Paris quadrifolia, early purple orchid Anacamptis morio and lily of the valley Convallaria majalis. Where the soil is shallower and stonier, moss species including Ctenidium molluscum, Eurhynchiump raelongum, E. striatum, Thuidium tamariscinum and Thamnobryum alopecurum are also abundant. This association of species is characteristic of the ash/field maple/dog’s mercury woodland type as described in the National Vegetation Classification. On the deeper soils to the east, ash is absent from the canopy with the most commonly occurring canopy species being oaks Quercus robur, Q. petraea and Quercus robur 3 Q. petraea and cherry. The understorey is dominated by hazel. Commonly occurring species in the field layer are bracken, bramble and hard fern Blechnum spicant. Large areas of King’s Wood were replanted during the 1960s with beech Fagus sylvatica and a variety of conifer species including Douglas fir Pseudotsuga menziesii, Lawson’s cypress Chamaecyparis lawsoniana and Norway spruce Picea abies. These crop trees have, however, largely been unsuccessful and the replanted areas are now characterised by a dense understorey of regenerating hardwoods, particularly ash and small leaved lime. Small leaved lime and oak standards which were retained during the initial planting occur in some areas. The species composition of the replanted areas is otherwise similar to the remaining semi natural woodland. King’s Wood supports nationally important populations of the rare and endangered greater horseshoe bat Rhinolophus ferrumequinum and dormice Muscardinus avellanarius, both of which are protected under Part I of the Wildlife and Countryside Act as amended. The disused mine workings to the north east of the site are used by substantial numbers of greater horseshoe bats both as hibernating and nursery roosts. Dormice are associated with the dense understorey found in many areas of the wood and recent studies indicate that the woodland has one of the highest densities of dormice recorded in Britain. A nationally scarce Chrysomelid beetle Clytra quadripunctata associated with wood ant Formica rufa nests has also been recorded.

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