Rook Clift

Also within

West Sussex County SOUTH DOWNS National Park South Downs Way National Trail

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Ancient woodland, Coppiced woodland, Fast flowing river and stream

Geology & landscape

Rock Type: Chalk

Description

Description Rook Clift is a small wooded combe on the scarp slope of the South Downs. The soils are predominantly calcareous in nature, overlying the chalk of the Downs. Deeper soils occur at the foot of the slope and also the course of a stream, arising within the wood. This site is an ancient woodland which remains in a semi natural condition. Large leaved lime Tilia platyphyllos dominates the canopy, together with ash Fraxinus excelsior and some beech Fagus sylvatica. Large leaved lime is a nationally scarce tree, with its natural range concentrated on the limestones of the Wye Valley and Peak District. Thus the high concentration of mature coppice stools, occurring on chalk, make this site nationally important and unique within West Sussex and the South Downs Natural Area. The canopy of large leaved lime, together with some beech casts a heavy shade and as a result the shrub layer is poorly developed with scattered whitebeam Sorbus aria and yew Taxus baccata. The field layer is dominated by vernal species such as ramsons Allium ursinum and bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta, or shade tolerant species including dog’s mercury Mercurialis perennis, spurge laurel Daphne laureola and sanicle Sanicula europaea. The steep sided valley around the steam is more open with a canopy dominated by ash and wych elm Ulmus glabra. Here the field and ground layers are more developed with stands of hart’s tongue fern Asplenium scolopendrium and soft shield fern Polystichum setiferum abundant and opposite leaved golden saxifrage Chrysosplenium oppositifolium common along the stream side. The ground layer consists of a bryophyte community more commonly associated with western woods including Thamnobryum alopecurum, Eurhynchium striatum, Fissidens taxifolius and Plagiomnium undulatum. This wood also supports a rich mollusc fauna including the Red Data Book species Helicondonta obvoluta and several which are indicative of ancient woodland.

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