Mappp.co - Coed y Gopa

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Habitats

Geology & landscape

Geological Feature: Cave / Cavern · Mining / Industrial: Quarry · Geological Period: Carboniferous · Rock Type: Carboniferous Limestone, Limestone

Landscape processes: Karst

Description

Description This site is notified for its species interest, a winter roost of lesser horseshoe bat Rhinolophus hipposideros. The site occupies a prominent Carboniferous Limestone hill south-west of and overlooking the town of Abergele at the north western end of the Vale of Clwyd. It is at an altitude of 45-185 metres above mean sea level with the summit surmounted by the Castell Cawr Hill Fort and flanked by severe slopes to north, west and east. To the north of the Hill Fort the site is traversed by the Ffos y Bleiddiad, a mineral vein that was exploited for lead ore from Roman times until the nineteenth century. There is a more recent and now disused stone quarry in the south-east corner. The many natural cave and underground mine workings provide ample opportunities for bat roosting areas. A plantation of beech Fagus sylvatica and Scots pine Pinus sylvestris clothes the hill with glades containing herb-rich calcicolous grassland at Copa'r Wylfa and on the rock outcrops and screes of the eastern and southern flanks. In the canopy are trees and shrubs such as ash Fraxinus excelsior, silver birch Betula pendula, spindle Euonymus europaeus, buckthorn Rhamnus cathartica, wild privet Ligustrum vulgare and yew Taxus baccata. These with woodland herbs that include stinking hellebore Helleborus foetidus and spurge-laurel Daphne laureola are indicators of the Ancient Woodland Site that once occupied the northern half of the plantation. The grassland contains herbs typical of thin limestone soils, for example, common rock-rose Helianthemum nummularium, salad burnet Poterium sanguisorba, wild thyme Thymus praecox ssp. arcticus, fairy flax Linum catharticum and early-purple orchid Orchis mascula. The combination of predominantly broad-leaved woodland, herb-rich grassland and wide rides that link these habitats provides an abundance of invertebrates and thus feeding areas for the bats. The site shelters Clwyd's second largest hibernaculum of lesser horseshoe bat. Annual counts are well in excess of 50 bats with a maximum of 130 recorded in December 1993. Two other species of bat are also present in small numbers, Natterer's bat Myotis nattereri and Daubentons bat M. daubentonii. Remarks: Castell Cawr Hill Fort is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Coed y Gopa is a Woodland Trust Reserve.

Species mentioned

Show the 17 species mentioned in the description, with red-list status

English name search for this in other sites	Latin name search with Google	IUCN / Red List	Type	Family
Natterer's bat	Myotis nattereri	LC	bat	vespertillonidae
lesser horseshoe bat	Rhinolophus hipposideros	LC	bat	vespertillonidae
rock roses	Helianthemum nummularium	VU	herb	cistaceae
foetid hellebore	Helleborus foetidus	LC	herb	ranunculaceae
fairy flax	Linum catharticum	LC	herb	linaceae
early purple orchid	Orchis mascula	LC	herb	orchidaceae
salad burnet	Poterium sanguisorba	VU	herb	rosaceae
creeping thyme	Thymus praecox	Not listed in GB list	herb	lamiaceae
spurge laurel	Daphne laureola	LC	shrub	thymelaeaceae
spindle tree	Euonymus europaeus	LC	shrub	celastraceae
wild privet	Ligustrum vulgare	LC	shrub	oleaceae
buckthorn	Rhamnus cathartica	LC	shrub	rhamnaceae
birch	Betula pendula	LC	tree	betulaceae
beech	Fagus sylvatica	LC	tree	fabiaceae
ash	Fraxinus excelsior	LC	tree	oleaceae
Scot's pine	Pinus sylvestris	LC	tree	pinaceae
yew	Taxus baccata	LC	tree	taxaceae

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.

Species	Status	Via host-plant
Straw belle Aspitates gilvaria	Endangered	Linum catharticum
The lappet Gastropacha quercifolia	Endangered	Rhamnus cathartica
Scarce vapourer Orgyia recens	Endangered	Betula spp., Fagus sylvatica
Mouse moth Amphipyra tragopoginis	Vulnerable	Poterium sanguisorba
Northern brown Aricia artaxerxes	Vulnerable	Helianthemum nummularium
The sprawler Asteroscopus sphinx	Vulnerable	Betula spp., Fagus sylvatica, Fraxinus excelsior
Broom moth Ceramica pisi	Vulnerable	Betula spp., Pinus spp.
Mottled umber Erannis defoliaria	Vulnerable	Betula spp., Fagus sylvatica
Satyr pug Eupithecia satyrata	Vulnerable	Helianthemum nummularium
The lackey Malacosoma neustria	Vulnerable	Betula pendula
Pale brindled Phigalia pilosaria	Vulnerable	Betula pendula, Fraxinus excelsior, Rhamnus cathartica
Silver studded blue Plebejus argus	Vulnerable	Helianthemum nummularium
Grizzled skipper Pyrgus malvae	Vulnerable	Poterium sanguisorba
Pale eggar Trichiura crataegi	Vulnerable	Betula spp.
Oak hook-tip Watsonalla binaria	Vulnerable	Betula pendula
Flounced chestnut Agrochola helvola	Near Threatened	Betula spp.
Garden tiger Arctia caja	Near Threatened	Pinus sylvestris
Pine-tree lappet Dendrolimus pini	Near Threatened	Pinus sylvestris
Kentish glory Endromis versicolora	Near Threatened	Betula pendula
Large thorn Ennomos autumnaria	Near Threatened	Betula spp.
September thorn Ennomos erosaria	Near Threatened	Betula spp., Fagus sylvatica
Dusky thorn Ennomos fuscantaria	Near Threatened	Fraxinus excelsior
Autumnal rustic Eugnorisma glareosa	Near Threatened	Betula spp.
Double dart Graphiphora augur	Near Threatened	Betula spp.
Silky wave Idaea dilutaria	Near Threatened	Helianthemum nummularium
White prominent Leucodonta bicoloria	Regionally Extinct	Betula spp.

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.