Local Wildlife Site

Wildlife

Much of the grassland comprises coarse grasses with a few common wild flowers, but there are several areas with a much richer plant life. These herb-rich fields are dominated by creeping bent and red fescue, with much sweet vernal-grass and Yorkshire fog. They also contain wild flowers typical of unimproved grassland, such as devil's-bit scabious, betony, cuckooflower and greater bird's-foot-trefoil, along with numerous commoner species. Damp areas support tufted hair-grass, jointed rush, water figwort and yellow iris. Acid grassland on top of the hill is dominated by red fescue and contains abundant sheep's sorrel and tormentil. Fine old hedgerows criss-cross the fields. Some of them have expanded into belts of scrubby woodland. The hedgerows are composed largely of common and Midland hawthorns, field maple, blackthorn and white and crack willows. Oak trees grow out of the hedges. There are also a number of magnificent old oaks scattered among the fields. Strips of damp woodland along the streams are dominated by willows, oak, hornbeam and ash. The ground-layer includes a few ancient woodland indicators, such as wood anemone, wood sorrel and bluebell. Square-stalked St John's-wort grows at the edge of a willow thicket on the site of a former pond. Breeding birds include sparrowhawk, stock dove, bullfinch, willow warbler and chiffchaff. A good selection of common butterflies occurs, along with the chimney sweeper, an uncommon day-flying moth.

Facilities

Football pitch; car parking; the London LOOP passes through the site.