Cotswold Commons & Beechwoods NNR
Cotswold Commons and Beechwoods NNR is an internationally important area which includes some of Britain's finest beechwoods and limestone grasslands.
County: Gloucestershire
Main habitats: Woodland
Area: 343 Ha
Site map: Nature on the Map
.
The National Nature Reserve is made up of five sites managed by Natural England: Rough Park, Buckholt Wood, Cranham Common, Sheepscombe Common and Edge Common (now named Rudge Hill), and five jointly managed with The National Trust: Workman’s Wood, Saltridge Wood, Lords and Ladies Wood, Blackstable Wood and Popes Wood.
View maps of the sites: Cotswold Commons and Beechwoods: (7.99mb)
(whole site), Buckholt Wood and Rough Park: (633kb), Cranham Common: (617kb), Sheepscombe: (564kb), Rudge Hill: (562kb), Workman's Wood: (510kb), Saltridge Wood: (519kb), Lords and Ladies Wood: (476kb), Blackstable Wood: (580kb), Popes Wood: (537kb).
The below links give information about two fantastic walks to explore the Cotswold Commons and Beechwoods National Nature reserve this spring:
Butterflies, beech woods and bluebells. (National Trust Walks)
A year along the Cotswold Way... (from www.greatbritishlife.co.uk)
The Gloucestershire National Nature Reserves can be found on flickr.com, for photos, news, wildlife information, management and lots more.
History and wildlife
The woodlands have a long history of management for timber and are dominated by beech with some ash, pedunculate oak and sycamore. Other tree species include wych elm, field maple, whitebeam, holly and yew.
The field layer consists mainly of bramble, dog's mercury and ivy with wood anemone, sanicle and bluebell. More local species include green hellebore, common wintergreen, bird's-nest orchid and broad-leaved helleborine. A number of nationally rare plants also occur, including fingered sedge, stinking hellebore and yellow star-of-bethlehem.
The woodland animals include rare spiders and snails - all restricted to ancient woodland sites. Butterflies include silver-washed fritillary and, less commonly, white admiral and white-letter hairstreak. Breeding birds include tawny owl, buzzard and wood warbler.
The grassland commons also have a rich and diverse flora, thanks in part to their long history of grazing. In spring cowslips occur across the grassland, being replaced in early summer by an impressive display of orchids including early purple, pyramidal, greater butterfly, common spotted and fragrant, whilst along the woodland edges, white and broad-leaved helleborine can be found amongst the numerous twayblades.
Later in the year hay rattle, knapweed, harebell and wild thyme take over, thriving in those areas where the cattle have grazed back the tor grass that is so typical of Cotswold limestone grasslands.
All these plants support an abundance of insects, most notably butterflies including chalkhill blue, small blue, dingy skipper, green hairstreak and the rare Duke of Burgundy fritillary (at Edge Common). Skylarks and tree pipits breed and kestrels and buzzards are often seen overhead.
Location and access
The majority of the reserve lies between the A46 and the B4070 near the villages of Sheepscombe and Cranham.
By car the reserve is accessed via minor roads from the A46 and B4070. There are three car parks in the vicinity of Cranham.
The nearest train stations are in Stroud (8 km to the south west) and Gloucester (8 km to the north west), both served by First Great Western.
There are regular bus services from Stroud to Cranham and less frequent services to Sheepscombe. For details go to Travel Search or the Cotswold Gateway.
The Cotswold Way passes through Edge Common, Popes Wood and Buckholt Wood.
A trail, the Wysis Way, passes near the reserve.
Facilities
The nearest toilet and refreshment facilities are in local towns and villages.
There are nature trails through the site and leaflets, signs and interpretation panels are provided for visitor information.
