General characteristics
Inland water bodies (Standing water, Running water) (0.5%)
Bogs, Marshes, Water fringed vegetation, Fens (0.5%)
Heath, Scrub, Maquis and Garrigue, Phygrana (6%)
Dry grassland, Steppes (3%)
Humid grassland, Mesophile grassland (0.5%)
Broad-leaved deciduous woodland (87%)
Coniferous woodland (1%)
Mixed woodland (1%)
Other land (including Towns, Villages, Roads, Waste places, Mines, Industrial sites) (0.5%)
Habitats that are a primary reason for selection of this site
Old sessile oak woods with Ilex and Blechnum in the British Isles
This site supports extensive tracts of old sessile oak woods in conjunction with heath. They are rich in bryophytes, ferns (including Dryopteris aemula) and epiphytic lichens, the latter often associated with old pollards, since parts are former wood-pasture rather than the oak coppice that is more common with this type. In the Barle Valley the woods also occur in mosaic with glades and small fields and the combination results in good populations of fritillary butterflies.
Habitats present as a qualifying feature, but not a primary reason for selection of this site
Alluvial forests with Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior (Alno-Padion, Alnion incanae, Salicion albae) * Priority feature
Species that are a primary reason for selection of this site
Barbastelle Barbastella barbastellus
A maternity colony of barbastelles Barbastella barbastellus utilises a range of tree roosts in this area of predominantly oak Quercus spp. woodland.
Species present as a qualifying feature, but not a primary reason for site selection
Bechstein`s bat Myotis bechsteinii
Otter Lutra lutra
© Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Natural England [2015].