A Worcestershire Woods&Wildlife Walk

Worcestershire

Creating a Living Landscape

• Knapp and Papermill Nature Reserve • Blackhouse Wood Nature Reserve• Crews Hill Wood Nature Reserve• Ravenshill Wood Nature Reserve

Worcestershire Wildlife TrustLower Smite Farm, Smite Hill, HindlipWorcestershire WR3 8SZ01905 754919enquiries@worcestershirewildlifetrust.orgwww.worcswildlifetrust.co.ukWorcestershire

Worcestershire Wildlife Trust relies on the support of its members and on donations and grants.

Registered in England as Charity and Company limited by guaranteeCharity No. 256618

WelcomeWelcome to our WorcestershireWoods &Wildlife Walk, whichcovers almost eight miles ofbeautiful Worcestershire countryside on the edge of theMalvern Hills Area of OutstandingNatural Beauty.

Our walk takes you through a diverse landscape created by complex geologyand geomorphology, through ancientwoodland, traditional orchard, meadows,pasture and farmland. As well as the nodding flowers and dancing butterflies,keep a lookout for geological and historical evidence as you walk.

Ancient Silurian rocks outcrop here, limestone and sandstone form the woodedridges of the Suckley Hills and the roundedhilltops above the nearby Teme Valley. TheKnightsford Gap at Knightwick was formedby glacial meltwater in the last ice age,cutting into hills and causing the RiverTeme to change its north-south course toflow east.

The walk takes you past old houses,through farmsteads and along old holloways,passing hand-dug quarries and ancientboundaries.

DownloadThere is also an audio version of this walk,narrated by Worcestershire naturalist, authorand radio presenter Brett Westwood,available to download from the BlackhouseWood pages of our website www.worcswildlifetrust.co.uk

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Beginning at the Knapp and Papermill nature reserve entrance (SO 75070 52157)walk up the path, past the small pond on yourleft and the information centre on your right.Go through the garden gate beyond thehouse and down a steep track to the orchard.

Our first stop is the orchard...

1. The Orchard (SO 74867 52121)

The reserve, including the orchard, was donatedto the Trust in 1971 byHugh and Shifa Doncasterwho, as keen naturalists,had moved here in 1954.

There are 88 old fruit trees of two varieties –Annie Elizabeth and Bramley. Both are lateflowering and fruiting so they are wellsuited to the cooler conditions in this partof the reserve.

In May the woodland floor is carpeted withwild garlic and there are plenty of wildflowersand butterflies. Later in the year, festoonsof mistletoe adorn the upper branches ofthe trees and the berries provide food formistlethrushes, blackbirds and blackcaps.Kingfishers breed along the Leigh Brook;there is a viewing screen to your left andyou may be able to see them from here.

As you walk through the orchard, you’llsee a pond on your right; this is a relic ofan old river course, providing a home forfrogs and newts.

Wild garlic at The Knapp and Papermill’s orchard

Entrance to The Knapp and Papermill nature reserve

Brett Westwood

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Before you set off...Maps: Ordnance Survey Explorer 204,Landranger 149 & 150

Total distance: 8 miles

Location: 6 miles west of Worcester, close to the villages of Alfrick, Suckley andKnightwick

Terrain: Mainly pasture and woodland,some steep slopes and stiles. Paths canbecome muddy and slippery during wetweather; during the summer some areascan become overgrown with nettles andbrambles. Some fields may contain grazing animals.

Facilities: There is limited parking and toilets at both The Knapp and Papermillnature reserve and at Ravenshill Wood nature reserve. There is a community-runvillage store in Alfrick village as well as The Fold Cafe in Bransford, The Fox andHounds public house in Lulsley and TheTalbot in Knightwick.

Buses: For the most up to date informationvisit Worcestershire County Council’s website www.worcestershire.gov.uk/info/20021/buses

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Continue along the main track along the bottom of Big Meadow and through anothergate on the far side.

You will pass through a small, often muddy,coppice with the brook continuing to meanderto your left. The path eventually leads upwards,through another gate into Papermill Meadow.(From here you may be able to see a littlebridge, steeply below to the left.) Cross thefield, which slopes upwards away to yourright, and walk about 100m to the old PapermillCottage. To your right, the field is backed bywoodland with a steep bank where bluebellscan be seen in spring.

3.Papermill Cottage(SO 74378 51388)

There has been a mill on this site since atleast the mid 17th century although it’s believed that the milling finished in the1850s. Here, rags from the Black Countrywere used for making a very coarse gradeof paper. This old, stone cottage is perchedon the lip of the brook; it was lived in until1960 and you may be able to spot an oldcider press and a stone well in theabandoned garden.

One of the windows of thecottage has been left opendeliberately for rare lesserhorseshoe bats to use thecottage as a roost; smallnumbers of female bats canuse the building during thesummer to have their young.

Continue along the path through the field,with the wood up on your right, towards agate and a break in the woods. This leadsdown a steep slope and on to a clearing beside the Leigh Brook (keep a lookout foranimal prints in the mud). Another woodengate marks the end of the reserve. Carry onthrough this and about a quarter of a milefurther on you will arrive at a metal gate.There is a wooded slope behind you. About50m before the gate look up to your rightwhere you may be able to spot a treehouseup in the oak trees.

4. Treehouse (SO 74308 51718)

This private woodland is light and has anice show of spring flowers thanks to thecoppicing that is carried out by the ownersand, indeed, on many of our nature reserves.This practice used to be the mainstay ofrural life, with hazel providing timbers forwattle and daub, fencing and fire lighting,while sweet chestnut and ash providedlarger timbers. The tall oak standards wereused for building. Cutting down trees inthis way revitalises the woodland by allowing light to reach the woodland

floor - primroses, wood spurge andbluebells thrive in spring and it is agood place to see a number of butterfly species.

When you’re ready, follow the path with the Leigh Brook to your left, past the 200year old weir at the end of the orchard. Go through the gate and along the edge ofthe field about 150m to another gate leadinginto Big Meadow. Just on your left, throughthe other gate is the old, stone Pivany Bridge.

2. Pivany Bridge (SO 74897 51775)

The name probably derives from‘Epiphany’ because the rent for this areawas payable on January 6th – EpiphanyDay. It is a packhorse bridge built to reachBig Meadow, which in the 18th and 19thcenturies was partly a hopfield. From thebridge you can often see grey wagtailschasing flies over the water and you maybe lucky enough to spot a dipper.

Big Meadow has not been ploughed sincethe hops were grown and a complex community of 120 species of floweringplants has developed. From late May toearly July you can see several varieties oforchid here, including the rare green-winged orchid.

Pivany Bridge Papermill Cottage

Lesser horseshoebat

Big Meadow

Dipper

BluebellsGreen-winged orchid

Treehouse

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Now leave the wood and follow the edge of thefield round towards some houses with coniferhedging, down a few steps and onto the road.

Turn left, go down the road and over theMousehole Bridge towards a large field onyour left, with the entrance just after thetrack. Keep to the right of an old willow andpond in the middle of the field. Go throughtwo metal gates on the far side to a large,modern barn, near Lower Tundridge Farm.

6. Tundridge (SO 73691 51096)

Many of the buildings in this area datefrom the 17th and 18th centuries andyou’re in a very old, traditional farminglandscape; the rich agricultural land issheltered by the Malvern Hills.

The pond in the field is now silting up but,as in most old fields, it would once haveprovided water for grazing livestock.

Now walk through the metal gate and acrossthe lower side of the field, which rises onyour right to a small row of houses, to a stileleading into a small wood. The path turns immediately right up a short, steep bank to aremarkable, large, pollarded lime tree.

5. Lime Pollard (SO 74048 51702)

The great, warty trunk of this small-leavedlime splits into several smaller trunks andabove these sprout more, even narrowerbranches. Pollarding involves cutting thetrunk of a tree above the head height ofgrazing cattle; coppiced timber can thenstill be produced without damage.

Small-leaved lime is an indicator of ancientwoodland, thought to have arrived fromthe continent before Britain split away. Itneeds hot summers to germinate so youngtrees are fairly rare here now. However,‘walking’ limes can be seen in some partsof the country where limbs have fallen fromthe original tree, rooted, grown and theprocess repeated over 2-3000 years.

Lime provides a hard, white wood which isgood for carving. The famous wood carverGrinling Gibbons often worked in lime andWorcestershire is home to some of the besttrees in the country. In late July the honey-scented flowers are a magnet for bees.

Leaving The Knapp and Papermill

Otter

Keep to the right of the trees and pond

Brimstone

Lime tree pollard

Follow the path between pond left and Tundridge Farm. Turn left, then right up thesingle track road over the brook and up thehill past the old houses. The oast houses indicate that hops were once grown in thevicinity. On the way up the steep slope you willpass a pair of white and red poles designatingthe Roadside Verge Nature Reserve (RVNR).

7. Roadside Verge(SO 73253 51265)

This is one of about 100 Roadside VergeNature Reserves (RVNRs) across thecounty. With advice from WorcestershireWildlife Trust, these have been designatedby the County Council. Each has its ownmanagement and cutting schedule to ensure the conservation of the wonderfulassemblage of plant species found at each one. Amongst this RVNR you mayspot toothwort, a white-flowered parasitic species thatgrows on treeroots; it wasonce claimedthat this wasa cure fortoothache.

Toothwort

Mousehole Bridge

Roadside Verge Nature Reserve

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You are between two wooded ridges with asheep field on your left and BlackhouseWood on your right. Continue to follow theroad steeply up, along the coppiced limes toyour left, then turn right onto a wide track toenter the wood (there is a ‘Welcome toBlackhouse Wood’ sign here). Follow thepath up to a T junction and turn left.

8. Blackhouse Wood(SO 73224 51464)

Blackhouse Wood is one of the Trust’smost recent acquisitions, bought in 2015thanks to a huge public appeal and donations from the Heritage Lottery Fundand Severn Waste Services through theLandfill Communities Fund.

As an ancient woodland it had mainly deciduous species but the Forestry Act of1919 was passed to provide post-warBritain with the increasing amounts of timber needed for the construction industry.Large areas of native woodland across the UK made way for huge quantities offast-growing softwood trees but the dry,limey soil of Blackhouse Wood was not particularly good for these acid-lovingspecies. Over time we’ll be removing mostof the conifers and replanting BlackhouseWood with native trees; we’ll leave somestanding for birds such as goldcrests andcoal tits.

Humps, hollows and rocky outcrops areremnants of hand-carved limestone quarries(Worcestershire was once covered by a

shallow tropical sea). At least six limestonekilns remain on a local farm, illustratinghow powdered lime was produced forspreading onto fields to reduce soil acidity.The quarries in Blackhouse Wood aremainly sheltered and inaccessible, helpingto protect delicate plant species and insects that abound here.

Carry on up the hill until you reach the firstjunction of tracks at a forestry turning circlehalf way along the ridge.

9. Turning Circle (SO 73398 51807)

The track leading down the hill to your left was once used to carry logs away from thewood. This area is light but sheltered witha great variety of mainly deciduous tree species,in turn providing greatpotential for a wonderful diversityof bird life. You mayeven be lucky enough to see a lesser spotted woodpecker here.

Another species the Trust is working hardto encourage is the dormouse. Dormiceare scarce across the whole of the UK butare known in this area so the Trust is deliberately managing the woodland tomaximise their success. Dormice benefitfrom the rich woodland structure and usestripped honeysuckle to line their nests.

Continue walking along the ridge to the nextintersection, where a wide track leads off toyour right. If you’re visiting in summer, lookout for the bank of common spotted orchidson your right as you walk.

10. Ride Intersection(SO 73311 52612)

This triangular area, with a path leadingdown the hill to your right, is part of theBlackhouse Wood circular walk. It is lightand airy so, again, it’s a good place todelay your walk in search of plant and insect diversity. You will find a number ofcalcicole species, such as wood vetch andyellow wort, which are specially adapted toliving in the limestone-rich soil.

Carry on straight ahead, along the ridge andinto Crews Hill Wood. Keep going, straightover at a crossroads of paths, until you comeinto a large quarry in a hollow, with tree rootsshowing on the ridge above you.

Blackhouse Wood

Dormouse

Lesser spotted woodpecker

Crews Hill Wood nature reserve

Wood vetch

11. Quarry (SO 73374 53050)

Up to your left are more indications of theancient nature of the woodland. The rootsof a multi-trunked small-leaved lime intertwine with yew and there are coppicedlarge-leaved limes, a species extremelyrare in Britain but native here. There arewild service trees, a species with brownberries that were once used to make beer.It is thought that either the chequered appearance of the cut berry or the natureof the bark gave rise to the pub name‘Chequers’.

150 years ago, it would have been very different – the scale of quarrying wouldhave made a stark contrast to the peaceand quiet of today. And life at the quarryface was tough - the quarries were workedby hand with picks and shovels.

Blackhouse Wood forms part of a chain of woodlands up to the Wyre Forest that includes Ravenshill Wood to the north,Martley Ridge and the Abberley Hills. This forms a continuous strip of woodland,acting as a corridor for bird, plant and animal species, especially dormice, totravel through without interruption. Building these networks into our landscape is vitally important for wildlife.

Common centaury

Silver-washed fritillary

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Follow the path until you reach the road.Take care crossing the road but before youcross, you might like to admire the view tothe right and spreading out below you. Onceover the road, head straight on, up the tracktowards Quarry Cottage. Just before the cottage take the grassy path down throughthe woods, keep to your right and walk down an old holloway. Stop when you cansee the remains of a brick building in a fieldon your left.

12.Holloway (SO 73532 53837)

Ravenshill Wood is species-rich with an almost cathedral-like quality as the light filters down through the trees. The Hollowayyou’ve just walked down is the result ofcontinuous trampling that has worn agroove into the landscape.

It has been suggested that the nameRavenshill was based on 18th century folklore that a Viking encampment hereonce had a raven on its standard but it’smore likely that it reflects the abundanceof ravens once living in the wood. Ravenswere persecuted, particularly in Victoriantimes, and disappeared completely fromthe area in the 1950s and 60s. Happily,they have made a spectacular recoveryand you will hopefully be able to watchtheir playful flight in the area.

Follow the path down through the wood ontothe road. Turn right past the cottage and rightagain into Ravenshill Visitor Centre and car park.

13.Ravenshill Centre(SO 73999 53950)

This is a privately owned nature reservewith a free visitor centre and toilets. If you’re up for a diversion, you can borrowwellies here and follow a trail around thewoodland and past a pool; there is alwaysplenty to see.

A natural phenomenon takes place here in February or March; toads hole up in thewoodland over winter but need to getacross the lane to Lulsley Lagoon (an artificial pond) in order to breed. To avoid the many potential road fatalities,the owners of the woodland have built afence alongside the road and laid out containers into which the toads fall as theymigrate to the pond. Every morning theseare transferred safely across the road andthe toads emptied onto the side of thepond; between 300 and 600 are rescued inthis way each year.

When you’re ready, turn right out of the woodand walk down the lane, keeping Lulsley Lagoon to your left. Just past the end of thepool on the left is a public footpath and bridleway sign where a gate opens into afield. Take the public footpath across thisfield and on towards two oak trees in themiddle. At the far side you will reach a gatewhere two hedges meet.

14. Ghost Hedge (SO 74693 54148)

You are now standing in a modern agricultural landscape surrounded by pasture and arable fields. But there arerelics of more ancient countryside.Through the gate to the right is a stand ofwild service trees in the hedgerow, aspecies associated with ancient woodland.These have not been planted but haveprobably been ‘assarted’; farmers wouldhave carved out sections of the originalwoodland for agriculture, leaving a strip toform a hedge. This is sometimes called awoodland ghost and is a reminder of amuch bigger wood - a ghost of the ancient landscape.

Go through the gate and, after a short distance, turn right through another smallfield. When you reach a cattle grid, turn rightonto the track (Green Street).

15.Green Street (SO 74860 54170)

This is a very old road with a few traditional dwellings and remnants of manyold orchards. These would have had amixture of fruits - damsons, apples andpears; from the 1850s, fruit growing wascarried out on a much bigger scale. Withthe coming of the railways fruit could bepicked one day and on sale in towns thenext, so orchards became larger and morespecialised. Most peopledon’t realise that thereare 2000 varieties ofapple in Britain including 30 thatare known onlyfrom Worcestershire.Most farms wouldmake their own cideror perry and would usethis as part of their workers’ pay.

Sadly, Worcestershire has lost more than85% of its orchards since World War Two.In the 1960s, the railway branch lines werelost and in the 1970s, the Common Agricultural Policy resulted in a flood ofcheap fruit into the country. The old remaining orchards are still important towildlife though; beetles such as the beautiful but rare noble chafer feeds onthe decaying wood of fruit trees.

Holloway stop

Holloway

Raven Toad crossing

Ghost hedge

Wild service leaf

Wild service fruit

Noble chaferbeetle

Plum trees

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Carry on along Green Street then turn rightonto Folly Road and into Alfrick village. Go overthe crossroads to St Mary Magdalene church.

16.Alfrick (SO 74856 52976)

The church was begun as early as the 12thcentury with additions in the 13th century.The ornate timber porch was added in the14th century, whilst the transept and northvestry were 19th century additions, designed by the architect Aston Webb who also created the front of BuckinghamPalace. Charles Dodgson, better known asLewis Carroll, the author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, preached hereand visited several times when his brotherwas the parish curate.

There is even a link with the supernatural:the folklorist Jabez Allies, author of ‘TheFolklore of Worcestershire’, was bornnearby. He visited local cottages and listened to stories around the hearths,which he then wrote down. A claim wasmade that Alfrick was named after Alfredthe Great of Elves (‘Alfar’ is Danish for‘elves’), and that there were Poake (orPuck) - mischievous spirits who wouldwaylay travellers on foggy nights and leadthem into bogs!

Alfrick church

Stay a while and admire the superb viewsof your completed walk and also the wholelength of Worcestershire, north to theLickey Hills and the twin peaks of Clent.

Leave the churchyard and turn right along theroad. As the road bends to the right, you’llsee a no through road to your left – followthis past a farm then go down between thetrees into a holloway, which will lead youback to the road where you started. Turn left here on this road and you will beback at your car.

The Knapp and Papermill

Monkwood

Piper’s Hill Common

Feckenham Wylde Moor

Ipsley Alders Marsh

Chaddesley Wood

Upton WarrenThe Christopher CadburyWetland Reserve

Lower Smite Farm

Grafton Wood

TiddesleyWood

The Devil’sSpittleful and

Blackstone FarmFields

Blackhouse Wood

TENBURY WELLS

BEWDLEY

WORCESTER

STOURPORT

KIDDERMINSTER

STOURBRIDGE

BROMSGROVE

DROITWICH REDDITCHGREAT WITLEY

MALVERNPERSHORE

EVESHAM

BROADWAY

TEWKESBURY

KEYALL-SEASONS WILDLIFE WALKS

LOCAL WILDLIFE TREASURES

DELICATE WILDLIFE GEMS

Worcestershire’s wildlifeneeds your help!We care for more than 75 nature reserves across Worcestershire – woods and heaths, pools and marshesand meadows of international importance. But without ourmembers, this wouldn’t be possible. Our members alreadyhelp us to make a huge difference for wildlife; with yourhelp we could achieve even more.In return you’ll get:• Information on events, walks and talks in our

magazine and e-newsletter• The knowledge that you’re playing your part in

securing a future for wildlife and wild places near you• An excuse to explore the great outdoors and have fun• The chance to meet like-minded people at your

local group at eventsVisit our website for information about becoming part ofsomething special www.worcswildlifetrust.co.uk/membershipVolunteers help with every aspect of our work from practical conservation to inspiring the next generation.

Worcestershire Wildlife TrustNature ReservesThe nature reserves that are cared for by WorcestershireWildlife Trust form part of our vision of a Living Landscape.By working with other landowners, managers and communities we aim to restore, recreate and reconnectfragmented habitats to achieve a landscape where wildlifecan flourish and people can live happier and healthier lives.

We are one of 47 Wildlife Trusts, protecting wildlife across the UK.

Photo credits:

Andy Bartlett, John Burton, Wendy Carter, Ian Clarke, Nicky Clarke, Gert Corfield, Barry Green, Harry Green, Stefan Johansson, Paul Lane, Becky Lashley, Brenda Laver, Julia Letts, Mark Peacock, Dave Poutney, Elliot Smith, Peter Smith, Karen Summers, Bob Tunstall, Pete Walkden, Simon West, Rosemary Winnall.Thanks to: Julia Letts (Letts Talk), Trevor and Annette Smart (Ravenshill Wood NatureReserve), Worcestershire Archive and ArchaeologyService, Herefordshire and Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust and Worcestershire Wildlife Trust volunteers who tested the walk.

Alfrick church window

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