Gill Stott (thanks to Andy Stott for comments)
A group of about 15 met at Tidenham Chase car park on Tuesday evening to join a walk around Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust managed land led by warden Kevin Caster. Kevin is reserves manager for GWT managed land in west Gloucestershire which covers the Forest of Dean and The Wye Valley. Kevin explained that we’d be walking around several different areas, Poors Allotment, Ridley Bottom, Simpson’s Meadow and The Park, a diverse mix of heath, woodland and meadow habitats with different geology, history and management objectives. He has been involved with the evolving development of these reserves for about 20 years through which not only strategies have changed but the attitude and expectations of the locals and visiting public too.
The path through the wood just over the road from the carpark was our first our first stop – a wooded part of Poor’s Allotment. Kevin described the woodland as a clear example of secondary woodland with no veteran trees save for three pines. The wood was dominated by silver birch with some bramble ground cover and little sign of differing broadleaf tree species managing to establish due to the canopy cover. Future management considerations would entail ‘halo’ felling around some trees to allow more light to pass through and allow new growth.
Beyond this short section of woodland was the lowland heath area covering the majority of Poor’s Allotment. An apple tree gave the opportunity for Kevin to explain that the history of Poor’s Allotment developed after the enclosures of the 18th Century. This area, considered to be of poorer soil fertility, was given to the poor in the community to keep pigs, animals and grow crops for food and some apple trees that survive to today .
Current management of the heathland area entails controlling bracken and bramble encroachment to allow heathers especially bell heather to grow with bilberries, some gorse, grasses and flowers such as tormentil and heath bedstraw. Attitudes to understanding how encouraging these species to succeed whilst encouraging visitors to wander through the area on set footpaths have improved over the last decade as there has been an increase in appreciating the value of local special landscapes.
On Poor’s Allotment there is only one pond, fed by a spring. Here the highland cattle wallowed in the cool water munching overhanging shrubs and trees whilst Kevin explained that the chief management tool for the site was the cattle. They were selective grazers that wandered across the heath, eating a range of plants whilst browsing and trampling the scrub. The result that these hardy creatures help to develop is a mosaic of different vegetation layers which in turn attracts wildlife. One of the rarer birds attracted to lowland scrub and heathland is the nightjar. Through difficult, trip camera and tracking helped at least one ground nest to be found this year in the shorter grass open areas. Unfortunately we were too early in the evening to try and spot them in flight. The nesting birds can be easily disturbed by dogs off the lead.
Below the heathland we entered a more established, probably ancient woodland with older trees – an oak guessed at 150 years – and an understory of hazel. The outlet from the pond disappeared in a sinkhole at the bottom of a large depression as it crossed the geological boundary between sandstone and limestone. Tree canopy was dense talk of halo felling around veterans trees to allow them to grow and promote the shrub layer and allow more species. Continuing downhill towards the River Severn we entered a more open heathland where bracken had been encroaching and required control along with bramble. In spring the area was covered in bluebells. The bracken and brambles were controlled but cutting pathways with a flail mower at different heights. The cattle rarely ventured into this area despite there being a water trough and there was little grazing of the vegetation. . Lower down we walked through a spring-fed wetter area (currently dry due to drought) where marsh orchids were present.
We crossed Kelly’s Lane to Ridley Bottom Nature reserve. The woodland there could be considered as a fragment of the ancient Wye Valley woodland with its small leaved lime and herb paris. Puzzled by the sight of an old dilapidated caravan Kevin explained that volunteers in the 90’s had used it as a base for surveys and groundwork, so it held some sentimentality. We walked through one of the three species-rich hay meadows – all land bequeathed to GWT. The meadow was very diverse in flora: Knapweed. Hedge Bedstraw, yellow rattle, agrimony and orchids attracting insects like grasshoppers, bush crickets and some spiders.
Walking back up to Kellys lane and on up Rosemary Lane to the main road we crossed the main road to Simpson’s Meadow. Bequeathed by a local nature lover who cared for his fields we walked through a meadow rich in yellow rattle, orchids and now familiar meadow species growing well. Funding for fencing had been provided by the Wye Valley National Landscape to allow sheep grazing at certain times of the year. This field adds to the diversity of habitats and provides a link connecting the different we had walked through and was an important acquisition to the locality.
The final area we walked through was The Park. This was formerly a conifer plantation which was cleared about 30 years ago to restore the lowland heathland. It was quickly colonised by silver birch which has now been mostly controlled. Another small herd of highland cattle grazed here allowing more closely cropped grasses for nightjars. Whilst discussing the control of silver birch we were that reminded lowland heath is very much a managed landscape where silver birch will colonise easily as pioneer species.
We returned back to the car park before dusk fell, some of us resolving to return to hear and possibly see nightjars.
I left realising that my that idea of Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust managing just Poor’s Allotment and The Park had evolved considerably over the last 20 years and they are now successfully managing a wide area of disappearing landscapes with greater public awareness and visitors.