Betton Dingle and Gulley Green

Also within

Shropshire County Shropshire Hills Scenic Area

Condition (Natural England)

Unit	Feature	Condition	Area (ha)	Assessed
SJ316016	—	Favourable	0.28	2011-07-06
SJ317015	—	Unfavourable No Change	1.44	2018-10-23
SJ317020	—	Unfavourable No Change	3.74	2018-10-25
SJ318012	—	Favourable	2.18	2019-04-02
SJ319011	—	Favourable	2.34	2019-04-02

Habitats

Fast flowing river and stream

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Ordovician

Landscape processes: Fluvial

Description

Area, 10.6 ha. 26.2 ac. Description Betton Dingle and Gulley Green are situated on the southern side of the Rea Brook Valley and consist of a narrow strip of woodland in an incised valley and a series of unimproved grass fields. The section of stream valley that joins the two is of geological interest. The site has been selected as an example of ash Fraxinus excelsior and wych elm Ulmus glabra woodland and for its unimproved grassland communities. It is also one of a series of geological sites in the Ordovician rocks of the Shelve area. Biology The lower part of the dingle is of considerable biological interest as an example of relatively undisturbed dingle woodland. This mainly consists of ash and sessile oak Quercus petraea. Wych elm was previously abundant but is now scarce as a result of Dutch elm disease. Wild cherry Prunus avium and small leaved lime Tilia cordata are moderately common. The sheltered, moist conditions here have given rise to an abundance of ferns and mosses. The flowering plants, include yellow archangel Lamiastrum galeobdolon, moschatel Adoxa moschatellina, ramsons Allium ursinum, sanicle Sanicula europaea and the comparatively uncommon toothwort Lathraea squamaria and alternate leaved golden saxifrage Chrysosplenium alternifolium. Adjacent to the dingle at the upstream end is a series of small unimproved grass fields. The composition of the grasslands in these fields varies according to management and the base status of the soil. The two lowest fields are mown annually and appear to be more base rich than the grazed fields up the slope. The highest field, in particular, has a flora which is characteristic of acidic soils and includes heath bedstraw Galium saxatile, heath speedwell Veronica officinalis, tormentil Potentilla erecta and bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus. The hay meadows have a flora which includes cowslip Primula veris, common spotted orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii, common twayblade Neottia ovata, oxeye daisy Leucanthemum vulgare and adders tongue Ophioglossum vulgatum. Among other uncommon species which have been recorded in this group of fields are moonwort Botrychium lunaria, pale sedge Carex pallescens and bitter vetch Lathyrus montanus. Geology Betton Dingle is a nationally important section for the Llanvirn Series, part of the Ordovician System. The thickest development of Llanvirn Series rocks in Wales and the borders is found in the Shelve area. The Upper Llanvirn, with its distinctive faunas, is best seen in Betton Dingle where a section from the Stapeley Volcanics to the Betton Beds occurs. During this period of geological history the Shelve area lay on the eastern edge of a deep ocean basin occupying most of Wales, whilst shallower seas extended eastwards overt he Midlands. Fossil organisms characteristic of both deep and shallow marine environments can be found in the rocks at Betton Dingle, enabling detailed comparisons to be made between the two environments. In addition, the evolution through time of some of the fossil organisms, particularly the trilobites, can clearly be seen here.

Species mentioned

Show the 23 species mentioned in the description, with red-list status ▾

Insects to look out for

These moths, butterflies and beetles are known to feed on plants recorded at this site, and carry a notable UK conservation status — but a host-plant being present doesn't mean the insect has actually been recorded here. Treat this as "worth watching for," not a confirmed sighting.

Grouped by host-plant — open a plant to see its insects. Some insects feed on more than one of these plants, so they appear under each.

Sessile or durmast oak Quercus 15

Oak lutestring Cymatophorina diluta	Endangered	Quercus petraea
Scarce vapourer Orgyia recens	Endangered	any Quercus
The sprawler Asteroscopus sphinx	Vulnerable	any Quercus
Mottled umber Erannis defoliaria	Vulnerable	any Quercus
The lackey Malacosoma neustria	Vulnerable	any Quercus
Pale brindled Phigalia pilosaria	Vulnerable	any Quercus
Early moth Theria primaria	Vulnerable	any Quercus
Pale eggar Trichiura crataegi	Vulnerable	any Quercus
Oak hook-tip Watsonalla binaria	Vulnerable	Quercus petraea
Flounced chestnut Agrochola helvola	Near Threatened	any Quercus
Large thorn Ennomos autumnaria	Near Threatened	any Quercus
September thorn Ennomos erosaria	Near Threatened	any Quercus
Double dart Graphiphora augur	Near Threatened	any Quercus
Clay fan-foot Paracolax tristalis	Near Threatened	any Quercus
Frosted green Polyploca ridens	Near Threatened	Quercus petraea

Wych elm Ulmus 12

Scarce vapourer Orgyia recens	Endangered	any Ulmus
White-letter hairstreak Satyrium w-album	Endangered	any Ulmus, Ulmus glabra
The sprawler Asteroscopus sphinx	Vulnerable	any Ulmus
Broom moth Ceramica pisi	Vulnerable	any Ulmus
Mottled umber Erannis defoliaria	Vulnerable	any Ulmus
The lackey Malacosoma neustria	Vulnerable	any Ulmus
Pale brindled Phigalia pilosaria	Vulnerable	Ulmus glabra
Flounced chestnut Agrochola helvola	Near Threatened	any Ulmus
Dusky-lemon sallow Cirrhia gilvago	Near Threatened	Ulmus glabra
The sallow Cirrhia icteritia	Near Threatened	Ulmus glabra
Large thorn Ennomos autumnaria	Near Threatened	any Ulmus
Double dart Graphiphora augur	Near Threatened	any Ulmus

Billberry Vaccinium myrtillus 10

Speckled footman Coscinia cribraria	Critically Endangered	Vaccinium myrtillus
Broom moth Ceramica pisi	Vulnerable	Vaccinium myrtillus
Mottled umber Erannis defoliaria	Vulnerable	Vaccinium myrtillus
Early moth Theria primaria	Vulnerable	Vaccinium myrtillus
Pale eggar Trichiura crataegi	Vulnerable	Vaccinium myrtillus
Flounced chestnut Agrochola helvola	Near Threatened	Vaccinium myrtillus
Beaded chestnut Agrochola lychnidis	Near Threatened	Vaccinium myrtillus
Rosy marsh moth Coenophila subrosea	Near Threatened	Vaccinium myrtillus
The Silurian Eriopygodes imbecilla	Near Threatened	Vaccinium myrtillus
Scotch burnet Zygaena exulans	Near Threatened	Vaccinium myrtillus

Heath bedstraw Galium 5

Satyr pug Eupithecia satyrata	Vulnerable	any Galium
Bedstraw hawk-moth Hyles gallii	Vulnerable	any Galium
The Silurian Eriopygodes imbecilla	Near Threatened	Galium saxatile
Autumnal rustic Eugnorisma glareosa	Near Threatened	any Galium
Dark-barred twin-spot carpet Xanthorhoe ferrugata	Near Threatened	any Galium

Wild cherry Prunus 5

Figure of eight Diloba caeruleocephala	Endangered	any Prunus
The lappet Gastropacha quercifolia	Endangered	any Prunus
The sprawler Asteroscopus sphinx	Vulnerable	any Prunus
The lackey Malacosoma neustria	Vulnerable	any Prunus
Large thorn Ennomos autumnaria	Near Threatened	any Prunus

Lime small leaved Tilia 4

The sprawler Asteroscopus sphinx	Vulnerable	any Tilia
Pale brindled Phigalia pilosaria	Vulnerable	any Tilia
September thorn Ennomos erosaria	Near Threatened	any Tilia
Scarce hook-tip Sabra harpagula	Near Threatened	Tilia cordata

Ash Fraxinus excelsior 3

The sprawler Asteroscopus sphinx	Vulnerable	Fraxinus excelsior
Pale brindled Phigalia pilosaria	Vulnerable	Fraxinus excelsior
Dusky thorn Ennomos fuscantaria	Near Threatened	Fraxinus excelsior

Tormentil Potentilla erecta 1

Grizzled skipper Pyrgus malvae

Vulnerable

Potentilla erecta

Cowslip Primula veris 1

Duke of Burgundy Hamearis lucina

Endangered

Primula veris

Host-plant data: Cook et al. (2025), Traits data for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, 2024, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology / Butterfly Conservation; and Padovani et al. (2020), Database of Insects and their Food Plants (DBIF), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (both Open Government Licence). Contains data supplied by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

Plant communities