Holly Wood

Also within

Oxfordshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Ancient woodland, Coppiced woodland

Description

Area, 24.2 hectares 60.2 ac Description Holly Wood is a fragment of the Royal Forest of Shotover retaining the characteristics of an ancient broad leaved wood. It is a coppice with standards woodland on Oxford Clay, which is still traditionally managed for coppice products. Like its neighbouring woods, holly Wood possesses a diverse invertebrate fauna including several uncommon butterflies. The wood consists mainly of uneven aged oak standards and hazel maple coppice. Old coppiced ash stools and tall ash coppice also occurs. Invasive sycamore occurs locally in the coppice. There is also a limited area of wet ash maple woodland and a small coniferous plantation. The shrub layer includes midland hawthorn, spindle, holly, guelder rose and goat willow. The wood contains the diverse structure of traditional coppiced woodland with brambles and honeysuckle dominating the recent clearings. The field layer is dominated locally by dog's mercury Mercurialis perennis and ramsons Allium ursinum. Species indicative of ancient woodland include goldilocks buttercup Ranunculus auricomus, early purple orchid Orchis mascula, wood meadow grass Poa nemoralis and wood small reed Calamagrostis epigejos. Pale sedge Carex pallescens and pendulous sedge Carex pendula, both virtually absent in the other remaining woods of Shotover Forest, are frequent here in the broad rides of the wood. Holly Wood shares with other woods in Shotover and Bernwood Forests a wide range of butterflies which includes breeding black hairstreak Satyrium pruni and purple emperor Apatura iris.

Species mentioned

Insects to look out for

These moths and butterflies 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.

Hostplant 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 (Open Government Licence). Contains data supplied by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.