Upper Wye Gorge

Also within

Gloucestershire CountyGwent CountyHerefordshire County WYE VALLEY (England) Scenic AreaWYE VALLEY (Wales) Scenic Area

Condition (Natural England)

Unit	Feature	Condition	Area (ha)	Assessed
SO535158	—	Favourable	49.33	2013-02-11
SO545147	—	Unfavourable Recovering	44.9	2013-02-11
SO547154	—	Favourable	0.77	2013-02-11
SO547157	—	Favourable	1.27	2013-02-11
SO550141	—	Unfavourable Recovering	17.68	2013-02-11
SO555142	—	Favourable	13.11	2013-02-12
SO555150	—	Unfavourable Recovering	62.7	2013-02-11
SO555157	—	Favourable	3.25	2013-02-12
SO557158	—	Unfavourable Recovering	5.66	2013-02-12
SO561155	—	Unfavourable Recovering	7.94	2013-02-11
SO564164	—	Unfavourable Recovering	15.53	2013-02-12
SO568156	—	Unfavourable Recovering	21.55	2013-02-12
SO574158	—	Favourable	6.6	2013-02-11
SO577161	—	Unfavourable Recovering	2.45	2013-02-12

Climate exposure

This is about exposure to a nationwide pressure this habitat type carries — not a verdict on this site's own management.

Habitats

Beech wood, Bracken scrub, Coppiced woodland, Fast flowing river and stream

Geology & landscape

Geological Feature: Cave / Cavern, Gorge / Ravine · Geological Period: Carboniferous, Quaternary · Rock Type: Carboniferous Limestone, Limestone, Sandstone

Landscape processes: Coastal, Fluvial, Glacial, Karst

Birds & fish recorded

Birds

Species	Season
buzzard	Breeding
buzzard	Roosting
buzzard	Wintering
merlin	Unknown
peregrine	Breeding
peregrine	Roosting
peregrine	Wintering
pied flycatcher	Breeding
pied flycatcher	Roosting
wood warbler	Breeding
wood warbler	Roosting

Description

Area, 245.1 ha. 605.7 ac. Description The woodlands of the lower Wye Valley form one of the most important areas for woodland conservation in Britain, comparable with the Caledonian pine woods, the oceanic oak woods of Western Britain, the New Forest and the mixed coppices of East Anglia. Semi natural woodland is abundant and virtually continuous along the gorge. The woods are a mixture of many types, some of which are very localised, e.g. the lime sessile oak stands on limestone, beech stands on both acid and alkaline soils in which lime Tilia spp., elm Ulmus spp., oak Quercus spp. and other species share dominance. Most woods are a rich mixture of stand types which are believed to be similar in composition to the original natural woods of the valley. Many rare and local species are present, including some of the rarest native tree species, e.g. large leaved lime Tilia platyphyllos, whitebeams Sorbus spp. and trees close to the edge of their European range, e.g. hornbeam Carpinus betulus and beech Fagus sylvatica. Furthermore these woods sit in a matrix of unimproved grassland and other semi natural habitats which, together with the woods, make the Wye Valley one of the most diverse, rich and attractive areas in southern Britain. The site lies on the banks of the River Wye where it has cut a spectacular meandering gorge through Old Red Sandstone and Carboniferous Limestone in the vicinity of Symonds Yat. It consists of one of the most extensive blocks of semi natural broadleaved woodland in the whole of the Wye Valley. Other habitats represented include woodland streams, small areas of limestone grassland and limestone rock outcrops. The site is also important for Pleistocene mammal remains. Biology The woodlands have a range of soil types which are generally alkaline in character although in places more acidic surface layers have developed. The variety of rocks and soil types has resulted in a very diverse broadleaved woodland with ten different types of woodland having been identified with a correspondingly varied ground flora. Beech woodland is dominant over much of the area in association with sessile and pedunculate oak Quercus petraea and Quercus robur, ash Fraxinus excelsior and silver birch Betula pendula. The woodlands are noted for several nationally rare and scarce tree species such as large leaved lime which occurs mainly on the lower slopes and the whitebeams Sorbus eminens, S. anglica, Sorbus rupicola and Sorbus porrigentiformis. The shrub layer contains hazel Corylus avellana, wych elm Ulmus glabra, field maple Acer campestre and relict small leaved lime Tilia cordata coppice. The herb layer is variously dominated by bramble Rubus fruticosus, bracken Pteridium aquilinum or dog’s mercury Mercurialis perennis and includes several scarce and locally uncommon species such as wood barley Hordelymus europaeus, stinking hellebore Helleborus foetidus, narrow leaved bitter cress Cardamine impatiens and wood fescue Festuca altissima. Sessile oak lime woodland, which is restricted nationally, covers large areas of the southern and eastern parts of the site. Beech, ash, birch and wych elm contribute to the canopy and hazel is the dominant shrub species. The ground flora is dominated by bramble, great wood rush Luzula sylvatica and false brome Brachypodium sylvaticum with bracken and bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus in the more acidic areas. A smaller area of alder Alnus glutinosa woodland occurs along a stream side, associated with ash and goat willow Salix caprea. Opposite leaved golden saxifrage Chrysosplenium oppositifolium is present in the herb layer. Lady Park Wood, in the south western part of the site, is especially important for woodland research and survey. Much of the site has received no silvicultural management for over forty years, the remainder for over one hundred years. This has enabled detailed studies to be made of natural changes taking place and furthers the understanding of natural succession in native broadleaved woodland. On the northern side of the gorge, a series of limestone bluffs, the Seven Sisters, support small relict grassland communities. These contain a number of uncommon species such as bloody cranesbill Geranium sanguineum and three nationally scarce sedges – dwarf sedge Carex humilis, soft leaved sedge Carex montana and fingered sedge Carex digitata. Another small area of herb rich limestone grassland, on the plateau above the gorge, contains such characteristic species as common rock rose Helianthemum nummularium, columbine Aquilegia vulgaris and wild madder Rubia peregrina. This variety of habitats supports a diverse fauna including badger Meles meles, fallow deer Dama dama and greater and lesser horseshoe bats Rhinolophus ferrumequinum and Rhinolophus hipposideros, which use a series of caves and mines within the site as a winter roost. The woodland breeding birds include buzzard Buteo buteo, wood warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix, pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca, nuthatch Sitta europaea and tawny owl Strix aluco with raven Corvus corax and peregrine Falco peregrinus nesting on cliff ledges. The rich invertebrate fauna includes two nationally rare insects, a fly Hilara media and a wasp Omalus puncticollis and several uncommon butterflies such as wood white Leptidea sinapis, pearl bordered fritillary Boloria euphrosyne and white admiral Limenitis camilla. Geology A number of caves on the north side of the river contain Pleistocene deposits which are rich in mammal remains. Merlin's Cave, a moderately large cave, has yielded remains of lemmings and pika a lagomorph, whilst King Arthur’s Cave is of great importance for its sequence of mammal faunas from successive horizons. The oldest deposits have yielded rich faunas including spotted hyena, mammoth, woolly rhino, reindeer, red deer and horse while later units, of probable Devensian late glacial age contain a 'cold' fauna of reindeer, lemming and steppe pika, but lack hyena, mammoth and rhino. Upper Palaeolithic artefacts have been found in the same deposits. A series of six smaller caves with similar deposits run north eastwards; like King Arthur’s Cave they have much potential for future research, as does Seven Sisters Cave, a large rock shelter, or abris, containing extensive unworked deposits. Collectively these sites are of considerable importance for studies of Pleistocene vertebrate faunas.

Species mentioned

Show the 49 species mentioned in the description, with red-list status ▾

Plant communities