Hetchell Wood Nature Reserve

The variety of habitats at Hetchell Woods can be rather neatly split into three with marsh found on the lower edge by Bardsey Beck. Here plant species include meadowsweet and greater tussock-sedge. Oak woodland exists along the slopes with hazel and hawthorn growing on the gritstone escarpment. However at the top of the slope hawthorn woodland dominates with spindle, hazel and ash also found where the reserves changes from gritstone to limestone. Amongst the trees dog’s mercury, sanicle, toothwort and thistle broomrape grow. This gives way to an important area of grassland growing on the limestone where common rock-rose, dyer’s greenweed and salad burnet is found.

Here the grassland is managed by grazing and mowing to prevent scrub species establishing. Due to the variety of plant types found at Hetchell Wood many insects thrive, with large numbers of mayflies hatching in the early summer. Grazing using goats and Hebridean sheep was re-introduced in 1996/7 in three compartments which have been fenced off on the south slope of the reserve in order to help maintain a diverse flora. Grazing also helps prevent habitat succession meaning that the habitats now found at Hetchell Woods are retained.

In addition the Trust contracts a coppice worker to work on a large area in the west of the woodland. This area is managed under a coppice rotation, a traditional method of woodland management. Coppicing provides a rich variety of habitats due to the age mix of trees making it attractive to many species of birds, insects and flowers on the ground floor as light is let through the tree canopy following the coppicing of a tree.

Directions

The reserve is seven miles north-east of Leeds. If approaching from Wetherby via the A58 Leeds-Wetherby road, to reach the main entrance on Milner Lane take the left turn signposted Thorner at the Bracken Fox public house crossroads at Scarcroft. Keep left at a triangular intersection and the reserve entrance is on the left, half-a-mile further on. There is also a public footpath (parking for a few cars) from the side of the A58 at Bardsey.