Warburton's Wood

.An ancient semi-natural clough woodland SSSI, through which flows a small tributary of the River Weaver. Key features of this site are the wild service trees, small-leaved lime, a diverse ground flora and three small areas of herb-rich unimproved grassland.

Location
Lying on the south bank of the Lower Weaver Valley, 1.5km from Kingsley, the woodland lies astride a small tributary stream (O.S. Grid Ref.: SJ555762).

Access
Warburtons wood can be accessed by walking through Hunters Wood. Leave Kingsley via B5153 heading towards Frodsham. Immediately before the church turn right and follow the road around a left hand bend. Turn right onto a rough trackway and follow this down to a white House. IMMEDIATELY before the House turn right through a wooden field gate. Proceed 20 metres along a grassy track and park. Take the wide ride immediately ahead of you and follow it through a hedgerow. Once through this follow the track to the right and down a bank to the edge of Warburtons Wood where you can enter.

Status
The reserve is owned freehold by Cheshire Wildlife Trust, being purchased through an appeal in 1976. Access to the reserve has been negotiated with one of the former owners, Mr J D P Hunter, who owns the fields over which the access route runs. It is very important that visitors do not deviate from this route. The reserve is a SSSI and covers approximately 7.4 acres (3ha).

Flora
Within the reserve several distinct habitats can be identified. The main area consists of deciduous woodland containing oak, ash, wych elm, gean, hazel, hawthorn and guelder rose.
The woodland also contains specimens of small-leaved lime Tillia cordata, and wild service tree Sorbus torminalis. There is some sycamore which is slowly being removed by selective felling.
The ground flora of the woodland is very rich and is at its best in the spring. Fifty or so species occur including wood anemone, bluebell, primrose, yellow archangel, giant bellflower, common violet and pale wood violet.
The wood contains several scarce and locally distributed grasses, sedges and rushes including hairy woodrush, pendulous sedge and wood millet.
There are several areas of herb-rich unimproved grassland characterised by species such as primrose, lousewort, knapweed and spotted orchid. To prevent the spread of common gorse and hawthorn and to maximise floral diversity, these areas are mown.
The reserve is bordered in places with a hedge, which in many areas merges with the woodland.

Fauna
The reserve contains a good representative collection of woodland birds, and the stream has an interesting invertebrate fauna.