Visitor Guidelines
Visitors should note that there are three parts to the reserve; Monument Hill, North Meadow and Old Cider House. The plant and insect life of Common Hill is best appreciated during the spring and summer months. Please ensure that gates are kept closed at all times.
The reserve is partly on a steep slope and there are
no surfaced paths. A leaflet is available from Lower
House Farm.
Description
Common Hill reserve sits on top of a ridge of Wenlock Limestone, which forms the southern boundary of the Woolhope Dome. The name indicates that the area was once common land, but by the early 19th. century most of it had been enclosed into smallholdings. Monument Hill (named after the adjoining quarry) was one such holding but the house that used to stand by the lane has since disappeared. What was once steeply sloping grazing land has developed into an attractive herb-rich meadow, supporting a wide variety of insect life. North Meadow and Old Cider House made up another smallholding, which was apparently part-arable and part orchard. The orchard still remains but all the arable land has reverted to grassland.
North Meadow is surrounded and sheltered by tall hedgerows containing a variety of shrub species and some standard trees. The thin, humus-rich soils support a rich flora of the kind usually associated with calcareous soils on a steep slope. Notable species include the tiny Adder's Tongue fern, Common Spotted Orchid, and Yellow Rattle. Many Yellow Ant mounds are scattered over the meadow, a further indicator of its unimproved status. Monument Hill shares the same bedrock as North Meadow, but was previously used as pasture. Its flora is much less uniform than that of North Meadow, with more species typical of limestone grassland, including Quaking Grass, Common Rock-rose and Wild Thyme. The sunny, sheltered conditions at Common Hill create ideal conditions for many insect species. Over 20 kinds of butterfly have been recorded, including scarce species like Dingy Skipper and Wood White, while Monument Hill is a local stronghold for Marbled Whites. Other insects to look out for include Grasshoppers (very common at Monument Hill), Glow-worm beetles on warm summer nights, day-flying burnet and forester moths, and the local 6-belted Clearwing moth, whose larvae feed on the roots of Bird's Foot Trefoil. Adders have occasionally been seen basking on the sunnier slopes.
Around the old Cider House the soil is much deeper,
enriched by past cultivation and less free draining.
As a result,
coarse grasses and rank vegetation predominate, but
interesting plants like Wood Avens and Common Spotted
Orchid still
occur. The old fruit trees of the orchard areas provide
useful vantage points and singing perches for Chaffinches
and Thrushes, while their gnarled trunks have accumulated
a rich moss/lichen flora over the years. The remains
of the Cider House can still be seen.
Present Management
The reserve is managed as a traditional meadow. Coarse
vegetation in the orchard areas is controlled by an annual
cut and clearance of cut material in late summer. In
recent years, more young trees propagated from old Herefordshire
varieties have been planted to help restore the valuable
orchard habitat.
Acquisition Details
Freehold bought by the Trust in 1974 (Monument Hill) and 1984 (North Meadow, Old Cider House) with grant aid from World Wildlife Fund.
Monument Hill and part of North
Meadow are designated as a Site of Special
Scientific Interest by Natural England in recognition of their
importance for nature conservation.
Best time to visit |
Early spring to late summer. | |
Habitat |
Unimproved limestone grassland and old orchard. | |
Size |
1.2 hectares (3 acres). | |
Specialites |
Common Rock-rose (5-7), Common Spotted Orchid (6-8), Early Purple Orchid (4-6), Marjoram (7-9), Burnet Saxifrage (5-9), Adder's Tongue fern (5-8), Marbled White (6-8), Yellow Ant, Glow-worm beetle (6-7), Adder (4-8). | |
Parking |
There is space for two or three cars at the top of the lane. | |
OS map |
Explorer 189 | |
Nearby
Reserves |
Lea & Pagets Wood, Nupend Wood, Pentaloe Glen and Convallaria Area, Rudge End Quarry and Wessington Pasture |
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