A Hike up Haughmond Hill

Old maps show that before the monks built the abbey, there was much more woodland than remains today. There is still some old mixed oak, ash and sycamore woodland where masses of bluebells bloom in the spring. Mostly though, the woodland is conifer plantation.

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The Forestry Commission have leased part of the hill from the Sundorne Estate for over 40 years. Planting of conifers for commercial purposes began in 1962. There are dense rows of Scot's pine, Corsican pine, a little larch and some Norway spruce. The dark ranks of conifers can't support many woodland flowering plants but there are many birds in the plantations.

Other habitats on Haughmond Hill

On the hilltop there are also some patches of heathland, acid grassland and bracken. Below, on the steep south facing slope the soil is shallow, dry and rocky. At first sight it may look like a scree but in spring if you look closely there are many specialised flowering plants growing there. They are called spring ephemerals as by mid summer they are parched and shriveled.