Tytherington Hill is a seven hectare site to the northeast of the village. It includes a variety of rich wildlife habitats such as broadleaved woodland, calcareous grassland and scrub. Most of the site lies on a steep scarp face that rises 25, above the adjacent land, giving commanding views over the surrounding countryside. A number of small quarries pepper the woodland providing ideal conditions for shade loving plants, such as ferns, The site has good public access and is ideal for quiet leisurely enjoyment.
Culture
Tytherington Hill is an attractive area for walking, horse riding and cycling. The tree-shaded Baden Hill Road also makes it ideal for quiet leisurely enjoyment. The hedgerow between the road and the agricultural fields contains some interesting examples of pollarded trees which may be indicative of historic boundary markers. The use of the Hill for grazing, wood for fuel and gates and hurdles ceased some 80 years ago. However, since the early 1990s the practice of coppicing has been revived, and this together with selective felling and replanting helps to enrich and increase the variety of habitats. The use of dead hedging guides access to selected entry points and reduces potential damage to plants from careless trampling.
Wildlife
There is a very well-established badger sett, just east of the limekiln. There are also enough foxes to make it worthwhile for the hunt to draw the wood. There are numerous grey squirrels, which strip the green hazelnut, armies of rabbits, and enough voles, mice and rats to make it good hunting ground for tawny and barn owls, sparrow hawks, kestrels and buzzards. We find the occasional roe and muntjac deer; and pippestrelle bats swoop through the trees on warm summer evenings. Crows, rooks, pigeons and jays and magpies are common, whilst greater spotted and green woodpeckers are often seen and heard.
Finches, tits, robins and wrens are in abundance as are blackbirds. Mistle thrushes are rarer visitors, and waxwings scavenge the berries that are left. There are many sightings of slow worms on the Hill with the odd newt and adder, and frequent grass snakes and glow worms.
The Hill is also noted for its variety of moths. Two notable finds recently were the brown scallop and the dotted rustic in addition to a micro moth, the paralid hypochalcia ahenella. Other invertebrates include several butterflies such as large white, speckled wood, meadow brown, red admiral tortoiseshell, marbled white, common gatekeeper, common blue and brimstone. Bush crickets are also found.
The range of tree species is limited to ash, sycamore, oak and a few beech, lime and crab apple. Shrubs include hawthorn, dog rose, blackthorn, guelder rose, field maple, honeysuckle, elder, bramble, hazel, clematis, spindle and ivy.
Prior to the ravages of Dutch elm disease, there were numerous large elms in the parish. Sadly these are now represented by a few elm suckers, which continue to struggle through.
Management of Tytherington Hill
As part of the process to develop a management plan for the site, surveys were carried out in March and August 1998.
Four distinct habitats were defined, these being: –
1. Broadleaved woodland
2. Woodland glades
3. Calcareous grassland
4. Scrub
1. Broadleaved woodland
The greater part of Tytherington Hill is covered with broadleaved woodland which has been classified as ash/ field maple/ dog’s mercury woodland, with three distinct sub-types.
a. Ash /oak /canopy with hazel coppice understorey
This can be found in compartment 1 (compartment numbers have been included on the site map, see page 14) and is amongst the richest of the woodland habitats on the common. There is high tree canopy, over a reasonable shrub layer and a fairly diverse ground
flora. Species found in these areas include; field maple, elder, hawthorn, dog rose, bluebell, wood avens, lesser red campion, burdock, wood melick, early purple orchid, dog’s mercury, traveller’s joy, honeysuckle, slender St. John’s wort, wood forget-me-not.
b. Ash canopy with hazel coppice understorey
This type is found in compartment 3 where the standard trees tend to be of a larger size than elsewhere, possibly indicating better soils and more shelter. Species found here include oak,
holly, hawthorn, beech, bluebell, wood spurge and lords and ladies.
c. Ash dominated high forest
This type, which represents the largest area of woodland, can be found in compartments 2 and 4. In compartment 4 in particular the species mix is not very diverse, with the ground flora consisting mainly of bluebell and ivy. Other tree and shrubspecies found here include sycamore, oak, field maple and elder.
The sycamore is regenerating vigorously here and is posing athreat to other species because at seedling stage the leaf cover is so dense that few other plants get sufficient light to germinate and grow successfully. Because of this there is little regeneration of other species.
Scattered throughout the woodland are three species of fern;
Harts tongue, eastern polypody and male fern.
2. Woodland glades
These glades can be found in the northeast corner of compartment 2, and are the lower levels of old quarries. They comprise a series of open grassy areas with well-worn tracks running through them. They provide warm, sheltered sunny areas within the woodland that are valuable to insects and birds and small mammals. The species found here include nipplewort, perforate St. John’s wort, common gromwell, pyramidal orchid,field scabious and bird’s foot trefoil.
3. Calcareous grassland
The calcareous grassland is found on the top of the ridge at the northwestern edge of the common, between the woodland and the walled boundary of Tower Farm. The grass here is kept short by rabbits and grass cutting. This has allowed a good mix of plants to survive including agrimony, germander, speedwell, field scabious, Yorkshire fog, lady’s bedstraw, yarrow, great mullein, bird’s foot trefoil and wild basil.
Creeping thistle and common ragwort are also present across this area, and, as notifiable weeds, are subject to periodic removal by local volunteers.
4. Scrub
Two distinct areas of scrub are to be found on Tytherington Hill, one around the pond in the northwest corner, and one along the edge of the woodland above the old quarry in the southeast corner. The scrub is dominated by hawthorn, blackthorn and brambles. This type of habitat provides good cover and food sources for birds, but should not be allowed to spread any further onto the grassland area.
Future Management
Overall, Tytherington Hill is relatively small and therefore vulnerable to minor changes in management. The ground flora is locally quite diverse, and the two main habitats – calcareous grassland and broadleaved woodland, although typical of the area, are in decline on a national basis. The major strength of the area is that it has been under some form of management for centuries and it has not been dramatically changed from the natural state in terms of the major species composition.
It therefore gives us a strong link with our historic and cultural past and should be managed to retain this important link.
Tytherington Hill also has intrinsic appeal as an attractive place to visit with shaded walks, wildlife interest and panoramic views across the Ladden Vale.
The main threats to the site are: –
- scrub invasion on the grassland and woodland glades
- thistle and ragwort invasion on the grassland
- uncontrolled spread of sycamore in the woodland
- uncontrolled public use for bicycles and motorbikes in the
woodland banks and quarries
- cars parking and driving around on the grassland
- dumping of garden rubbish in the pond area
- fly tipping along the road boundaries of the common
- inappropriate cutting of verges
- the passage of large lorries and machinery destroying the road verges
A management plan has been put in place to address these threats and set out how Tytherington Hill will be managed in the future. This will be reviewed every five years to ensure that management continues to benefit wildlife and the quiet enjoyment of local people. The main objectives of this plan are to: –
- improve the structure and diversity of the woodland
- improve the ground flora of the woodland
- protect and enhance the calcareous grassland
- protect the habitat for the resident badger group
- provide an area for quiet recreatio
Tyhterington-Hill-management-plan
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