The limestone woodlands have tall beech and ash trees, hazel coppice, dogwood and spindle. An outstanding ground flora includes carpets of bluebells, primrose, wood anemone, violets and ramsons. The parasitic toothwort grows at the base of old hazel bushes and a rich fern flora includes beautiful soft shield ferns and giant male ferns. Although not found yet, the old hazel coppice area might just support dormice, so look out for the distinctively opened hazel nuts!
This is great bird habitat with resident wrens, treecreepers, chiffchaff and autumn flocks of goldfinch which feed on the meadow’s seeds. The ancient hedge banks have an equally ancient woodland ground flora, home to bluebell, primrose,
pignuts, and moschatel. You may also see glue-crust fungi, which stick dead hedgerow twigs to live ones. Hundreds of common spotted orchids flower in the verges too, where the rare long-horned bee forages and foxes hunt at night.
The scrub provides excellent nesting habitat for song thrush, bullfinch and dunnock, and cover for bank voles and field mice that are hunted by tawny owls at night. Here, pignut grows in abundance, toothwort lives on hazel roots, and the cool shade is perfect for ferns, particularly hart's tongue, soft-shield, male and
broad buckler. Make sure you look out for the two ancient, joined field maple trees near the school that were once part of an old hedgerow.