EARL'S HILL

Local people see the shape of a sleeping dragon in Earl's Hill and fiery its beginnings certainly were. This distinctive, humped hill has volcanic origins, created by layers of lava that burst out of fissures in the rocks some 650 million years ago. An Iron Age hill fort was built on its lofty summit around 600 BC and in 1964 it became the Trust's first nature reserve.

A hill such as this invites you to climb to the top and if you can manage the very steep climb, you will be rewarded with spectacular views and grassland studded with flowers. But Earl's Hill is renowned for its rich variety of wildlife habitats and there is a great deal more to be explored and discovered on its lower slopes.

In spring the wood - hazel, ash, oak, field maple, holly and yew - is awash with bluebells and singing with migrant birds, encouraged to breed here by the provision of numerous nest boxes. Dippers and grey wagtails can be spotted flying just above the stream, or bobbing up and down on rocks.

There is fine old meadowland here, with anthills of the yellow meadow ant - a favoured feeding ground for green woodpeckers. The mosaic of different habitats here make this a wonderful place for butterflies, more than 30 species of which have been recorded here.

In 2006 Shropshire Wildlife Trust succeeded in adding 25 acres of meadows to the nature reserve. The fields are on the side of the hill running down to the Habberley Valley, with many huge oaks, gnarled crab apple trees and the rounded hummocks of anthills, with their own special plants such as wall speedwell and changing forget-me-not. Much has survived, but over the years the grassland has lost much of its variety.

This purchase was made possible by the generosity of our members and grants from the Countryside Agency and Heritage Lottery Fund. While some of the meadows are still floristically rich, others have been agriculturally improved, resulting in loss of

diversity. We plan to bring back the flowers over time through a system of careful grazing with rare breed sheep.

The process of recovery was started by the previous owner, who had new hedges planted and old ones laid. It will take many years to restore richness of species to the meadows, but since the Wildlife Trust will be looking after the fields in perpetuity, time is not a problem.

The adjoining Pontesford Hill is leased to the Forestry Commission. It has open access and complements the Trust's reserve.

 
TELLING NATURE'S STORIES

Shropshire Wildlife Trust has produced its first audio trail. Fittingly, this is for our very first nature reserve - Earls Hill.

Here you can listen to stories of life around Earl's Hill past and present, discover the world within an anthill and find out how to tell a hazelnut nibbled by a dormouse from one broken open by any other mammal.

You can find out what birds sing here at different times of the year and hear how Earl's Hill was described in Mary Webb's novel, Gone To Earth.

Producing this guide would have been impossible without the help of two vital volunteers - John Harding and Jo Darlington. John provided the technical skills of recording and editing, and Jo narrates the guide.

The audio trail is available in MP3 format here. To download directly to your computer, right click the link and select "save target as".

Please note this file is very large (20MB) and only recommended for download via a broadband connection.