CLUNTON COPPICE

A brighter shade of green in summer and a deep red-gold in autumn mark out Clunton Coppice from most other woods along the Clun Valley. Whatever the season, the distinctive, cauliflower shape of oak tree tops contrasts with the dark green points of conifers in the plantations that swathe large areas of the hills in the area.

This spacious oak wood is a vibrant remnant of woodland that once covered much of this south-western corner of the county. Historically, the trees were managed for charcoal. This meant cutting a swathe of them down each year then leaving them to grow back. Look for the stalkless acorns and the stalk on the leaf. These are distinguishing characteristics of sessile oak, tree of the Welsh woods and the wet west of England (English oak is the other way round: stalks on the acorns and none on the leaf).

This is an all season wood, wonderful at any time with ferns, mosses, woodpeckers and fungi. A very scare fungi - phillenus robustus - lives up high in the branches, the only British record outside Windsor Great Park.
 

In spring listen out for wood warblers; their song has been said to evoke an image of raindrops scattering among leaves. Look up in the canopy and you may catch a glimpse of its sulphur and green plumage.

Climb up to the hill fort at Bury Ditches directly north of Clunton Coppice for the views and a reminder that people have lived here for thousands of years.

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