You are currently next to Park Wood, an area of ancient woodland owned by the Malvern Hills Trust and managed by The Stick Smith.

Although the Malvern Hills are made up of acidic granite, Park Wood is on limestone. The lime was quarried here and burnt to make quicklime which was then used to make mortar. The lime kilns you can see on the edge of the wood were built in about 1920, but there is evidence of lime being burnt here since 1663. 

This wood primarily consists of large oak trees with an understory of hazel. Numerous ancient tracks criss-cross the wood while the lime stone quarry works have left an interesing and undulating terrain reclaimed by woodland and forming numerous fascinating hollows. The paths include the way of an old tram track which was used to bring down quarried stone from the hills. A number of unusual plants can be seen, including Herb Paris and Toothwort.

This wood was intensively coppiced from before the 1600s to roughly 70 years ago. In the last couple of years the woodland managers have started to coppice the wood again, using traditional methods, to ensure the diverse flora and fauna remain in the wood and the rare or unusual plants and animals found here will flourish.

Towards the top of the wood a glade has been cleared between the two sides of open fields. This creates a corridor for butterflies and other animals. This glade will be mown and wild flowers encouraged to grow here to support the wildlife, especially butterflies and dormice.

More information can be seen through the following links:
Plants in Park Wood
Animals in Park Wood
Traditional Coppicing
Coppicing in Park Wood