Plym Valley Woods County Wildlife Site

Plym Valley Woods is located in the east of Plymouth between the areas of Leigham and Plympton. The site covers 60.4ha and is owned and managed by The National Trust and is accessible to the public. A variety of habitats are present including woodland, grassland, ponds and the River Plym. A feature of the area is the extent of former industrial activity and a concentration of communication routes. There has been slate quarrying and mining at the site, with a canal built in the 1820s for the extraction of materials. This was replaced in 1834 by a railway. The ruins of this past industrial life can still be seen, with derelict cottages, old sheds and tracks of the railways still visible.

The site is designated as a County Wildlife Site because of its ancient semi-natural broadleaved woodland and associated ancient woodland indicator plants including sanicle, sessile oak, goldenrod, wild cherry, wood spurge and broad-leaved helleborine. There is also invertebrate interest at this site with Red Data Book beetles Carabus intricatus and Hypulus guercinus having been recorded.

For more information about Plym Valley Woods visit The National Trust website. If you have visited the site please send in your photographs and we will put the best on this site.

Location map