Wyre Forest

Wyre Forest is a large, semi-natural woodland and forest measuring which straddles the borders of Worcestershire and Shropshire, England.Natural historyThe forest covers an area in local terms of 2,634 hectares, or on the larger scale and is noted for its variety of wildlife. Although now the Wyre Forest has been much deforested, it still extends from east of the A442 at Shatterford, north of Kidderminster in the east, almost to Cleobury Mortimer in the west and from Upper Arley in the north to Areley Kings, near Stourport in the south. It is one of the largest remaining ancient woodlands in Britain. The Forestry Commission looks after around half of today's forest. Around two-thirds of the forest has been designated as an SSSI, while a further fifth is listed as a National Nature Reserve. The Dowles Brook flows through the heart of the forest, and the A456 road also runs through the southern edge of the woodland.It is one of the largest areas of semi-natural woodland in the UK. Bird species to be found in the forest include hawfinch, dipper, wood warbler, common crossbill, spotted flycatcher, pied flycatcher, redstart and long-eared owl, among many other woodland animals and plants. The small but colourful moth Oecophora bractella has one of its few English populations here, and does not seem to occur much further northwards.