Areas of young trees and shrubs

Areas dominated by young trees occur in places within most of the woods and account for 15% of the woodland area in the valley. The largest areas of young trees occur in parts of Buck and Ashes Woods where felling has taken place in the past 50 years. The woodland in these areas can be semi-natural or mixed in character and is probably the result of a combination of planting and natural regeneration. The trees in most of these areas are even aged but on wetter ground they can be more diverse, with a shrub layer including Hazel, Alder, Elm and Cherry.

Some of the valley's woodlands have grown in area over the last 50 years through the natural development of scrub and then young woodland in previously open areas. This spread is particularly well seen in Rollestone Wood, where the wood has expanded from its previous boundary up to the boundary fences installed in the 1960's. On drier ground, these areas of young trees are dominated by one or a combination of Sycamore, Oak and Hawthorn with some Goat Willow, Birch, Blackthorn and Gorse. On wetter ground, Sycamore is often frequent, being mixed with Ash and Alder.