Dunkery & Horner Woods National Nature Reserve

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Overview

One of the largest NNRs in England, Dunkery and Horner Wood has a variety of habitats: high moorland with internationally important wet and dry heathland; steeply sloping combe sides with grassland and bracken, and ancient woodland. Over 300 red deer live on the National Trust’s Holnicote Estate, and you can often see them on Ley Hill above Porlock, and around the edges of Horner Wood. Exmoor ponies help to maintain the moorland habitat by acting like lawn mowers, keeping the grass short and eating scrub. The ancient trees and fallen timber of Horner Wood provide a home to a total of 330 species of lichen. Holnicote is the national stronghold of the heath fritillary butterfly, one of the rarest butterflies in Britain, and another notable rarity found here is the high brown fritillary. A total of 15 out of the UK total of 17 different species of bat live at Holnicote, including the lesser horseshoe and Barbastelle bats.

Location

Holnicote

About the area

Somerset remains rural and unspoiled, and ever popular areas to visit are the limestone and red sandstone Mendip Hills rising to over 1,000 feet, and by complete contrast, to the south and southwest, the flat landscape of the Somerset Levels. Another popular spot, the Quantocks, once the haunt of poets Coleridge and Wordsworth, are noted for their gentle slopes, heather-covered moorland expanses and red deer.

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Dunkery & Horner Woods National Nature Reserve

Holnicote

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Dunkery & Horner Woods National Nature Reserve

Recommended by

Overview

One of the largest NNRs in England, Dunkery and Horner Wood has a variety of habitats: high moorland with internationally important wet and dry heathland; steeply sloping combe sides with grassland and bracken, and ancient woodland. Over 300 red deer live on the National Trust’s Holnicote Estate, and you can often see them on Ley Hill above Porlock, and around the edges of Horner Wood. Exmoor ponies help to maintain the moorland habitat by acting like lawn mowers, keeping the grass short and eating scrub. The ancient trees and fallen timber of Horner Wood provide a home to a total of 330 species of lichen. Holnicote is the national stronghold of the heath fritillary butterfly, one of the rarest butterflies in Britain, and another notable rarity found here is the high brown fritillary. A total of 15 out of the UK total of 17 different species of bat live at Holnicote, including the lesser horseshoe and Barbastelle bats.

Location

Holnicote

About the area

Area image

Somerset remains rural and unspoiled, and ever popular areas to visit are the limestone and red sandstone Mendip Hills rising to over 1,000 feet, and by complete contrast, to the south and southwest, the flat landscape of the Somerset Levels. Another popular spot, the Quantocks, once the haunt of poets Coleridge and Wordsworth, are noted for their gentle slopes, heather-covered moorland expanses and red deer.

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