Fidler's Elbow National Nature Reserve

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Overview

Fiddler’s Elbow NNR, on a steep-sided slope in the Upper Wye Valley near Monmouth, is a fine example of semi-natural broadleaved woodland. In spring the reserve is one of the best places in Britain to enjoy the very British spectacle of a bluebell wood in flower. Other spring flowers in the NNR include primrose, wood anemone, ramsons and lesser celandine. Some of the rarer trees in the area include large-leaved lime and two species of whitebeams, and beeches and yews, at the southwesterly end of their range. Fiddler’s Elbow is also well known for its mammal populations including the roe deer, which can do great damage to young trees. The other special creature living in the woodlands is the dormouse, which feeds on hazelnuts, of which there is a plentiful supply on the reserve. Mosses, liverworts and fungi are very well represented at Fiddler’s Elbow, including the nationally rare devil’s bolete.

Location

Dixton

About the area

In their bid to control the borderlands of Monmouthshire – also known as the Marches – the Normans built a triangle of castles: Grosmont, Skenfrith and White. At first, they were simple wooden structures strengthened by earthworks, but when the lively Welsh refused to stop attacking them, it was decided more permanent fortresses were needed.