About the reserve

Ancient semi-natural woodland covers most of this reserve, which sits astride a steep-sided ridge of Wenlock limestone. Most of the canopy is dominated by oak and ash. Unique for this area is the large stand of well-established ancient yews growing here. The ground flora is best developed on the lower slopes, with typical ancient woodland indicator species like bluebell and yellow archangel.

Summer butterflies flourish on these warm sheltered slopes: grizzled skippers appear in May/June while marbled whites and silver-washed fritillaries may be seen in July. Scarce species like small pearl-bordered and pearl-bordered fritillaries, together with wood white, were regularly recorded up until the early 1990s, and are still well worth searching for. Nupend Wood is part of the Woolhope Dome Living Landscape.