Nature Reserves

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Hutchcombe Copse, OxfordStreet MapGoogle MapPhotos

Hutchcombe Copse
Managed by:Privately owned
OS grid reference:SP 482 053
Nearest postcode:OX2 9HF
Usual work:Coppicing, scrub clearance

Hutchcombe Copse is a privately owned site which was traditionally coppiced woodland, along with a meadow. The site is home to a range of flora, fauna, birds and mammals.

Flora and Fauna

The copse contains a mixture of mainly hazel, mature Oaks and Elder. A variety of birds and mammals including deer have been seen regularly at the site.

Conservation Management

The hazel within the copse is being coppiced in the traditional way in order to prolong the life of the woodland, encourage regrowth and to allow a more diverse range of species to thrive by allowing more light to reach the woodland floor. Non-native plants that escaped from nearby gardens along with brambles and scrub that are encroaching on the meadow are to be removed in order to allow the often more delicate native species room to grow and to retain the range of habitats at the site.

Location

Leave the A34 at the “Botley Interchange”. At the roundabout head towards Oxford. At the T-junction turn right, away from Oxford along the B4044 (West Way/Cumnor Hill). Turn left into Arnolds Way. You can either park on Hurst Rise Road or at the carpark for Louie Memorial Fields, which is just after Hurst Rise Road. Walk back the way you came and take a right onto Hurst Rise Road. Hutchcombe Copse is reachable through a gate between some houses on your right. Note that this is no public access to this site.

Hutchcombe Copse is privately owned without any public access, so come to an OCV task here to see it.