Kinver and Enville Flora and Fauna (SO88): The Hyde and Chance Wood

The Hyde and Chance Wood

From the Stour-Smestow confluence, the river heads away from the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal towards Stourton Castle. It then passes under the A458 where it again rejoins the course of the canal and continues on past Dunsley Hall and travels on to the Hyde.

Chance Wood, owned by the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, is to the west of the Stour and nestles between Stourton House on the A458 and the Hyde.

Richard Foley built the first iron slitting mill at the Hyde in 1629. There was also a corn mill adjacent to the slitting mill, both being powered by the Stour. Due to an economic decline, following the Napoleonic Wars, the slitting mill industry went into recession. The mill then changed hands and started to produce spades and shovels. It survived as such until 1912 when the buildings became derelict and eventually demolished. Remnants of the building can still be seen today along Hyde Lane and on the Stour at the bridge crossing.

The Stour is deep-sided and fast flowing at this point and so is low on riverine avifauna. Mallard is by far the most 'common' and, with luck, grey wagtail can be encountered with the occasional kingfisher flying past.

Chance Wood was donated to the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust in 1977 by Mr P. Holmes of Stourton House. The wood is named after his wife's maiden name. Chance.

Chance Wood is a 2.8 hectare site dominated by oak and beech - hornbeam, ash sycamore and horse chestnut are also present. Woodland birds include woodpeckers, nuthatches, tree creepers and tits. Ground flora, in spring, includes bluebells, snowdrops and daffodils which is always a delight to see.

11 January, 2015

I started at the footpath opposite the entrance to Stourton Castle which runs diagonal across a turnip field to Chance Wood. At the entrance of the wood a nuthatch called and a pair of bullfinches flew off giving their characteristic piping calls. A great spotted woodpecker was being quiet vocal high up in the oak trees and a buzzard flew over uttering its 'mew, mew' call. There is a small conifer plantation on the left of the footpath and I was surprised to hear a coal tit singing so early in the year. A mistle thrush could be heard singing in the distance, which is about right for mid January as they are early nesters.

It was only a thirty minute walk through the wood and so I arrived at the Hyde. The Stour was running swiftly over where the mill once stood and just upstream I could be seen where it had been diverted. No birds were on the water and I heard another pair of bullfinches as I walked down Hyde Lane towards the canal.

I decided to walk back to my starting point along the canal, past Dunsley Bridge and towards the Stewpony. Buzzards were seen overhead but again nothing could be seen on the Stour as it followed the canal. When I arrived at Stewpony Bridge there was a beautiful grey wagtail by the lock.