Mabley Farm - Wildlife & Conservation

Mabley Farm is situated in the Woolhope Dome, Herefordshire.

The Woolhope Dome is a discrete part of one of England’s distinctive Landscape Character Areas - ‘South Herefordshire and Over Severn’ and of the nationally-designated ‘Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’. The Woolhope Dome is so called for the landform comprising a raised block of Silurian age rocks of limestones and shales.

The Dome has special status as a location with a concentrated biodiversity value, which is significant at a regional scale (West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy 2008). This strategy highlights a long-term regional imperative to retain and reinforce the locality’s ecological integrity. Land use policy for this goal is given real and practical expression through Mabley Farm’s aims and activities. County-wide, broad environmental outcomes stated in the Herefordshire Sustainable Community Strategy (2010-11) are also supported by the farm’s operations and ambitions.

The Dome’s geology and topography has been instrumental in the development of its ecology. The variety of aspects, slopes and soils, together with land ownership patterns hindering large-scale agricultural intensification, has created a now rare, local combination of wildlife habitats, which are priorities for conservation in the UK and Herefordshire Biodiversity Action Plans (BAP).

There are extensive semi-natural ancient woodlands, occasional semi-natural grasslands rich in wildflowers, scattered traditional orchards, a few parcels of wood pasture and parkland and a dense network of ancient species-rich hedgerows and streams.

The habitats in turn support a wide variety of species identified as local and national BAP Priority Species, comprising a notable focus of ecological interest. As a strategically important area for biodiversity protection and enhancement, the Dome has past and present recognition and resources from a range of Government and Voluntary Sector policies and mechanisms.

Examples of BAP species present on Mabley Farm include: Noble Chafer (a beetle which requires dead wood habitat, found in old oak and fruit trees), Pearl-bordered Fritillary butterfly, Adder, Lesser Horseshoe Bat, Dormouse, Barn Owl, Spotted Flycatcher and Hawfinch.