About

Both Haughmond and Shawbury lie within 6 miles of the centre of Shrewsbury, Haughmond to the east and Shawbury to the northeast. Together they cover 312 hectares (Haughmond 210ha; Shawbury 102ha).

The block as a whole contains a mixture of broadleaves and conifers, with 33 species in total. Shawbury is made up of 55% conifer, 36% broadleaf and 9% open, while Haughmond consists of 46% conifer, 41% broadleaf and 13% open. In terms of age structure, both woodlands had peaks of planting in the 1960s, 1980s and between 2010 and 2019. 

Shawbury is popular with local dog walkers and horse riders (a bridleway runs through the site), but has far fewer visitors than Haughmond, which has become a busy recreation hub in recent years. The Shropshire Way national trail runs through Haughmond, and there are a few Forestry England waymarked trails.

The forest on Haughmond Hill is prominent in an otherwise mainly flat agricultural landscape, and can be seen from viewpoints along the A49 and A5. Shawbury is flat and therefore less visible in the wider landscape.

Habitats of interest include:

• the Hollies – a strip of very old woodland to the western side of Haughmond,
• an area of acid grassland on the southern slopes of Haughmond Hill, and
• 25 hectares of potentially favourable habitat for dormice in the northwest corner of Shawbury.

There are three scheduled monuments within the plan area - Haughmond Abbey, Haughmond Hillfort and Queen Eleanor’s Bower. All three features are covered by scheduled monument plans written in 2023. 

Objectives

• Generate forest products to suit current and changing markets
• Increase resilience to future changes in climate, pests and diseases
• Protect and improve habitats and ecological condition
• Protect the historic environment
• Provide opportunities for recreation

What we’ll do

The Forest Plan contains details about the work we are planning over the next ten years, which will include:

• felling conifer stands to provide both timber and opportunities to restock with more diverse and resilient species mixtures;
• an enrichment rotation at Haughmond, where conifers will gradually be replaced with broadleaves which will enrich and improve the soil; and
• provision of temporary/dynamic open space along ridesides to create habitats for butterflies and other invertebrates.