周辺の天然記念物・トップ14

great place for a walk

Incredibly muddy - wear wellies!

Worth a visit not only at sunset!

Googleによる翻訳•原文を表示

Trig Point Kinver Edge

A great place to visit and wide veiws

Worth stopping to wonder around. lots of paths to explore. Some have steep steps and slopes, so be careful with little ones.

The Four Stones were erected by Lord Lyttelton of Hagley Hall in the 18th century. Brilliant views over nearby Walton Hill and further towards the Cotswolds, Shropshire Hills and the Welsh Borders.

The Four Stones is a striking monument at the top of the Clent Hills. While they look prehistoric, they were erected around 1763 at the behest of an eccentric landowner. Nevertheless, the characterful stones are supposedly aligned with the solstice sunset and offer a magnificent view at all times of the year.

Never been at sunset, but I will be after seeing these photos, thank you.

You are standing in front of Jubilee Plantation. This very distinctive hill top feature was planted in the mid seventies to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II's reign and to reflect the locally famous Frankley Beeches plantation on Frankley Hill. Most of the trees in the centre of the wood are common Beech. The Beech can be a spectacular tree in its prime with a crown which might span 30 metres (32 yards) more and a trunk which could be as much as 4-5 metres (12 - 15 feet) in circumference. There are few better things in the spring than standing in a beechwood and looking up into a canopy of fresh green leaves. By May most leaves will have opened fully. When a breeze catches them they seem to shiver and tremble. Beech trees are not as good for wildlife as say a mature Oak might be but they do produce large numbers of seeds or 'mast' each autumn. These seeds are of vital importance, not only as the means by which the tree spreads its offspring but also as a food source to preying flocks of finches during the cold winter months.

Kinver Edge is a high sandstone ridge adorned by colourful heath, pockets of woodland, two ancient hill forts and the famous Holy Austin Rock Houses. A ramble along the escarpment rewards you with dramatic views that include the Clent Hills, Shropshire Hills, Wenlock Edge and the Malvern Hills. The escarpment's heathland is inhabited by all manner of flora and fauna. You can often spot adders and common lizards, as well as bird species such as skylarks, buzzards and great spotted woodpeckers. The Edge's famous rock houses are cave dwellings that were excavated into the scarp's sandstone. One of the rocks, known as Holy Austin, was inhabited as recently as the 1960s. Today, they are owned by the National Trust and are open to the public.

Chaddesley Woods were probably mentioned in the Domesday Book as the ‘wood of two leagues’ and we think that parts of the site have been wooded since the Ice Age 6-10,000 years ago.  The presence of ancient woodland indicator species support this – flowers such as yellow archangel, herb paris and dog’s mercury as well as trees like small-leaved lime and wild service trees. Visitors to the eastern half of the nature reserve will find themselves in ancient woodland that is predominantly mature oak with hazel coppice.  The understorey also contains holly, rowan and other berry-bearing shrubs that are popular with winter thrushes such as fieldfares.  Midland hawthorn thrives here – a rare shrub that is identified by the two seeds in its berries as opposed to the normal one.  Open glades are important for invertebrates and encourage shrubby growth, which provides nesting cover for birds.  Some old and dead oaks are retained for hole-nesting birds, fungi and invertebrates.  At the right time of year the wood is full of birdsong and lucky visitors may catch a glimpse of the elusive woodcock. There are also two areas of meadow, although these are only accessible on special open days.  Hockley Meadow and Black Meadow are old pastures with wildflowers such as knapweed, dyer’s greenweed, pepper saxifrage and adder’s-tongue fern.  The meadows are grazed to maintain their floral interest. The western half of the reserve is a largely planted woodland of broad-leaved species and extensive areas of conifer.  The conifers wouldn’t normally grow here and we’re gradually clearing these and replacing them with native hardwoods that are more suitable to the local geology and attract summer migrants like chiffchaff and blackcap.  Crossbills sometimes breed in the conifer plantations – their unusual beak structure of crossed tips allows them to feed on the seeds.  A Worcestershire speciality, land caddis, occurs at Chaddesley Woods.  A national rarity, this is the only one of almost two hundred species of caddis fly that spends its entire life-cycle on land.  It burrows in leaf litter and adults only live for a couple of weeks in autumn.

Perched near the summit of the Clent Hills, The Four Stones are one of the most mysterious places in the region. At sunset, particularly on a frosty winter’s evening, they radiate an aura of Neolithic mystery. Except they’re not stone age or for that matter they’re not even medieval. The megaliths were erected around 1763 by workers of the eccentric landowner – George, Lord Lyttleton of Hagley Hall – as something to see from his mansion. The Four Stones were originally the idea of Sanderson Miller, the architect of Hagley Hall who was also responsible for many of the unusual buildings that dotted the Hagley Estate, including the Wychbury Obelisk and a temple of Theseus. His most spectacular folly was an entire sham castle built from stones reclaimed from the ruins Halesowen abbey in nearby Lapal. Hagley Castle is now private property but can still be seen from the Four Stones like some fairy tale fortress rising up from and enchanted bluebell wood. The magic of the four stones is the remarkable views including ‘The Castle’, The Malvern Hills, Clee Hill, and the rolling countryside of west Worcestershire. A nearby toposcope outlines all the points of interest. The Clent Hills are just north of the town Bromsgrove and encompass an area of around 400 acres.

Great views watch out for walkers

Stunning sunset views no matter the time of year, I've been up here in snow blizzards and its mega.

The car park gates shut at dusk.

Waseley Hills Country Park is a nature reserve with picturesque hilltops, hedgerows, pastures and small woodlands. As well as supporting many species of flora and fauna, the reserve also affords some fantastic panoramic views over Worcestershire.

A gentle climb up this hill provides you with good views, and a unique 4 pillar stone circle. Can get very busy at weekends.

Look hard and you will find some good downhill

Good place for walkers and cyclists alike