Ladybower Woods, Guy Badham

Ladybower Woods, Guy Badham

Mountain hare, Luke Massey 2020VISION

Mountain hare, Luke Massey 2020VISION

Ladybower Wood, Mark Hamblin

Ladybower Wood, Mark Hamblin

Heather, Amy Lewis

Heather, Amy Lewis

Ladybower Wood

One of few remaining examples of upland oakwood in the Peak District - it also has areas of heather moorland – a great place to look for lichens, woodland birds and mountain hares. Off the beaten track around Ladybower Reservoir.

Location

Off the A57 between Sheffield and Glossop.
Sheffield
Derbyshire
S33 0AX

OS Map Reference

SK 2059 8671
A static map of Ladybower Wood

Know before you go

Size
16 hectares

Entry fee

No

Parking information

Park at Severn Trent Water's public car park at Heatherdene. Park along Ladybower Reservoir or near Ladybower Inn S33 0AX

Grazing animals

No

Walking trails

Walk over the reservoir bridge and up to the Ladybower Inn - from here a public bridleway takes you diagonally upwards to the wall which forms the reserve boundary. Because of the difficult terrain, visitors are advised to stay on the bridleway, which offers plenty of opportunity to enjoy this interesting reserve

Access

Steep slopes 

Dogs

On a lead

When to visit

Opening times

Open at all times

Best time to visit

Spring for birds and autumn for heather, autumn colour and fungi

About the reserve

Ladybower Wood is one of few remaining examples of upland oakwood in the Peak District.

Woodland such as this was once a familiar sight, covering most of the gritstone edges and moorlands of North Derbyshire. As well as oaks, there are a few rowans and silver birches.

On the woodland floor and on the gritstone boulders, there are many kinds of moss, lichen and liverwort, which enjoy the damp climate.

There are 44 species of lichen, making it one of the best areas in the Peak District to find them. The deciduous woodland provides little shelter for birds in the winter, but by late spring it is bursting with the songs of birds, including pied flycatchers, redstarts, wood warblers and tree pipits.

The elusive purple hairstreak butterfly may be seen around the upper branches of the oak trees in mid-summer. At the woodland edge, the trees give way to bracken and heather moorland, where you can spot red grouse and occasionally mountain hare.

Species

Habitat

Contact us

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust
Contact number: 01773 881188
Contact email: enquiries@derbyshirewt.co.uk
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Environmental designation

Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)

Volunteer here

Get hands on

Take a look at the latest sightings

Nearby nature reserves

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Check out the reserve map

Ladybower Wood reserve map

Ladybower Wood reserve map

Play Wild rating

Some areas are very steep with hidden fissure so can be dangerous but along the bridleway and over the moor and small wooded area off the bridleway are fine outside ground nesting season.

Learn more about Play Wild.

Play Wild red

Play Wild red