Speckled Wood is a woodland and

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

in Ore Village in the

Ore Valley Ore is a large suburb of the urban area of the town and borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. Formerly a village, it is still known and advertised locally as "Ore Village". It is located to the north-east of Hastings town centre, on th ...

, Hastings,

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

, United Kingdom. The woodland park consists of woodland trails and clearings. The woodland has steep sixty-degree sides and is a wet woodland. The wood is a habitat to a wealth of mammals, birds and invertebrates. There is a stream that runs right through the wood. The name Speckled Wood is believed to have come from the butterflies of the same name that thrive here, the speckled wood (SP1861). Speckled Wood falls within Ore's development area to the northeast of Hastings, where major housing and industrial development has been concentrated during the last two decades. Despite considerable new development in the area, the woodland has been retained since 1930. Speckled Wood, together with nearby fragments of woodland and tree belts, represents a sizeable proportion of green space within the urban area of Hastings and is a conspicuous landscape feature. It is a core area of natural habitat within the town. It is possible to enter the natural area from points within Ore Village using the long established footpaths.

History

The Yeakell and Gardners 1778 Sussex map shows the area to be a historic woodland. Maps from 1873 to 1875 show the Ore Stream running under Cackle Street (now Frederick Road) and further into the valley. It also mentions the stream and narrow band of woodland surrounded by farm land which was part of the Vine Farm Estate. This was eventually sold by Messrs Woodhams & Son by Auction in Havelock Road 5 June 1889. At around 1897, it is believed that the area (TQ835177) which is part of Speckled Wood may have been used as a brick field, run by a Mr W. Rodgers. This site was described as ; although the record of this is documented in a book, it is believed to come from a piece of paperwork detailing a rate payment, which does not actually prove bricks were produced from the site. It is clear that Mr W Rodgers had other brick fields in the surrounding area of Ore Village. In 1916 and up until 1921, at least 20 plots of land in the woodland known at that time as the Oller' were sold by a generous land owner, Mrs Elisabeth Peddlesden and her husband Joeseph, for use by the Soldiers' and Sailors' Families' Association and Small Holdings Committee as part of the Land Settlement (Facilities) Act 1919 to give small holdings to returning World War I soldiers settling in the South East. This was originally organized by the National Freehold Land Company. Many of these records have been transferred to the Keep in Brighton. The small holdings were used to keep pigs and chickens mainly, and thought to provide a working living for the soldiers, many of which had returned from the war with injuries from

mustard gas Mustard gas or sulfur mustard is a chemical compound belonging to a family of cytotoxic and blister agents known as mustard agents. The name ''mustard gas'' is technically incorrect: the substance, when dispersed, is often not actually a gas, b ...

. As early as 1927 the ''Hastings Observer'' reported that Town Planning was working with councillors to produce a comprehensive report towards housing and leisure facilities. The town was to be re mapped and designated housing and recreational areas were to be created. In 1930 the area was subject to the Hastings General Development Plan 1930. A large proportion of the woodland we know to day was declared as green-space. The map in the rear pocket of this Management Plan shows the area as a public-open-space In 1934 the Town and Planning Committee reported that during their meeting of the Hastings Council they had prepared and estimate for the cost of purchasing the land and public-open-space Speckled Wood as shown in the General Development Plan. Friends of Speckled Wood Management Trust petitioned to keep the entire woodland undeveloped. Friends of Speckled Wood (FOSWMT) presented this public response to the Hastings Borough Council Cabinet. On 12 November 2012, the Hastings Cabinet Councillors were unable to name the entire area as a Nature Reserve, but did keep "a substantial area of land...as woodland instead of potential housing". A public enquiry was held during 2014/2015 and the inspector recommended that the majority of Speckled Wood should be re-designated as protected open space. This was ratified by Hastings Borough Council during the latter part of 2015. In 2017, Hastings Borough Council handed over two plots of land to local charity, Ore Community Land Trust, as the first step in establishing the wood as a permanent local amenity.

Geology and geography

Sandstone and clay bed in the Ore Valley Stream

From a geological perspective, the area along the stream is on the sandstone of the Ashdown Beds and this is surrounded by clays and mudstones, also of the Ashdown series all laid down in the Cretaceous Period. Several valleys run from The Ridge to the sea from the Marline Wood area in the west to the

Country Park A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment. United Kingdom History In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a special meaning. There are around 250 recognised coun ...

in the east. The Speckled Wood valley is part of the catchment that includes St Helens Park and Old Roar Ghyll. Speckled Wood can be seen as historic from the Yeakell and Gardners 1778 Sussex map showing the 'Oller' this shows a ribbon of woodland along the Ore stream, The ancient wooded ghylls around Hastings of which the Speckled Wood area is the only remaining part of one which started from the area known as North Seat then through to the ponds which were in the area of what is now the Leeds Close garages of Victoria Avenue in Hastings, and then in south westerly direction right down to what is now Alexandra Park in Hastings. The Upper Ore Valley to date has steep sixty-degree valleys or inclines to the north, east and west. The stream cuts right through the lower valley exposing the Ashdown bed in sections along the valley floor. To the west the incline falls off to a plateau which then rises to land level. The North End of the Upper Valley has been topographically mapped to reveal its slopes. This was created by a group of volunteers that made a model from MDF based on height readings from the Valley floor. The ghyll forms a link within the Hastings green corridor both spatially and as a means to prevent further fragmentation of flora and fauna.

Ore Valley Stream

The Ore stream through Speckled Wood is an integral part of one of the few remaining currently-undeveloped wooded ghylls left in Hastings. The Ore Valley stream runs from the Bourne spring feed splitting on the North Seat in Country Park. It runs under Southview Close and through Speckled Wood where it eventually feeds into Alexandra Park stream. There is a colony of ''

Arum italicum ''Arum italicum'' is a species of flowering herbaceous perennial plant in the family Araceae, also known as Italian arum and Italian lords-and-ladies.

'' ssp. ''italicum'' ("Italian lords-and-ladies") at (TQ8353411464) close to the bottom of the steps leading from Victoria Avenue into Speckled Wood. It is distinct from ordinary cuckoopint as the leaves appear in the autumn. They are plain green in this British form and without the whitish veins of some more popular garden varieties from abroad and which are usually encountered as throw-outs. There is '' Hirudo medicinalis'' and '' Lymnaea'' in the stream.

Wildlife

Speckled Wood is a mix of old woodland,

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

garden survivors, it shares common taxon as ancient woodland according to the Ancient Woodland Vascular Plant indicators on page 27 of the Hastings Borough Council Ancient Woodland Report by P Sansum This ancient woodland status is yet to be recognised . It is one of the only deep sided wet woods to remain in East Sussex, with over 200 species of trees and flowering plants. Sussex Biodiversitry Record Centre - SxBRCReport_SpeckledWood Many rare and scarce

liverworts The Marchantiophyta () are a division of non-vascular land plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of ge ...

, mosses and lichens occur within the ghyll. Hastings Borough Council Statements A multitude of fungi, rare insects, birds and elusive woodland mammals including the wood mouse. There is a blanket TPO Tree Protection Order ref TPO NO 157, W1 on the trees in the woodland. These are mostly

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

, holly, pedunculate oak, sycamore and goat willow all identified in the Thomson Ecology Arboricultural Survey 2007. This survey only dealt with the top half of the woodland but clearly stated that there are trees which were grade B, whilst some categorised as C1.

Species

The species list of flora and fauna are being added as new species are noted and photographed in the woodland. The data is also being updated on iRecord and the 2014 study The area has a large quantity of invasive Japanese knotweed (''Reynoutria japonica'') and Himalayan balsam which occurs in at least seventy-two separate areas of substantial size. The study was first conducted photographically, identifying the seventy-two separate large areas, which were then mapped onto an existing pathway map. The

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

area was then estimated at seven square metres in accordance with Environment Department guidelines, from where rhizomes had been discovered in soil during clearance work. Fauna * 16-spot orange ladybird (''

Propylea quatuordecimpunctata ''Propylea quatuordecimpunctata'' is a small lady beetle, belonging to the family Coccinellidae. It is sometimes referred to by the common name 14-spotted ladybird beetle, or simply P-14. Varieties Varieties include: * ''Propylea quatuordecimp ...

'') * Thirteen-spotted lady beetle (''

Hippodamia tredecimpunctata ''Hippodamia tredecimpunctata'', commonly known as the thirteen-spot ladybeetle, is a species of lady beetle. Description Adult ''H. tredecimpunctata'' have domed backs, mainly oval, often shiny with short legs and antennae. They have two wing ...

'') * Black-billed magpie ('' Pica pica'') * Blue tit (''

Cyanistes caeruleus The Eurasian blue tit (''Cyanistes caeruleus'') is a small passerine bird in the tit family, Paridae. It is easily recognisable by its blue and yellow plumage and small size. Eurasian blue tits, usually resident and non-migratory birds, are ...

'') * The comma Butterfly ('' Polygonia c-album'') * Common earwig ('' Forficula auricularia'') * Common green darner ''(Anax junius)'' * Common orb weaver ('' Metellina segmentata'') * Common rough woodlouse (''

Porcellio scaber ''Porcellio scaber'' (otherwise known as the common rough woodlouse or simply rough woodlouse), is a species of woodlouse native to Europe but with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are often found in large numbers in most regions, with many spe ...

'') * Common toad ('' Bufo bufo'') * Common woodlouse ('' Oniscus asellus'') * Common wood pigeon ('' Columba palumbus'') * Dark bush cricket (''

Pholidoptera griseoaptera The dark bush-cricket (''Pholidoptera griseoaptera'') is a flightless species of European bush-cricket; it is the type species of its genus with no subspecies. Description ''Pholidoptera griseoaptera'' can reach a body length of 11 to 21 ...

'') * Dark bodied glass snail (''

Oxychilus draparnaudi ''Oxychilus draparnaudi'', or Draparnaud's glass snail, is a species of small land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Oxychilidae, the glass snails. Description ''Oxychilus draparnaudi'' is large for a zonitid glass ...

'') * Eastern grey squirrel ('' Sciurus carolinensis'') * Eurasian jay ('' Garrulus glandarius'') * Freshwater shrimp ('' Gammarus'') * Fresh water leech ('' Hirudo medicinalis'') * Garden cross spider ('' Araneus diadematus'') * Garden orb weaver spider ('' Metellina segmentata'') * Golden pigmy ('' Stigmella aurella'') * Great pond snail ('' Limnaea'') * Great tit (''

Parus major The great tit (''Parus major'') is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common species throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and east across the Palearctic to the Amur River, south to parts of North Af ...

'') * Harvestman spider ('' Opilio parietinus'') * Holly leaf miner ('' Phytomyza ilicis'') * Holly blue butterfly (''

Celastrina argiolus The holly blue (''Celastrina argiolus'') Retrieved April 20, 2018. is a butterfly that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family and is native to the Palearctic. The holly blue has pale silver-blue wings spotted with pale ivory dots. Seitz des ...

'' ssp. ''britanna'') * Native land snail ('' Phylum mollusca'') * Ichneumen wasp ('' Ichneumonidae'') * Large bee-fly, ('' Bombylius major'') * Lemon slug (''

Malacolimax tenellus ''Malacolimax tenellus'' (lemon slug) is a species of air-breathing land slug, a shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusk in the family Limacidae. Description The body is yellow in color and can grow up to . Habitat This species is known to liv ...

'') *'' Leiobunum blackwalli'' ('' Phytomyza ilicis'') * Long-tailed tit ('' Aegithalos caudatus'') * Orange ladybird, 16-spot ('' Halyzia sedecimguttata'') * Palmate newt (''

Lissotriton helveticus The palmate newt (''Lissotriton helveticus'') is a species of newt found in Western Europe, from Great Britain to the northern Iberian peninsula. It is long and olive or brown with some dark spots. The underside is yellow to orange, and the thr ...

'') * Pond skater ('' Gerridae'') * Red admiral butterfly ('' Vanessa atalanta'') * Red/brown fox ('' Vulpes vulpes'') * Rough woodlouse (''

'') * Serotine (''

Eptesicus serotinus The serotine bat (''Eptesicus serotinus''), also known as the common serotine bat, big brown bat, or silky bat, is a fairly large Eurasian bat with quite large ears. It has a wingspan of around and often hunts in woodland. It sometimes roosts ...

'') * Speckled wood butterfly ('' Pararge aegeria'') * The comma butterfly ('' Polygonia c-album'') * Tree snail (''

Balea perversa ''Balea perversa'', also known as the wall snail or tree snail, is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Clausiliidae, the door snails. The shell of this species is left-handed in coiling ...

'') * Tree snail (''

Oxychilus navarricus ''Oxychilus navarricus'', before 2002 known as ''Oxychilus helveticus'' (Blum, 1881), is a species of small air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Oxychilidae, the glass snails. Description For terms s ...

'') * Water hoglouse ('' Asellus aquaticus'') * White lipped bandit snail ('' Cepaea hortensis'') Flora * Ash ('' Fraxinus excelsior'') * Alexanders (''

Smyrnium olusatrum ''Smyrnium olusatrum'', common name alexanders (or alisander) is an edible flowering plant of the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae), which grows on waste ground and in hedges around the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastal regions of Europe. It was ...

'') * Beech ('' Fagus sylvatica'') * Native blue bells (''

Hyacinthoides non-scripta ''Hyacinthoides non-scripta'' (formerly ''Endymion non-scriptus'' or ''Scilla non-scripta'') is a bulbous perennial plant, found in Atlantic areas from north-western Spain to the British Isles, and also frequently used as a garden plant. It is ...

'') * Boxwood ('' Buxus sempervirens'') * Bramble ('' Rubus'') * Bristly oxtongue (''

Picris echioides ''Helminthotheca echioides'', known as bristly (or prickly) oxtongue, is a sprawling annual or biennial herb native to Europe and North Africa. It was originally placed within the genus ''Picris'' but is often separated within the small genus '' ...

'') * Broad buckler-fern ('' Dryopteris dilatata'') * Broad leaf dock (''

Rumex obtusifolius ''Rumex obtusifolius'', commonly known as bitter dock, broad-leaved dock, bluntleaf dock, dock leaf, dockens or butter dock, is a perennial plant in the family Polygonaceae. It is native to Europe, but is found on all temperate continents. It i ...

'') * Cherry laurel ('' Prunus laurocerasus'') * Cleavers (''

Galium aparine ''Galium aparine'', with common names including cleavers, clivers, catchweed and sticky willy among others, is an annual, herbaceous plant of the family Rubiaceae. Names ''Galium aparine'' is known by a variety of common names in English. They ...

'') * Cuckoo pint (''

Arum maculatum ''Arum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to Europe, northern Africa, and western and central Asia, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region. Frequently called arum lilies, they are not closely ...

'') * Common hop ('' Humulus lupulus'') * Common nettle ('' Urtica dioica'') * Common ragwort ('' Jacobaea vulgaris'') * Common oak ('' Quercus robur'') * Common pocket-moss ('' Fissidens taxifolius'') * Cow parsley (''

Anthriscus sylvestris ''Anthriscus sylvestris'', known as cow parsley, wild chervil, wild beaked parsley, Queen Anne's lace or keck, is a herbaceous biennial or short-lived perennial plant in the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae), genus ''Anthriscus''. It is also some ...

'') * Crack willow ('' Salix × fragilis'') * Crescent-cup liverwort (''

Lunularia cruciata ''Lunularia cruciata'', the crescent-cup liverwort, is a liverwort of the order Marchantiales (until recently included in the order Lunulariales), and the only species in the genus ''Lunularia'' and family Lunulariaceae. The name, from Latin ''l ...

'') * Creeping buttercup ('' Ranunculus repens'') * Elder ('' Sambucus nigra'') * Enchanters nightshade (''

Circaea lutetiana ''Circaea lutetiana'', known as broad-leaved enchanter's nightshade, is a plant in the evening primrose family, Onagraceae. The genus name comes from the enchantress Circe of Greek mythology and the specific designation is derived from Lutetia, ...

'') * English oak ('' Quercus robur'') * Field maple ('' Acer campestre'') * Fool's parsley ('' Aethusa cynapium'') * Forget-me-nots ('' Myosotis sylvatica'') * Gean ('' Prunus avium'') * Great bindweed agg. (''

Calystegia sepium ''Calystegia sepium'' (hedge bindweed, Rutland beauty, bugle vine, heavenly trumpets, bellbind, granny-pop-out-of-bed and many others) is a species of flowering plant in the family Convolvulaceae. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, subcosmopolit ...

'') * Greater plantain ('' Plantago major'') * Guelder rose ('' Viburnum opulus'') * Hart's-tongue ('' Phyllitis scolopendrium'') * Hard fern (''

Blechnum spicant ''Struthiopteris spicant'', syn. ''Blechnum spicant'', is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae, known by the common names hard-fern or deer fern. It is native to Europe, western Asia, northern Africa, and western North America. Like some ...

'') * Hawthorn ('' Crataegus monogyna'') * Hazel ('' Corylus avellana'') * Hedge bindweed (''

'') * Hedge woundwort (''

Stachys sylvatica ''Stachys sylvatica'', commonly known as hedge woundwort, whitespot, or sometimes as hedge nettle, is a perennial herbaceous plant growing to tall in woodland and unmanaged grassland. In temperate zones of the northern hemisphere it flowers in ...

'') * Henbane ('' Hyoscyamus niger'') * Herb bennet ('' Geum urbanum'') * Herb-robert (''

Geranium robertianum ''Geranium robertianum'', commonly known as herb-Robert, or (in North America) Roberts geranium, is a common species of cranesbill native to Europe and parts of Asia, and North Africa. The plant has many vernacular names, including red robin, de ...

'') * Hogweed ('' Heracleum sphondylium'') * Holly (''

Ilex aquifolium ''Ilex aquifolium'', the holly, common holly, English holly, European holly, or occasionally Christmas holly, is a species of flowering plant in the family (botany), family Aquifoliaceae, native plant, native to western and southern Europe, nort ...

'') * Honeysuckle ('' Lonicera periclymenum'') * Ivy ('' Hedera helix'') * Japanese knotweed ('' Reynoutria japonica'') * Knotgrass agg. ('' Polygonum aviculare'') * Lady fern ('' Athyrium filix-femina'') * Large leaved lime ('' Tilia platyphyllos'') * Lords and ladies (''

'') * Lesser burdock ('' Arctium minus'') * Male fern (''

Dryopteris filix-mas ''Dryopteris filix-mas'', the male fern, is a common fern of the temperate Northern Hemisphere, native to much of Europe, Asia, and North America. It favours damp shaded areas in the understory of woodlands, but also shady places on hedge-banks, ...

'') * Native bluebells (''

'') *

New Zealand flax New Zealand flax describes the common New Zealand perennial plants ''Phormium tenax'' and ''Phormium colensoi'', known by the Māori names ''harakeke'' and ''wharariki'' respectively. Although given the common name 'flax' they are quite distinc ...

('' Phormium'' 'Evening Glow') * Moss (''

Mnium hornum ''Mnium hornum'', also known by the common name horn calcareous moss, is a species of moss in the genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well ...

'') * Nipplewort ('' Lapsana communis'') * Pendulous sedge (''

Carex pendula ''Carex pendula'' (pendulous sedge, also known as hanging, drooping or weeping sedge) is a large sedge of the genus ''Carex''. It occurs in woodland, scrubland, hedges and beside streams, preferring damp, heavy clay soils. It is sometimes grown ...

'') * Prickly sow-thistle (''

Sonchus asper ''Sonchus asper'', the prickly sow-thistle, rough milk thistle, spiny sowthistle, sharp-fringed sow thistle, or spiny-leaved sow thistle, is a widespread flowering plant in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae. Description ''Sonchu ...

'') * Pussy willow (''

Salix discolor ''Salix discolor'', the American pussy willow or glaucous willow, is a species of willow native to North America, one of two species commonly called pussy willow. It is native to the vast reaches of Alaska as well as the northern forests and we ...

'') * Red campion ('' Silene dioica'') * Rose ('' Rosa'' sp.) * Rush ('' Juncus'' sp.) * Sedge (''

'') * Sessile oak ('' Quercus petraea'') * Self heal ('' Prunella vulgaris'') * Smooth sow-thistle ('' Sonchus oleraceus'') * Snowberry (''

Symphoricarpos albus ''Symphoricarpos albus'' is a species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family known by the common name common snowberry. Native to North America, it is browsed by some animals and planted for ornamental and ecological purposes, but is poiso ...

'') * Snowdrop (''

Leucojum aestivum ''Leucojum aestivum'', commonly called summer snowflake or Loddon lily (see ), is a plant species widely cultivated as an ornamental. It is native to most of Europe from Spain and Ireland to Ukraine, with the exception of Scandinavia, Russia, Bel ...

'') * Soft shield-fern ('' Polystichum setiferum'') * Spindle ('' Euonymus europaeus'') * Sycamore tarspot (''

Rhytisma acerinum ''Rhytisma acerinum'' is a plant pathogen that commonly affects sycamores and maples in late summer and autumn, causing tar spot. Tar spot does not usually have an adverse effect on the trees' long-term health. ''R. acerinum'' is an Ascomycete f ...

'') * Tutsan ('' Hypericum androsaemum'') * Water figwort ('' Scrophularia auriculata'') * Water starwort ('' Callitriche stagnalis s.l.'') * Wavy bitter-cress (''

Cardamine flexuosa inflorescence ''Cardamine flexuosa'', commonly known as wavy bittercress or wood bitter-cress, is an herbaceous annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial plant in the cabbage family (Brassicaceae). Description This is a small flowering pla ...

'') * Weeping crack-willow ('' Salix × pendulina'', a hybrid of '' Salix babylonica'', with the male parent uncertain, likely either '' Salix × fragilis'' or ''S. euxina'', but perhaps ''S. pentandra'') * Welsh poppy ('' Papaver cambricum'') * Wild angelica (''

Angelica sylvestris ''Angelica sylvestris'' or wild angelica is a species of flowering plant, native to Europe and central Asia. An annual or short-lived perennial growing to a maximum of , it has erect purplish stems and rounded umbels of minuscule white or pale p ...

'') * Wilson's honeysuckle ('' Lonicera nitida'') * Willowherb ('' Epilobium'') * Wood anemone (''

Anemone nemorosa ''Anemonoides nemorosa'' (syn. ''Anemone nemorosa''), the wood anemone, is an early-spring flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to Europe. Other common names include windflower, European thimbleweed, and smell fox, an all ...

'') * Wood avens ('' Geum urbanum'') * Wood dock (''

Rumex The docks and sorrels, genus ''Rumex'', are a genus of about 200 species of annual, biennial, and perennial herbs in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae. Members of this genus are very common perennial herbs with a native almost worldwide distribu ...

'') * Wood forget-me-not ('' Myosotis sylvatica'') Fungi * Artist fungus (''

Ganoderma applanatum ''Ganoderma applanatum'' (the artist's bracket, artist's conk, artist's fungus or bear bread) is a bracket fungus with a cosmopolitan distribution. Description This fungus is parasitic and saprophytic, and grows as a mycelium within the wood o ...

'') * Angel wings (''

Pleurocybella ''Pleurocybella'' is a genus of fungus in the family Phyllotopsidaceae The Phyllotopsidaceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. Basidiocarps are either clavarioid and simple (in the genus ''Macrotyphula'') or agaricoid and cluste ...

'') * Beech bracket (''

Trametes gibbosa ''Trametes gibbosa'', commonly known as the lumpy bracket, is a polypore mushroom that causes white rot. It is found on beech stumps and the dead wood of other hardwood species. Fruit bodies are 8–15 cm in diameter and semicircular in sh ...

'') * Bracket, tinder polypore ('' Fomes fomentarius'') * Candle-snuff ('' Xylaria'') * Common ink cap ('' Coprinopsis atramentaria'') * Coral bracket, smoky polypore ('' Bjerkandera adusta'') * Coral spot fungus (''

Nectria cinnabarina ''Nectria cinnabarina'', also known as coral spot, is a plant pathogen that causes cankers on broadleaf trees. This disease is polycyclic and infects trees in the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. ''N. cinnabarina'' is typicall ...

'') * Cramp balls, Alfred cakes ('' Daldinia concentrica'') * Giant flame cap (''

Gymnopilus junonius ''Gymnopilus junonius'' is a species of mushroom-forming fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae. Commonly known as the spectacular rustgill, this large orange mushroom is typically found growing on tree stumps, logs, or tree bases. Some subspeci ...

'') * Jew's ear, jelly ear ('' Auricularia auricula-judae'') * Pleurocybella porrigens (''

Pleurocybella porrigens ''Pleurocybella porrigens'' is a species of fungus in the family Phyllotopsidaceae. The species is widespread in temperate forests of the Northern Hemisphere. ''P. porrigens'', known as the angel wing, is a white-rot wood-decay fungus on c ...

'') * Puff ball (''

Lycoperdon echinatum ''Lycoperdon echinatum'', commonly known as the spiny puffball or the spring puffball, is a type of puffball mushroom in the family Agaricaceae. The saprobic species has been found in Africa, Europe, Central America, and North America, where i ...

'') * Red cap (''

Amanita muscaria ''Amanita muscaria'', commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a basidiomycete of the genus ''Amanita''. It is also a muscimol mushroom. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, ''Amanita muscar ...

'') * Shaggy ink cap (''

Coprinus comatus ''Coprinus comatus'', the shaggy ink cap, lawyer's wig, or shaggy mane, is a common fungus often seen growing on lawns, along gravel roads and waste areas. The young fruit bodies first appear as white cylinders emerging from the ground, then th ...

'') * The wood ear mushroom (''

Auricularia auricula ''Auricularia auricula-judae'', which has the recommended English name jelly ear, also known as Judas’s ear or Jew’s ear, is a species of fungus in the order Auriculariales. Basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are brown, gelatinous, and have a noti ...

'') * Turkey tail ('' Trametes versicolor'') * Velvet shanks ('' Flammulina valutipes'') * Wood blewit ('' Lepista'') * Yellow brain fungus ('' Tremella mesenterica'')

Facilities

The local primary school children, Ore Church Mice and child minding groups in the woodland's vicinity use the woodland as a learning and recreational resource. In addition, local groups including Ore Trailshttp://www.thehastingsacademy.org/newspage.php?id=1345 give guided walks.

Access

There is a map and numbered trail from the entrance at Ore Village Green. There is another entrance at Frederick Road and a further one from Victoria Avenue. By public transport the Village Green Entrance on Old London Rd can be reached by bus from

Hastings Railway Station Hastings railway station is the southern terminus of the Hastings line in the south of England and is one of four stations that serve the town of Hastings, East Sussex. It is also on the East Coastway Line to and the Marshlink line to . It i ...

alighting at the Frederick Road bus stop. Buses on route from Hastings Railway Station bus stop also pass near the entrance at Frederick Road. The woodland can also be reached from Ore Station on foot.

References

{{Reflist Parks and open spaces in East Sussex Forests and woodlands of East Sussex Hastings