Limekiln Wood Nature Reserve facts for kids
Limekiln Wood Nature Reserve is a special place in Cheshire, England. It's a nature reserve that covers about 13.1 hectares (which is like 32 football fields!). You can find it north of a village called Mow Cop.
This reserve is so important that it's been named a Site of Special Scientific Interest. This means it has rare plants, animals, or geology that needs to be protected. The Cheshire Wildlife Trust helps look after this amazing woodland.
Discovering Limekiln Wood
Limekiln Wood sits on the side of the Mow Cop ridge. This area has been covered in trees since the end of the last ice age, many thousands of years ago! The trees here are tough because the soil is thin and it can be windy.
Trees and Plants
You'll mostly see oak, downy birch, and rowan trees. In places where the ground is wetter, you might spot alder trees. There are also thick patches of holly growing under the taller trees.
The wood has many wet spots, which are perfect for a variety of beautiful ground plants. Look out for opposite-leaved golden saxifrage, marsh marigold, yellow pimpernel, meadowsweet, and lesser celandine. They grow in large numbers here!
In the drier parts of the wood, you'll find other colourful plants like honeysuckle, greater stitchwort, wood sorrel, and foxglove.
Fungi in Autumn
If you visit in the autumn, you might discover many types of fungi. Some interesting ones include foxy spot, stinkhorn (which smells like its name!), and blushing bracket.
