OS grid SJ805839 Open any reasonable time | Elevation 50m Area 6 ha | |
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Type Nature reserve and SSSI Location near Manchester Airport Operated by Cheshire Wildlife Trust Address Cotteril Clough Brook, United Kingdom | ||
Cotterill Clough is a 5.6-hectare (14-acre) nature reserve near Manchester Airport. It is managed by the Cheshire Wildlife Trust and lies within a larger Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The Cotterill Brook, which flows through the clough, is a tributary of the River Bollin. The reserve was purchased in 1934 by public subscription as a memorial to T. A. Coward (1867–1933), a famous Cheshire naturalist.
Notability and key speciesEdit
The SSSI citation describes the site as "the most diverse clough woodland on base rich soils in Greater Manchester."
The ground flora is dominated by common woodland plants such as Wild Garlic Allium ursinum, Bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta and Yellow Archangel Lamium galeobdolon, but less common species that also occur include Goldilocks Ranunculus auricomus, Alternate-leaved Golden Saxifrage Chrysosplenium alternifolium, Wood Vetch Vicia sylvatica, Common Toothwort Lathraea squamaria, Giant Bellflower Campanula latifolia, Common Twayblade Neottia ovata, Hard Shield Fern Polystichum aculeatum and Thin-spiked Wood Sedge Carex strigosa.
Invertebrates include 79 species of spider, and a rare beetle Dropephylla grandiloqua.