Brook Vessons (Shropshire)

Brook Vessons adjoins The Hollies. There are towering hedgerows, gnarled old trees, a tangled woodland, tiny meadows and boggy, tussocky grazing pastures. Dormice are known to breed here.

Perhaps the strangest thing about Brook Vessons is its cluster of giant trees. Within just 100 metres are some of the broadest rowans in Britain; the biggest birch in Shropshire; the biggest holly in Shropshire and the county’s biggest crab apple tree.

It lies on the edge of The Paddock – a village that grew up with the local mining industry as people took on smallholdings to supplement their income. It was finally abandoned early in the 20th century, when the industry declined, but the remnants of field and cottage walls remain.

Key Species

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary