Wildlife

The Wye Valley is particularly important for its rich wildlife habitats, and has a high concentration of designated sites, covering approximately 10% of the area. These include three sites of international importance, designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) under the European Union’s Habitats Directive. The three SACs are the River Wye itself, more than 800 hectares of ancient semi-natural woodland in the heart of the Wye Gorge and a collection of sites in the Lower Wye Valley used as roosts by Greater and Lesser Horseshoe bats.

The majority of the land within the AONB - about 58% - is farmed land. This includes the land used to grow crops or graze cattle or sheep, orchards, hedges and other kinds of field boundary, ditches and tracks, together with a variety of semi-natural habitats (those which have had some management or improvement by man) such as heathland and grassland.

See also the Wildlife map.