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Alder Coppice Local Nature Reserve comprises 10.25 hectares of ancient woodland situated between Northway and Penn Common in Dudley, and can be accessed from Northway (postcode DY3 3RL) or Swallowfields Road (DY3 3TR). Alder Coppice was granted Local Nature Reserve status by Natural England on 30 November 2019.

Important forestry notice

Important forestry work has been taking place in recent weeks to remove or pollard diseased ash trees at Alder Coppice.

Work began on 8 March and it was hoped it would be complete within three weeks in order to keep the closure of the coppice to a minimum.

Unfortunately, due to snow falling just as work had begun, which made ground conditions difficult, the completion of the work has been slightly delayed.

We now expect the coppice to fully reopen by the end of next week at the latest.

Some areas of the coppice are not looking their best at the moment due to the impact of the weather and the nature of the work involved.

The council's countryside team, as well as our partner contractors, will be carrying out any necessary works as the weather improves and ground conditions allow. 

We apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your support and patience during this time.

The contractor removing and pollarding the trees on behalf of Dudley Council, is Heartwood (subcontracted by Glendale). Heartwood can be contacted on 0800 0289072 from 9am to 5pm.

Should you have any queries at all in relation to the work, please contact Dudley Council Plus on 0300 555 2345, open 10am to 3pm or email dudleycouncilplus@dudley.gov.uk

  • Last updated: March 31, 2023

Alder Coppice

The woodland has a very distinctive character consisting of mature ash and oak trees with an understorey of hazel, hawthorn and holly. During spring and early summer the bluebells and woodland flowers make a wonderful display.

For bird watchers the woodland is a great place to watch nesting woodpeckers and spot woodland birds such as tree creepers and nuthatch or listen out for calling owls in the evening. The whole wood exudes an air of peace and tranquillity and is a great place to go to de-stress and connect with nature.

There are three well maintained paths through the woodland which are colour coded red, yellow and blue. The red and yellow routes are accessible to a motor scooter.

Historically, Alder Coppice, along with near neighbour Ashen Coppice would have been traditionally managed woodlands. Timber from the oak and hazel had and still has many uses,  oak would have been used for building timber frames for houses and the bark was used in the leather tanning industry, hazel would be coppiced to provide firewood and poles used to make hurdle fences and wattle and daub walls.

Contact Us

Alder Coppice Local Nature Reserve
Swallowfields Road entrance
DY3 3TR

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