The Stiperstones is a designated National Nature Reserve for a great reason: it is a living patchwork of habitats. This varied landscape has been shaped by nature, of course, but also by centuries of people living and working here.
The main feature you'll see is open heathland, which actually got its start when early people cleared the trees to create rough grazing land.
What grows where depends on the weather and the slope. You will find lots of bell heather and western gorse enjoying the warmer, south-facing sides, while common heather and bilberry (whinberry) prefer the cooler, north-facing slopes. Higher up, you get cowberry and crowberry. A few wetter patches support boggy plants like bog mosses, cotton grass, and more. The overall picture is rounded out by smaller areas of upland hay meadows, oak woods, and birch/rowan trees, all adding to the rich biodiversity.
All these different habitats support a ton of animals, especially birds that love the uplands. Look for red grouse, skylark, and meadow pipit breeding right out in the open, and stonechat and whinchat hanging around the edges of the heath. You'll often spot buzzards and ravens circling high above the ridge, and the woods are home to birds like pied flycatchers and wood warblers. Even the red kite has been sighted recently! On the ground, you'll find everything from foxes, brown hares, and rabbits to common frogs and common lizards. The insects are fantastic too, including the grayling and green hairstreak butterflies and cool moths like the fox and emperor moths. Keep an eye out for the big population of hairy wood ants on Resting Hill—they’re famous!
Starting in the 1940s, the heathland was broken up by people planting conifer forests and grasslands, threatening this ecological haven. To fix it, a long-term conservation effort called 'Back to Purple' kicked off in 1998. It is a huge team effort, supported by Natural England, the Shropshire Wildlife Trust, the Forestry Commission, and private owners. Their goal? To restore the land back to its original state of vivid purple heather heathland. It is a smart process. They don't just clear everything; they focus on keeping a variety of plant ages. This is done through carefully controlled burning and cutting of the older, mature heather during winter. This sparks new, fresh growth that's great food for red grouse and livestock, while the remaining older patches give essential shelter to the wildlife. Now, the newly re-created heathland is sustainably grazed by hardy breeds like Hebridean sheep and Exmoor ponies. It's a great example of how modern conservation can successfully blend human management with natural processes.