within the park these paths are limited. Between the Bilberry, Beacon and Rednal Hills stands The Rose & Crown hotel and public house which serves meals daily including Sunday lunches. The Lickey Hills Country Park has been awarded a Green Flag Award for the seven consecutive years since 2000. A ranger explained in a newspaper interview: The Green Flag Award is a national scheme which started back in 1996 as a means of recognising and rewarding the best green spaces in the country. They look for a certain standard of quality management within the park, cleanliness, use by the community and so on. There are a total of 27 criteria to pass in order to win the award. Flora and fauna There are several deer species and badgers living in the park, together with a range of waterfowl on the lake including Canada geese, mallards, coot, moorhen and mute swans. In spring, there are notable displays of bluebells. The forests mainly consist of mature spruce and pine trees although there is also a wide-ranging mosaic of deciduous trees on the lower slopes. Bilberry Hill is named after the extensive bilberry bushes that bear fruit in the early to mid autumn and are popular with walkers for the free harvest that is later transformed into jams or bilberry and apple pies. There are over 380 different species of flowering plant within the park, including 17 species of fern and 30 species of moss. There are a range of woodland invertebrates including insects such as beetles, centipedes and slugs. Together with flies, bees and butterflies, they provide the staple diet for some of the larger wildlife within the park. Ninety bird species have also been recorded within the park. These include robin, chaffinch, blue tit, great tit, sparrowhawk and common woodpigeon, with common redstarts and tree pipits visiting during the summer and fieldfare and redwing during the winter. Nuthatches are frequently seen on the bird feeders outside the small cafe near the lake. The damp woodland and the nearby heathland is also home to a variety of reptiles, which include grass snakes, adders and the common lizard. The most evident mammals are the large numbers of grey squirrels throughout the woods and rabbits over the hills, especially during summer evenings. The area is very popular with walkers, families, birdwatchers, other nature lovers and the general public. Public transport There is a short