| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 | |
| Location | Suffolk |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | TM 199 429 [1] |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 5.1 hectares [1] |
| Notification | 1990 [1] |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Bixley Heath is a 5.1-hectare (13-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the eastern outskirts of Ipswich in Suffolk. [1] [2] It is also a Local Nature Reserve owned and managed by Ipswich Borough Council. [3] [4]
The heath is split between the Ipswich Borough Council and East Suffolk council areas. It is located adjacent to the Broke Hall Farm and Purdis Farm areas of Ipswich and to the west of Ipswich Golf Club on the edge of the urban area. [5]
The site is part of the Suffolk Sandlings area and consists of lowland dry heathland and scarce swamp vegetation along a small valley to the southern edge of the site. The heathland area of the site is dominated by the heather Calluna vulgaris . Other heathers and grass species, such as Common Bent-grass Agrostis capillaris are also present, with some Bracken and scrub tree species on the edges of the site. [6]
The swamp area of the site has Lesser Pond-sedge Carex acutiformis as the dominant plant species, with other species such as Great Reedmace Typha latifolia and Great Willowherb Epilobium hirsutum found in the area. Sallow is found throughout the swamp area with some areas of open reed bed where Common Reed Phragmites australis is found. [6]
There is access from Bucklesham Road and Salehurst Road.
Knettishall Heath is a 91.7-hectare (227-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Knettishall in Suffolk. A larger area of 176 hectares is the Knettishall Heath Nature Reserve, which is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.
Chobham Common is a 655.7-hectare (1,620-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Chobham in Surrey. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I and a national nature reserve. It is part of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area and the Thursley, Ash, Pirbright and Chobham Special Area of Conservation. It contains three scheduled monuments. Most of the site is managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust as the Chobham Common nature reserve, but the SSSI also includes a small private reserve managed by the Trust, Gracious Pond.
RSPB Minsmere is a nature reserve owned and managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) at Minsmere, Suffolk. The 1,000-hectare (2,500-acre) site has been managed by the RSPB since 1947 and covers areas of reed bed, lowland heath, acid grassland, wet grassland, woodland and shingle vegetation. It lies within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Suffolk Heritage Coast area. It is conserved as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area and Ramsar site.
Suffolk Wildlife Trust (SWT) describes itself as the county's "nature charity – the only organisation dedicated wholly to safeguarding Suffolk's wildlife and countryside." It is a registered charity, and its headquarters is at Brooke House in Ashbocking, near Ipswich. It was founded in 1961, and is one of 46 wildlife trusts covering the Great Britain and Northern Ireland. As of March 2017, it has 13,200 members, and it manages 3,120 hectares of land in 60 nature reserves, most of which are open to the public. It had an income of £3.9 million in the year to 31 March 2017.
Lindow Common is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) located on the western edge of the town of Wilmslow, Cheshire, in the northwest of England. It is also designated a Local Nature Reserve.
Breckland in Norfolk and Suffolk is a 39,433 hectare Special Protection Area (SPA) under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The SPA partly overlaps the 7,544 hectare Breckland Special Area of Conservation. As a landscape region it is an unusual natural habitat of England. It comprises the gorse-covered sandy heath that lies mostly in the south of the county of Norfolk but also in the north of Suffolk. An area of considerable interest for its unusual flora and fauna, it lies to the east of another unusual habitat, the Fens, and to the south west of the Broads. The typical tree of this area is the Scots pine. Breckland is one of the driest areas in England.
Hothfield Common is a 56.5-hectare (140-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-east of Ashford in Kent. It is also a Local Nature Reserve, and is part of the 86-hectare (210-acre) Hothfield Heathlands nature reserve owned by Ashford Borough Council and managed by Kent Wildlife Trust.
Foxhole Heath is an 85.2-hectare (211-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Eriswell in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and part of Breckland Special Area of Conservation and Breckland Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.
Sound Heath, also known as Sound Common, is an area of common land in Sound, near Nantwich in Cheshire, England, which includes heathland, grassland, scrub, woodland and wetland habitats. The majority of the area is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Local Nature Reserve.
Wangford Warren and Carr is a 67.8-hectare (168-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Brandon and Lakenheath in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and part of the Breckland Special Area of Conservation, and Special Protection Area An area of 15 hectares is managed as a nature reserve by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust
Blaxhall Common is a nature reserve in the parish of Blaxhall in the East Suffolk District of Suffolk. The reserve is owned by Blaxhall Parish Council and managed by Suffolk Wildlife Trust. It is designated a 45.9-hectare (113-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest as Blaxhall Heath. It is part of the Sandlings Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds, and of the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. A Bronze Age bowl barrow is a Scheduled Monument.
Sutton and Hollesley Heaths is a 483.3-hectare (1,194-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-east of Woodbridge in Suffolk. Most of the site is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust as Sutton and Hollesley Commons. It is part of the Sandlings Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds, and the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Suffolk Coast National Nature Reserve is a wildlife reserve on the North Sea coast of the English county of Suffolk. It is located around the village of Walberswick to the south of the town of Southwold. The reserve was designated in 2003, combining the existing Walberswick National Nature Reserve with reserves at Dingle Marshes and Hen Reedbeds to create a 1,340 hectares reserve.
Berner's Heath is a 236.9-hectare (585-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-east of Icklingham in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, a Special Area of Conservation, and a Special Protection Area
Hertford Heath nature reserve is a 28 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Hertford Heath in Hertfordshire. It is managed by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust and the local planning authority is East Hertfordshire District Council.
Tiptree Heath is a 25 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-west of Tiptree in Essex, England. It is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust together with the Friends of Tiptree Heath.
Thetford Heaths is a 270.6-hectare (669-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and parts of it are a national nature reserve, and a Geological Conservation Review, It is part of the Breckland Special Area of Conservation, and Special Protection Area A large part of this dry heathland site is calcareous grassland, and some areas are grazed by sheep or rabbits. There are several nationally rare plants and an uncommon heathland bird, and many lichens and mosses.
Ulverscroft Valley is a 110.8 hectares biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Markfield in Leicestershire. The site is in five separate blocks, and two areas are nature reserves managed by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT). Lea Meadows is owned by the LRWT and it is also a scheduled monument. Part of Ulverscroft Nature Reserve is owned by the LRWT and part is owned by the National Trust and leased to the LRWT.
Brentmoor Heath is a 28.6-hectare (71-acre) Local Nature Reserve east of Camberley in Surrey. It is part of Brentmoor Heath and Folly Bog nature reserve, the ownership of which is divided between the Ministry of Defence, Surrey County Council and Surrey Heath Borough Council, and is managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust. The site is also part of Colony Bog and Bagshot Heath site of Special Scientific Interest, Thursley, Ash, Pirbright & Chobham Special Area of Conservation and Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area.
Coordinates: 52°02′28″N1°12′18″E / 52.041°N 1.205°E
