| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
Path in Bricket Wood Common | |
| Area of Search | Hertfordshire |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | TL385105 |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 70.0 hectares |
| Notification | 1984 |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Bricket Wood Common is a 70 hectare open space and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Bricket Wood in Hertfordshire. [1] [2] It is managed by St Albans City and District Council together with the Countryside Management Service and Bricket Wood Joint Management Committee. [3]
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man. SSSI/ASSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in the United Kingdom are based upon them, including national nature reserves, Ramsar sites, Special Protection Areas, and Special Areas of Conservation. The acronym "SSSI" is often pronounced "triple-S I".
Bricket Wood is a village in the county of Hertfordshire, England, 4.2 miles (6.8 km) south of St Albans and 4.2 miles (6.8 km) north-northeast of Watford.
Hertfordshire is one of the home counties in England. It is bordered by Bedfordshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Buckinghamshire to the west and Greater London to the south. For government statistical purposes, it is placed in the East of England region.
The common is a remnant of a lowland heath, with much it on the heavy soils of boulder clay with poor drainage and wet habitats. There are also areas of ancient woodland and dry heath. The woodland canopy is mainly oak and silver birch with a shrub layer of hornbeam and hazel. Lowland heath flora include sphagnum in the wetter areas and there are several small ponds. In drier heath areas there are heather, purple moor-grass and heath milkwort. [1]
Boulder clay is a geological deposit of clay, often full of boulders, which is formed out of the ground moraine material of glaciers and ice-sheets. It was the typical deposit of the Glacial Period in northern Europe and North America.
Molinia caerulea, the purple moor-grass, is a species of grass that is native to Europe, west Asia, and north Africa. It grows in locations from the lowlands up to 2,300 m (7,546 ft) in the Alps. Like most grasses, it grows best in acid soils, ideally pH values of between 3.5 and 5, however, it can continue to live under more extreme conditions, sometimes to as low as 2. It is common on moist heathland, bogs and moorland throughout Britain. Introduced populations exist in northeastern and northwestern North America.
Heath milkwort is a common name for several plants and may refer to the following species:
The common is divided by the Abbey Line railway. There is access from Mount Pleasant Lane, Bucknalls Drive and School Lane. [4]
The Abbey Line, also called the St Albans Abbey branch line, is a railway line from Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey. The 6.5-mile (10.5 km) route passes through town and countryside in the county of Hertfordshire, just outside the boundaries of the Oyster Card and London fare zones. Its northern terminus in St Albans Abbey is located in the south of the city, around 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) away from the larger St Albans City railway station on the Midland Main Line.
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