Elstead Group of Commons | |
---|---|
Type | Nature reserve |
Location | , Surrey |
OS grid | SU926423 |
Area | 180 hectares (440 acres) |
Managed by | Surrey Wildlife Trust |
Elstead Group of Commons is a 180-hectare (440-acre) nature reserve east of Elstead in Surrey. It is composed of Royal, Elstead and Ockley Commons, which are owned by the Ministry of Defence and managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust, and Bagmoor Common, which is owned and managed by the Trust. [1] The site is part of Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons Special Protection Area [2] and Site of Special Scientific Interest. [3]
This site has heath, woodland and dry acid grassland, with scrub controlled by a herd of Belted Galloway cattle. It is important for saproxylic (dead wood eating) invertebrates, such as stag beetles. There are several ponds with a population of around a thousand toads. [1]
There is public access but the site is an active military training area. [1]
Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT) was founded in 1959 as Surrey Naturalists' Trust and it is one of forty-six wildlife trusts covering Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Alderney. SWT carries out conservation activities on a considerable area of Surrey County Council's large countryside estate and also manages land on behalf of the Ministry of Defence estate. As of 2022 the SWT manages more than 6,000 hectares of land for wildlife and employs more than 100 staff. It had an income of £5.1 million and expenditure of £5.7 million.
Witley Common is an area of woodland and heath, close to Witley, Surrey, in the United Kingdom. It is part of a much larger Site of Special Scientific Interest, the Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons.
Hankley Common is a 560-hectare (1,400-acre) nature reserve and filming location in the south-west of Elstead in Surrey. It is owned by the Ministry of Defence. The site is part of the Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area and Site of Special Scientific Interest. The site has woodland and lowland heath with heather and gorse. Birds include nightjars and Dartford warblers and there are other fauna such as adders and common lizards.
Ash to Brookwood Heaths is a 1,576.3-hectare (3,895-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Guildford in Surrey. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. It is part of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area and the Thursley, Ash, Pirbright and Chobham Special Area of Conservation. An area of 1,392 hectares is managed as a nature reserve by the Surrey Wildlife Trust.
Colony Bog and Bagshot Heath is a 1,130.5-hectare (2,794-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Camberley and Woking in Surrey, England. Part of it is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. It is part of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area and the Thursley, Ash, Pirbright and Chobham Special Area of Conservation. It includes Brentmoor Heath, a Local Nature Reserve which is managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust
Combe Bottom is a 42.1-hectare (104-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Shere in Surrey. It is designated a Local Nature Reserve called Shere Woodlands, and is managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust.
Hankley Farm is a 2.4-hectare (5.9-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) west of Elstead in Surrey.
Ockham and Wisley Commons is a 266-hectare (660-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Woking in Surrey. It is also a Local Nature Reserve and part of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area. It is part of the slightly larger area of 297-hectare (730-acre) Wisley & Ockham Commons & Chatley Heath nature reserve, which is owned by Surrey County Council and managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust.
Thursley Common is a national nature reserve in Surrey, England, and has also been designated as a Ramsar wetland. It is also part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest called Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons.
Whitmoor Common is a 166-hectare (410-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the northern outskirts of Guildford in Surrey. It is part of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area and the 184.9-hectare (457-acre) Whitmoor and Rickford Commons Local Nature Reserve, which is owned by Surrey County Council and managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust.
Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons is a 1,878.5-hectare (4,642-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Godalming in Surrey. Thursley and Hankley Commons are Nature Conservation Review sites, Grade I. An area of 115.1 hectares is a local nature reserve called The Flashes and an area of 180 hectares is the Elstead Group of Commons, a nature reserve managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust. Thursley Common is a national nature reserve. An area of 265.7 hectares is the Thursley & Ockley Bogs Ramsar site. The site is a Special Protection Area and part of the Thursley, Ash, Pirbright & Chobham Special Area of Conservation.
Bisley and West End Commons is a 37.2-hectare (92-acre) Local Nature Reserve west of Woking in Surrey. It is part of the 46-hectare (110-acre) Bisley & West End Commons and Reidon Hill nature reserve, which is owned by Surrey County Council and managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust. The site is also part of the Colony Bog and Bagshot Heath Site of Special Scientific Interest, the Thursley, Ash, Pirbright & Chobham Special Area of Conservation and the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area,
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.
The Flashes is a 115.1-hectare (284-acre) Local Nature Reserve west of Godalming in Surrey. It is owned by the National Trust and managed by Waverley Borough Council. It is part of Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Thursley, Ash, Pirbright & Chobham Special Area of Conservation and Thursley, Hankley & Frensham Commons Special Protection Area,
Ash Ranges is a 1,392-hectare (3,440-acre) nature reserve west of Pirbright in Surrey. It is owned by the Ministry of Defence and managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area and the Ash to Brookwood Heaths Site of Special Scientific Interest
Barossa is a 498-hectare (1,230-acre) nature reserve north of Camberley in Surrey. It is owned by the Ministry of Defence and managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area and the Broadmoor to Bagshot Woods and Heaths Site of Special Scientific Interest
Thundry Meadows is a 16-hectare (40-acre) nature reserve in Elstead in Surrey. It is managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust. Part of it is Charleshill Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Charleshill SSSI is a 10.1-hectare (25-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Elstead in Surrey. It is part of Thundry Meadows nature reserve, which is owned and managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust