Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
Location | Buckinghamshire |
---|---|
Grid reference | SP718218 |
Interest | Biological |
Area | 45.7 hectares |
Notification | 1990 |
Location map | Magic Map |
Finemere Wood is a 45.7-hectare (113-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Quainton in Buckinghamshire. It is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust and the planning authorities are Aylesbury Vale District Council and Buckinghamshire County Council. [1] [2] [3]
The wood was formerly part of Bernwood Forest, a medieval royal hunting forest. [3] Most of the site is ancient pedunculate oak forest, which has butterflies including the rare wood white and black hairstreak. There is also an area of rough grassland and scrub which is crossed by the River Ray. [1]
The site is open at all times and there is access from the road between Quainton and Edgcott. [3]
Bernwood Forest was one of several forests of the ancient Kingdom of England and was a Royal hunting forest. It is thought to have been set aside as Royal hunting land when the Anglo-Saxon kings had a palace at Brill and church in Oakley, in the 10th century and was a particularly favoured place of Edward the Confessor, who was born in nearby Islip.
The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), is a wildlife trust covering the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire in England.
Bix Bottom is a 102.3-hectare (253-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. It is owned and managed as Warburg Nature Reserve by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
Bacombe and Coombe Hills is a 76.4-hectare (189-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Upper Bacombe in Buckinghamshire. Bacombe Hill was formerly owned by Buckinghamshire County Council, which transferred it to Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust in 2014. Coombe Hill is owned by the National Trust.
Foxcote Reservoir and Wood is a 48.3-hectare (119-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Akeley and Maids Moreton in Buckinghamshire. An area of 34 hectares is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
Gomm Valley is a 4.1-hectare (10-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Micklefield, a district of High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. It is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust and is part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The local planning authority is Wycombe District Council.
Grangelands and Pulpit Hill is a 25.5-hectare (63-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Cadsden in Buckinghamshire. It lies within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the planning authorities are Wycombe District Council and Buckinghamshire County Council.
Hollowhill and Pullingshill Woods is a 23-hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Marlow in Buckinghamshire. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the Chilterns Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation. The local planning authorities are Wycombe District Council and Buckinghamshire County Council. Pullingshill Wood is owned by the Woodland Trust, and Hollowhill Wood was formerly owned by Buckinghamshire County Council, but was transferred to the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. Since November 2015 the 7.8-hectare site has been managed by the Trust as "Hog and Hollowhill Woods".
Homefield Wood is a 6.1 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest in Hambleden in Buckinghamshire. It is owned by the Forestry Commission, and managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
College Lake is a 65 hectare nature reserve in a former chalk quarry in Pitstone in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire. It is one of the flagship reserves of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, and it has an information centre, education facilities, a café, toilets and a shop. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The area east of the lake is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest called Pitstone Quarry.
Dancersend is an 81.3 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) south of Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire. Part of the site is managed by the Forestry Commission and part by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). The BBOWT's 47 hectare nature reserve, called Dancersend with Pavis Woods, extends into fields west of the SSSI. It is in the Chilterns Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Millfield Wood is a 9.5-hectare (23-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. It is owned and managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, and it is in the Chilterns Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Swain's Wood is a 16.2-hectare (40-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Turville in Buckinghamshire. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
Shabbington Woods Complex is a 305.6-hectare (755-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest ( between Horton-cum-Studley and Worminghall in Buckinghamshire. It comprises Shabbington Wood, Bernwood Forest, Hell Coppice, Oakley Wood and York's Wood. Shabbington Wood is owned by the Forestry Commission, and a small area of 7.5 hectares called Bernwood Meadows is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
Rushbeds Wood is a 56-hectare (140-acre) nature reserve near Wotton Underwood in Buckinghamshire, managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). It is a surviving fragment of the ancient Bernwood Forest. The reserve is part of Rushbeds Wood and Railway Cutting, an 80.2-hectare (198-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. This includes a section of the Chiltern Main Line railway cutting, which runs along the north-east side of the BBOWT reserve.
Whitecross Green and Oriel Woods is a 63-hectare (160-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Oxford and Bicester in Oxfordshire. It is owned and managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust under the name Whitecross Green Wood.
Bould Wood is a 58.2-hectare (144-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Shipton-under-Wychwood in Oxfordshire. An area of 23 hectares is Foxholes nature reserve, which is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.