Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
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Location | Kent |
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Grid reference | TQ 952 425 [1] |
Interest | Biological |
Area | 80.5 hectares (199 acres) [1] |
Notification | 1989 [1] |
Location map | Magic Map |
Hoad's Wood is an 80.5-hectare (199-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Ashford in Kent. [1] [2]
Natural England described the woodland thus: "This site is a good example of a pedunculate oak-hornbeam woodland on Wealden Clay [comprising] mainly hornbeam coppice-with-standards and oakhazel woodland with some sweet chestnut coppice. There is an outstanding assemblage of insects: moths and butterflies are particularly well documented. The wood also supports a diverse breeding bird community." Birds breeding in the wood include nightingale, woodcock, nuthatch, great-spotted woodpecker and several kinds of tits and warblers. [3]
The site is private land with no public access.
In March 2021, the woodland was the site where the remains of Sarah Everard were found after her abduction and murder. [4]
In January 2024 Hoad's Wood received national attention when it was reported the woodland had become an illegal rubbish dump. Access to the site was blocked by the Environment Agency and a court order put in place to prevent illegal tipping. [5]
Cobham Woods is a 242.7 hectares biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the western outskirts of Rochester in Kent. It is in the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and part of it is managed by the National Trust.
East Blean Woods is a 151.4-hectare (374-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Herne Bay in Kent. It is also a National Nature Reserve a Special Area of Conservation and a Nature Conservation Review site. An area of 122 hectares is managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust.
Park Gate Down or Parkgate Down is a 7-hectare (17-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-east of Stelling Minnis in Kent. It is also a Special Area of Conservation and is managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust,
Sevenoaks Gravel Pits is a 73.7-hectare (182-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the northern outskirts of Sevenoaks in Kent. It is managed by Kent Wildlife Trust as the Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve and Jeffery Harrison Visitor Centre.
Westfield Wood is a 5-hectare (12-acre) nature reserve north of Maidstone in Kent, which is managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Wouldham to Detling Escarpment Site of Special Scientific Interest and Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. It is also in the North Downs Woodlands Special Area of Conservation and the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Wain Wood is an ancient woodland extending to 19.2 hectares near Preston in North Hertfordshire. The site is a Site of Special Scientific Interest which was notified in 1986 under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The local planning authority is North Hertfordshire District Council. It is a relic of a large forest which extended from Hitchin to Hatfield.
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Sheephouse Wood is a 56.9-hectare (141-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Charndon in Buckinghamshire.
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.
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Bovingdon Hall Woods is a 69.4-hectare (171-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Braintree in Essex. It is composed of several woods, including Parkhall Wood, Bovingdon Wood, Shoulder of Mutton Wood, and Maid's Wood.
Belcher's and Broadfield Woods is a 14.4-hectare (36-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Halstead and Braintree in Essex. It is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust as the Brookes Nature Reserve.
Harlow Woods is a 47.1-hectare (116-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Harlow in Essex. It is composed of three woods, Hospital Wood Risden's Wood and Parndon Wood. They are owned and maintained by Harlow District Council, and they are part of the slightly larger Parndon Woods and Common Local Nature Reserve.
Hockley Woods is a large woodland in south-east Essex. It is a Local Nature Reserve, and parts are a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is owned and managed by Rochford District Council.
Parsonage Wood is a 9.7-hectare (24-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-east of Cranbrook in Kent. It is owned and managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust.
Lynsore Bottom is a 70.6-hectare (174-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Folkestone in Kent.
Park Wood is a 31.1-hectare (77-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Chilham in Kent.