Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
Location | Hampshire |
---|---|
Grid reference | SZ 331 930 [1] |
Interest | Biological Geological |
Area | 1,077.3 hectares (2,662 acres) [1] |
Notification | 1986 [1] |
Location map | Magic Map |
Hurst Castle and Lymington River Estuary is a 1,077.3-hectare (2,662-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Lymington in Hampshire. [1] [2] It is a Nature Conservation Review site [1] and two areas are Geological Conservation Review sites. [3] [4] Three areas are local nature reserves, Boldre Foreshore, [5] Sturt Pond [6] and Lymington and Keyhaven Marshes; [7] the latter site is managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. [8] Part of it is North Solent National Nature Reserve. [9] It is part of Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar site and Special Protection Area. [10] [11] Parts of it are in Solent Maritime and Solent and Isle of Wight Lagoons Special Areas of Conservation. [12] [13]
The SSSI covers nine kilometres (5.6 mi) along the north-western shore of The Solent, covering a wide variety of coastal habitats which have a restricted distribution on the south coast of England, these all having biological and geomorphological importance. On the seaward side of the seawall the SSSI encompasses three estuaries of substantial streams and their associated intertidal mudflats, marshes dominated by Spartina anglica as well as higher level saltmarsh. Inland of the sea wall there is a belt of freshwater and brackish water marsh which surround a number of lagoons, the water in these lagoon varies from brackish to fresh and they are the habitat for a number of species rare invertebrates and plants which are of international importance. A well developed shingle spit, called Hurst Spit, forms the south western boundary of the site. It is geologically important as the basis of a seminal paper explaining the relationship of beach alignment to the direction of dominant waves. [14]
The Hurst Castle And Lymington River Estuary SSSI is one of five sites in the United Kingdom where the starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis is found, this is listed by the IUCN as Vulnerable [15] and outside of the United Kingdom is found only in a few sites in the eastern North America. [14] It is also the only known site in Britain where the polychaete Armandia cirrhosa and the amphipod Gammarus insensibilis , both of which are at their most northerly known sites in the lagoons behind the seawall here. [14]
The mudflats are used by a wide variety of birds to feed on. Flocks of brent geese, Eurasian wigeon and Northern pintail use the estuary in the winter while waders such as dunlin, black-tailed godwit and grey plover feed on the mud and roost in the marshes and shingle ridges. sandwich and little terns nest on the shingle ridges alongside black-headed gulls. Together with great cormorants these fish eating birds hunt their prey in the rich waters of the area. Birds of prey, such as Western marsh harriers, peregrine falcons, and merlins are attracted by flocks of wildfowl and waders. [8]
The marshes were originally used for salt production but this ceased in the 19th century and the land reverted to saltmarsh. [14]
The Lymington River drains part of the New Forest in Hampshire in southern England. Numerous headwaters to the west of Lyndhurst give rise to the river, including Highland Water, Bratley Water and Fletchers Water. From Brockenhurst the river runs southwards to the Solent at Lymington.
Orford Ness is a cuspate foreland shingle spit on the Suffolk coast in Great Britain, linked to the mainland at Aldeburgh and stretching along the coast to Orford and down to North Weir Point, opposite Shingle Street. It is divided from the mainland by the River Alde, and was formed by longshore drift along the coast. The material of the spit comes from places further north, such as Dunwich. Near the middle point of its length, at the foreland point or 'Ness', once stood Orfordness Lighthouse, demolished in summer 2020 owing to the encroaching sea. In the name of the lighthouse, 'Orfordness' is written as one word.
The Solent Way is a 60-mile (97 km) long-distance footpath in Hampshire, southern England. With the exception of a few inland diversions, the path follows the coast of the Solent, the sea strait that separates the mainland from the Isle of Wight. The Solent Way forms part of the E9 European Coastal Path, which runs for 5000 km (3125 miles) from Cape St Vincent in Portugal to Narva-Jõesuu in Estonia.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is a Wildlife Trust with 27,000 members across the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, England.
Langstone Harbour is a 2,085.4-hectare (5,153-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Hampshire. It is an inlet of the English Channel in Hampshire, sandwiched between Portsea Island to the south and west, Hayling Island to the south and east, and Langstone to the north. It is part of the Ramsar site of Langstone and Chichester Harbour Special Protection Area and Nature Conservation Review site. Parts are Special Areas of Conservation, or Local Nature Reserves, and some areas by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.
Havergate Island is the only island in the county of Suffolk, England. It is found at the confluence of the River Ore and the Butley River near the village of Orford. It is a marshy nature reserve run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and is known for its population of pied avocets and terns. It is part of the ecologically important Alde-Ore Estuary and has protected conservation status as part of a national nature reserve, SSSI, SAC, SPA, Ramsar Site and is also a part of the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB.
Keyhaven is a hamlet on the south coast of England in the county of Hampshire. It is a fishing village, but the trade has been in decline for a period of years and its main draw now is tourism, especially sailing.
Keyhaven, Pennington, Oxey and Normandy Marshes, also known as the North Solent Marshes, are three areas of saltmarsh in Hampshire, England. The haven outpost of Milford-on-Sea, Keyhaven sits to the west, the village of Pennington to the north, and the town of Lymington to the northeast. The marshes lie behind Hurst Spit and fall within the Hurst Castle And Lymington River Estuary Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Hurst Spit is a one-mile-long (1.6 km) shingle bank near the village of Keyhaven, at the western end of the Solent, on the south coast of England. The spit shelters an area of saltmarsh and mudflats known as Keyhaven and Pennington marshes. At the end of the spit is Hurst Castle, an artillery fortress originally built on the orders of King Henry VIII, and much enlarged in the 19th century. Hurst Point Lighthouse was built on the end of Hurst Spit in the 1860s.
Lee-on-The Solent to Itchen Estuary is a 585.9-hectare (1,448-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest which stretches along the coast between Southampton and Gosport in Hampshire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site. It is part of Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar site and Special Protection Area, and of Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation. Three areas are Local Nature Reserves, Chessel Bay, Hook with Warsash and Mercury Marshes. One area is Hamble Common Camp, a Scheduled Monument.
Lymington River SSSI is a 34.8-hectare (86-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest along Lymington River and its tributaries between Lymington, Burley and Stoney Cross in Hampshire. Highland Water is a Geological Conservation Review site and Ober Water is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. Parts of the site are in The New Forest and Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar sites, and in The New Forest Special Protection Area.
Lymington River Reedbeds is a 41.7-hectare (103-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Lymington in Hampshire. It is a nature reserve managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. It is part of Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar site and Special Protection Area.
North Solent is a 1,186.7-hectare (2,932-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest along the north bank of the Solent between East End and Calshot in Hampshire. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. Part of it is in North Solent National Nature Reserve and two areas are Geological Conservation Review sites. It is part of Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar site and Special Protection Area, and of Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation. Boldre Foreshore is a local nature reserve.
Boldre Foreshore is a 193.3-hectare (478-acre) Local Nature Reserve east of Lymington in Hampshire. It is owned by New Forest District Council and managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. It is part of Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar site and Special Protection Area, Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation, Hurst Castle and Lymington River Estuary Site of Special Scientific Interest and Lymington and Keyhaven Marshes, a nature reserve managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.
Hook with Warsash is a 251.6-hectare (622-acre) Local Nature Reserve west of Fareham in Hampshire. It is owned by Hampshire County Council and managed by Hampshire Countryside Service. It is part of Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar site and Special Protection Area, of Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation, and of Lee-on-The Solent to Itchen Estuary Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Lymington and Keyhaven Marshes is a 738-hectare (1,820-acre) nature reserve which stretches from Keyhaven along the south coast across the Lymington River in Hampshire. It is managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. It is part of Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar site and Special Protection Area. Some areas are part of two Special Areas of Conservation, Solent and Isle of Wight Lagoons and Solent Maritime and Solent. It is also part of Hurst Castle and Lymington River Estuary, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and of North Solent Marshes Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2. Two areas are Geological Conservation Review sites, and two are Local Nature Reserves, Boldre Foreshore and Lymington-Keyhaven Marshes.
Mercury Marshes is a 6.4-hectare (16-acre) Local Nature Reserve in Hamble-le-Rice in Hampshire. It is owned by Hampshire County Council and managed by Hampshire Countryside Service. It is part of Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar site and Special Protection Area, of Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation, and of Lee-on-The Solent to Itchen Estuary, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Sturt Pond is a 10.9-hectare (27-acre) Local Nature Reserve in Milford on Sea in Hampshire. It is owned and managed by Milford On Sea Parish Council. It is part of Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar site and Special Protection Area, of Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation and of Hurst Castle and Lymington River Estuary, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.