| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 | |
  Location within Berkshire | |
| Location | Berkshire |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | SU 369 639 [1] |
| Coordinates | 51°22′23″N1°28′16″W / 51.373°N 1.471°W |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 3.1 hectares (7.7 acres) [1] |
| Notification | 1986 [1] |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Inkpen Crocus Fields is a 3.1-hectare (7.7-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Inkpen in Berkshire. [1] [2] It is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. [3]
The field is old pasture which has not been ploughed or ‘improved’ with fertilisers. Cattle are used to graze the site in the summer and autumn to ensure coarse grasses don’t out-compete the flower-rich sward and orchids. [4]
The crocus field slopes down to a spring-fed stream, then rises to become fine meadowland. Along the edge of the pasture an old hedgerow offers food and refuge to a host of birds. [3]
Inkpen parish records have shown the crocuses have been there for at least 200 years. [4] There is a local legend that 12th-century Crusaders brought the crocuses back from Europe as a source of saffron to flavour food. [5]
In 1986 the site was designated a site of special scientific interest (SSSI). [6] The site was created as a SSSI not for its crocuses, as they are non-native, but for its species-rich meadowland. [5]
The site has the following fauna: [7] [3] [5]
The site has the following Flora: [6] [7]
The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), is a Wildlife Trust covering the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire in England.
Hartslock, also known as Hartslock Woods, is a 41.8-hectare (103-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in a wooded area on the north bank of the River Thames to the south-east of Goring-on-Thames in the English county of Oxfordshire. An area of 29.4 hectares is a Special Area of Conservation and an area of 10 hectares is a nature reserve owned and managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). The site is well known for the variety of wild orchids that grow on its sloping grassland, and especially for the monkey orchid that grows in very few other places in England.
Sulham and Tidmarsh Woods and Meadows is a 75.7-hectare (187-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Reading in Berkshire. Previously known as Pang Valley SSSI, the site is mostly sandwiched between the River Pang and the Sulham Road and includes Broom Copse, Herridge's Copse, Hogmoor Copse, Park Wood, Moor Copse and Barton's Copse. Much of the southern part of the site is the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust's Moor Copse Nature Reserve. The whole site lies within the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Inkpen Common is a hamlet and former common in the English county of Berkshire, within the civil parish of Inkpen.
Sandhurst to Owlsmoor Bogs and Heaths is an 85.8-hectare (212-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the northern outskirts of Sandhurst in Berkshire. Part of the SSSI is Wildmoor Heath nature reserve, which is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. and the SSSI is part of Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area.
Greenham and Crookham Commons are two adjoining public park areas of 280.5-hectare (693-acre) common land designated as a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in the civil parishes of Greenham and Thatcham, on the southern outskirts of Newbury in the English county of Berkshire.
Dancersend is an 81.3-hectare (201-acre) 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.
Pilch Fields is an 11.1-hectare (27-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) west of Great Horwood in Buckinghamshire. It 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 (SSSI) 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.
Hog's Hole is a 23.7-hectare (59-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in the civil parish of Combe in the English county of Berkshire.
West's Meadow, Aldermaston is a 1.2-hectare (3.0-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Aldermaston in Berkshire.
Heath Lake is a 6-hectare (15-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Berkshire. The SSSI is part of the 22.3-hectare (55-acre) Heathlake Local Nature Reserve, which is owned and managed by Wokingham Borough Council.
Chawridge Bourne is a 9.4-hectare (23-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Berkshire, England Part of the site is a 5-hectare (12-acre) nature reserve called Chawridge Bank, which is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
Watts Bank is a 1.9-hectare (4.7-acre) nature reserve south of Lambourn in Berkshire. It is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. It is designated a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest as White Shute.
Inkpen Common or Inkpen Great Common is a 12.8-hectare (32-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Inkpen in Berkshire. It is managed as a nature reserve by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
Lashford Lane Fen is a 7-hectare (17-acre) nature reserve north of Dry Sandford in Oxfordshire. It is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. It is part of Cothill Fen, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation.
