Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
![]() | |
Area of Search | Surrey |
---|---|
Grid reference | TQ 077 588 [1] |
Interest | Biological |
Area | 266.0 hectares (657 acres) [1] |
Notification | 1986 [1] |
Location map | Magic Map |
Ockham and Wisley Commons is a 266-hectare (660-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Woking in Surrey. [1] [2] It is also a Local Nature Reserve [3] [4] and part of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area. [5] 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. [6]
This site is mainly heathland but it also has areas of open water, bog, woodland and scrub. It has a rich flora and it is of national importance for true flies and for dragonflies and damselflies. Rare species include the white-faced darter dragonfly and the Thyridanthrax fenestratus bee fly. [7]
There is public access to the site.
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. In 2002 it took over Surrey County Council's large countryside estate. As of 2018 the SWT manages more than 7,000 hectares of land for wildlife and employs more than 100 staff. It had an income of £5.4 million and expenditure of £5.3 million.
Hothfield Common is a 56.5-hectare (140-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-east of Ashford in Kent. It is also a Local Nature Reserve, and is part of the 86-hectare (210-acre) Hothfield Heathlands nature reserve owned by Ashford Borough Council and managed by Kent Wildlife Trust.
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.
Broadmoor to Bagshot Woods and Heaths is a 1,696.3-hectare (4,192-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Berkshire and Surrey that extend from a minority of the parish of Crowthorne including around Broadmoor Hospital in the west to Bagshot south-east, Bracknell north-east, and Sandhurst, south. It is part of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area. Two nature reserves which are managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust are in the SSSI, Barossa nature reserve and Poors Allotment. Broadmoor Bottom, which is part of Wildmoor Heath, also falls within the SSSI; this reserve is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 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. 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
Epsom Common is a 177.4-hectare (438-acre) Local Nature Reserve in Epsom in Surrey. It is owned and managed by Epsom and Ewell Borough Council. It is part of Epsom and Ashtead Commons, a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Reigate Heath is a 61.7-hectare (152-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Reigate in Surrey. An area of 51.6 hectares is also a Local Nature Reserve. Seven bowl barrows dating to the Bronze Age are designated Scheduled Monuments.
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.
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
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. The site is part of Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons Special Protection Area and Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Poors Allotment is a 76-hectare (190-acre) nature reserve north of Camberley in Surrey. It is owned by Windlesham United Charities and managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust. It is part of Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area and Broadmoor to Bagshot Woods and Heaths Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Castle Bottom to Yateley and Hawley Commons is a 922.7-hectare (2,280-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Fleet in Hampshire. It is part of Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area for the conservation of wild birds and an area of 30.8 hectares is designated a National Nature Reserve called Castle Bottom.
![]() | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ockham and Wisley Commons . |