Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
Location | Buckinghamshire |
---|---|
Grid reference | TQ013842 |
Interest | Geological |
Area | 10.3 hectares |
Notification | 1988 |
Location map | Magic Map |
Pitstone Quarry is a 10.3-hectare (25-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Pitstone, Buckinghamshire. [1] [2] It is the area between the lake and the railway line in College Lake nature reserve.
The site exposes deposits of the Middle and Late Pleistocene, during the last half-million years. Most sediments are the result of solifluction, repeated slippage during ice ages, with channels in the slopes filled with sediments. The most recent warm period, the Ipswichian around 125,000 years ago, contains hippopotamus fossils. According to Natural England evaluation continues and "the results are eagerly awaited". [1]
There is access to College Lake from Upper Icknield Way, but the most important exposure is in an area closed to the public.
Pitstone is a village and civil parish in east Buckinghamshire, England. It is at the foot of the central range of the Chiltern Hills, centred 6 miles (10 km) east of Aylesbury and 5 miles (8 km) south of Leighton Buzzard. It directly adjoins the village of Ivinghoe, and the two villages share some facilities.
The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), is a wildlife trust covering the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire in England.
Aldbury Nowers is a 19.7 hectares biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in the Chiltern Hills, north-east of Tring in Hertfordshire. The site was notified in 1990 under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is managed by the Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust. The site, formerly known as "Duchie's Piece," comprises two areas of hillside, linked by The Ridgeway. The calcareous meadow element of the site hosts the flowers of chalk grassland and has butterfly habitats with thirty-four different species of butterfly recently recorded, including the Duke of Burgundy, hairstreaks and the Essex skipper. The site also includes a "beech hanger", a type of upland ancient woodland, and is considered one of the best examples of this feature in Hertfordshire.
Castle Lime Works Quarry is a 1.6 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near South Mimms in Hertfordshire. The site was notified in 1986 under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The site is a disused chalk quarry and according to Natural England:
Quarry Hangers is a 28.5-hectare (70-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-west of Caterham in Surrey. An area of 11 hectares is a nature reserve managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust.
Seale Chalk Pit is a 1.2-hectare (3.0-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Guildford in Surrey. It is a Geological Conservation Review site and part of the Seale Chalk Pit and Meadow 3-hectare (7.4-acre) private nature reserve, which is managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust.
Stockstone Quarry is a 3.9-hectare (9.6-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Farnham in Surrey. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
Westwood Quarry is a 0.07 hectare geological site of Special Scientific Interest west of Watford in Hertfordshire. It was notified in 1987 under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The planning authority is Three Rivers District Council. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
Turners Hill SSSI is a 0.2-hectare (0.49-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Turners Hill in West Sussex. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
Pitstone Hill is a 22.9-hectare (57-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Importance east of Pitstone in Buckinghamshire. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is crossed by the Ridgeway National Trail.
Moor Mill Quarry, West is a 0.16-hectare (0.40-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in How Wood in Hertfordshire. The local planning authority is St Albans City and District Council. It was notified in 1992 as representing the former Moor Mill Quarry SSSI, which was lost to landfill operations. It is listed by the Geological Conservation Review.
Amwell Quarry or Amwell Nature Reserve is a 37 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Great Amwell in Hertfordshire. The planning authority is East Hertfordshire District Council. It is also part of the Lee Valley Ramsar Site and Special Protection Area, and is owned and managed by the Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust.
Sundon Chalk Quarry is a 26.2-hectare (65-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Upper Sundon in Bedfordshire. It was notified in 1989 under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the local planning authority is Central Bedfordshire Council. The site is privately owned but there is free public access.
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.
Aston Clinton Ragpits is a 2.9-hectare (7.2-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire. It is a former chalk quarry, which is now a nature reserve managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Widdenton Park Wood is a 23.5 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest west of High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. It is on the site of a medieval deer park going back to the fourteenth century, and most of it is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Marks Tey Brickpit is a 29.5-hectare (73-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Marks Tey in Essex. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
Winterbourne Chalk Pit is a 0.05-hectare (0.12-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Winterbourne in Berkshire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site. It is located within the North Wessex Downs.
Chinnor Chalk Pit is a 20.4-hectare (50-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Chinnor in Oxfordshire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
Lyehill Quarry is a 2.8-hectare (6.9-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Oxford in Oxfordshire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.