Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
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Location | Bagnor, Berkshire |
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Grid reference | Grid reference SU322798 |
Coordinates | 51°25′13″N1°21′04″W / 51.4202°N 1.3511°W |
Interest | Biological |
Area | 4 hectares (9.9 acres) |
Notification | 1996 |
Location map | DEFRA |
Rack Marsh is a 4-hectare (9.9-acre) nature reserve in Bagnor, on the north-western outskirts of Newbury in Berkshire. It is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. [1] It is part of Kennet and Lambourn Floodplain, which is a Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, [2] [3] and a Nature Conservation Review site. [1] It is also part of the Kennet and Lambourn Floodplain Special Area of Conservation. [4]
Rack Marsh is an old wet meadow. [1] A thick layer of peat has developed on top of the deposits of alluvium and gravel which the river has spread over the chalk. [1] The river Lambourn flows through the meadow.
There is evidence of prehistoric activity in the area: a prehistoric canoe was discovered in the layer of peat by some labourers who were digging a ditch to form a boundary of a garden. [5]
In 1996 the discovery of the rare Desmoulin's whorl snail on the reserve meant that the Newbury bypass was almost stopped, but the high court ruled in the developers' favour. [6] The decision to continue with the construction of the road meant that the nature reserve was cut in size, losing half its area. [7]
The site has the following fauna: [8] [9] [1]
The site has the following flora: [8] [1] [2]
The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of 87 miles (140 km), made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the central canal section. From Bristol to Bath the waterway follows the natural course of the River Avon before the canal links it to the River Kennet at Newbury, and from there to Reading on the River Thames. In all, the waterway incorporates 105 locks.
The River Lambourn is a chalk stream in the English county of Berkshire. It rises in the Berkshire Downs near its namesake village of Lambourn and is a tributary of the River Kennet, which is itself a tributary of the River Thames.
Bagnor is a village close to the town of Newbury in the English county of Berkshire and situated on the banks of the River Lambourn. At the 2011 census the population was included in the civil parish of Speen. It is best known as the home of the Watermill Theatre.
The Newbury bypass, officially known as The Winchester-Preston Trunk Road (A34) , is a 9-mile (14 km) stretch of dual carriageway road which bypasses the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England. It is located to the west of the town and forms part of the A34 road. It opened in 1998.
The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), is a Wildlife Trust covering the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire in England.
Seven Barrows is a Bronze Age bowl barrow cemetery, 4-hectare (9.9-acre) of which are designated a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, at Upper Lambourn in the civil parish of Lambourn in the English county of Berkshire. It is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust and it is a Scheduled Monument.
Kennet and Lambourn Floodplain is a 23.4-hectare (58-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in six widely separated areas in the floodplains of the River Lambourn in Berkshire and the River Kennet in Wiltshire, England. It is a Nature Conservation Review site and part of the Kennet and Lambourn Floodplain Special Area of Conservation. One of the areas, Rack Marsh, is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
Thatcham Reed Beds is a 67.4-hectare (167-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Newbury in Berkshire. It is part of the Kennet & Lambourn Floodplain Special Area of Conservation and an area of 14 hectares is a Local Nature Reserve. An area of 35 hectares is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
Bowdown and Chamberhouse Woods is a 67.9-hectare (168-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Thatcham in Berkshire. An area of 55 hectares is a nature reserve managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
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.
Snelsmore Common is a 104-hectare (260-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Newbury in Berkshire. It is owned by West Berkshire Council and managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
Upper Ray Meadows is a 181-hectare nature reserve, managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, south of Marsh Gibbon in Buckinghamshire. It is composed of a number of areas, one of which, Long Herdon Meadow, is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Padworth Common Local Nature Reserve is a 28-hectare (69-acre) Local Nature Reserve on the edge of the hamlet of Padworth Common, between Reading and Newbury in Berkshire. It is owned by West Berkshire Council and managed by Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
Audrey's Meadow is a 2-hectare (4.9-acre) nature reserve in Newbury in Berkshire. It is owned by West Berkshire Council and 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.
Parsonage Moor is a 6-hectare (15-acre) nature reserve north-west of Abingdon-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. 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. Part of it is in Cothill Fen and Parsonage Moor Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I.
Cothill Fen is a 43.3-hectare (107-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Abingdon-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. It is a Special Area of Conservation and parts of it are a Geological Conservation Review site, a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 1, and a National Nature Reserve. It also includes two areas which are nature reserves managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, Lashford Lane Fen and Parsonage Moor.
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.