Saltbox Hill

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Saltbox Hill
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Saltbox Hill.JPG
Area of Search Greater London
Grid reference TQ402604
TQ408607
Interest Biological
Area 22.2 hectares
Notification 1985
Location map Magic Map
View from Saltbox Hill Saltbox Hill view.JPG
View from Saltbox Hill

Saltbox Hill is a 22.2 biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in three separate areas in Biggin Hill in the London Borough of Bromley. [1] [2] One area of 6.9 hectares is owned and managed by the London Wildlife Trust. It is also a Site of Metropolitan Importance. It is a steeply sloping 55 acre biological site, which is close to Charles Darwin's home, Down House, and inspired him and provided him with a picnic place. [3] [4]

Site of Special Scientific Interest conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom

A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man. SSSI/ASSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in the United Kingdom are based upon them, including national nature reserves, Ramsar sites, Special Protection Areas, and Special Areas of Conservation. The acronym "SSSI" is often pronounced "triple-S I".

Biggin Hill town in the London Borough of Bromley, England

Biggin Hill is an area of South East London within the London Borough of Bromley. It is located south of Bromley and south west of Orpington, and lies close to the border with the counties of Surrey and Kent.

London Borough of Bromley London borough in United Kingdom

It is the largest of the 32 boroughs.

Much of it is chalk grassland which is rich in plants which are rare in Greater London, [1] and it is one of only two sites in London which has the dark green fritillary butterfly. [5] Ten species of orchid and over thirty of butterflies have been recorded. [1] The site also has an area of woodland.

Dark green fritillary species of insect

The dark green fritillary is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. The insect has a wide range in the Palearctic ecozone - Europe, Morocco, Iran, Siberia, Central Asia, China, Korea and Japan.

The site was notified to Natural England in 1985, but by 1999 it was in danger of being lost through neglect, and the London Wildlife Trust launched an appeal to save it. The trust aimed to buy the whole site, but only succeeded in purchasing part of it amounting to seventeen acres. [6] [7]

Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, freshwater and marine environments, geology and soils, are protected and improved. It also has a responsibility to help people enjoy, understand and access the natural environment.

There is access from Hanbury Drive and the road Saltbox Hill.

See also

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Barnsley Warren

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East Blean Woods

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Chiddingfold Forest

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Lydden and Temple Ewell Downs

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Hackhurst and White Downs

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Vann Lake and Ockley Woods

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Plashett Park Wood

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Combe Haven

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Riddlesdown Common

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Saltbox Hill citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  2. "Map of Saltbox Hill". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  3. "Saltbox Hill". London Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  4. "Saltbox Hill and Jewels Wood". Greenspace Information for Greater London. 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  5. Greater London Authority/London Biodiversity Partnership 2007, Dark green fritillary butterfly Archived 2012-03-31 at the Wayback Machine .
  6. London Wildlife Trust, Save Saltbox Hill
  7. Amateur Entomologists' Society, Appeal to save Saltbox Hill, Summer 1999

Coordinates: 51°19′31″N0°00′34″E / 51.3251411°N 0.0093126°E / 51.3251411; 0.0093126

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.