| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 | |
| Area of Search | Leicestershire |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | SK 794 309 [1] |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 11.3 hectares [1] |
| Notification | 1983 [1] |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Terrace Hills Pasture is an 11.3 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Eastwell in Leicestershire. [1] [2]
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".
Eastwell is a village and ecclesiastical parish in Leicestershire, England.
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warwickshire to the south-west, Staffordshire to the west, and Derbyshire to the north-west. The border with most of Warwickshire is Watling Street.
This site has been designated an SSSI as an example of old calcareous pasture, but some areas are former quarries, and as a result there is an undulating terrain. The dominant grasses are crested dog's-tail, sweet vernal grass and red fescue, and there is also a small stream with an area of marsh. [3]
Calcareous is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines.
The site is composed of two adjoining fields. There is no public access to the larger western field, but a public footpath goes through the smaller eastern one.
