Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
![]() View over Woodchester Park, Gloucestershire | |
Location | Gloucestershire |
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Grid reference | SO820014 |
Coordinates | 51°42′38″N2°16′39″W / 51.710666°N 2.277596°W |
Interest | Biological |
Area | 214.9 hectare |
Notification | 1966 |
Natural England website |
Woodchester Park (grid reference SO820014 ) is a 214.9-hectare (531-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1966. [1] [2] The park grounds are owned and maintained by the National Trust, [3] with Woodchester Mansion managed by the Woodchester Mansion Trust. [4]
The site is in a secluded and sheltered valley in the Cotswold escarpment near Nailsworth. It overlies Jurassic limestone and clays. As a consequence it supports a diversity of wildlife and habitat associated with the woodland, grassland and wetland within this valley. [1]
The site is mostly woodland and managed for timber production. There are remnants of the original semi-natural woodland (beech and ash with wild cherry and yew). There are nationally restricted plants which include fingered sedge, angular Solomon's seal, stinking hellebore and lily-of-the-valley. [1]
Woodchester mansion - an unfinished 19th century mansion house within the park - supports a very important breeding colony of greater horseshoe bats, which feed in the surrounding cattle pasture. A long-term study of the bat colony was set up in late 1950s and continues today. [5] The valley is also of outstanding invertebrate interest for butterflies, moths, dragonflies and some rare snails. There is abundant bird-life and breeding birds include sparrowhawk, green woodpecker and tawny owl. The lakes on the site are also used by overwintering wildfowl, and breeding species such as little grebe and mallard. There are also colonies of the yellow-necked mouse. [1] Additionally, Woodchester Park is notable as the site of the Animal and Plant Health Agency long term study into the epidemiology of bovine tuberculosis in badgers. [6]
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The Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust is the Gloucestershire local partner in a conservation network of 46 Wildlife Trusts. The Wildlife Trusts are local charities with the specific aim of protecting the United Kingdom's natural heritage. The Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust is managed by a board of trustees elected from its membership who provide overall direction for the development of the trust and there are advisory committees. The work of the trust is carried out through staff and volunteers.
The Cotswold Water Park is the United Kingdom's largest marl lake system, straddling the Wiltshire–Gloucestershire border, north-west of Cricklade and south of Cirencester. There are 180 lakes, spread over 42 square miles (110 km2).
Woodchester Mansion is an unfinished, Gothic revival mansion house in Nympsfield, Gloucestershire, England. It is on the site of an earlier house known as Spring Park. The mansion is a Grade I listed building.
Littledean Hall is a country house in the village of Littledean, Gloucestershire, England. It has been described as one of the most haunted houses in England and is thought to be the oldest house in the United Kingdom which is still occupied. Saxon and Celtic remains have been uncovered in the cellars. Part of the house is designated an SSSI as it is a proven breeding roost for the Greater Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum).
Sylvan House Barn is a 0.005-hectare (0.012-acre) stone built barn near the village of St Briavels, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. Because of its breeding bats, the site was notified as a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1995.
Selsley is a village within the civil parish of King's Stanley and district of Stroud, in Gloucestershire, England. It is composed of around 175 houses, scattered around the western and eastern edge of a Cotswold spur, located approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Stroud.
Lady Park Wood National Nature Reserve is a 45-hectare (110-acre) nature reserve straddling the borders of Gloucestershire in England and Monmouthshire in Wales. Most of the wood is in Wales – where it forms Wales' easternmost point – but it is managed under agreement with Natural England.
Daneway Banks is a 17-hectare (42-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1954 and renotified in 1983. It lies half a mile west of Sapperton and is part of a group of wildlife sites in the Frome Valley that includes Siccaridge Wood and Sapperton Canal reserves. The site is in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Upper Wye Gorge is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), noted for its biological and geological characteristics, around Symonds Yat in the Wye Valley on the Wales–England border. The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).
Blaisdon Hall is a Grade II* listed building at Blaisdon. It includes a 0.07-hectare (0.17-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1995.
Buckshaft Mine & Bradley Hill Railway Tunnel is a 5.66-hectare (14.0-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1998. This site comprises two separate locations. One is Buckshaft Mine which is near the village of Ruspidge. The other location is Bradley Hill Railway Tunnel which is near the village of Soudley.
Bull Cross, The Frith and Juniper Hill is a 42.33-hectare (104.6-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1954. The site is listed in the ‘Stroud District’ Local Plan, adopted November 2005, Appendix 6 as an SSSI and Regionally Important Geological Site (RIGS).
Caerwood And Ashberry Goose House is a 0.01-hectare (0.025-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, England, notified in 1991. The site was previously notified as Caerwood, Tidenham and lies within the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Devil's Chapel Scowles is a 44.79-hectare (110.7-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified England, in 1998. The site lies in the Forest of Dean and has four units of assessment by Natural England.
Minchinhampton Common is a 182.7-hectare (451-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, England, notified in 1972.
Old Bow And Old Ham Mines is a 40.3-hectare (100-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1998.
Shorn Cliff And Caswell Woods is a 69.2-hectare (171-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1986. The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).
Westbury Brook Ironstone Mine is a 15.69-hectare (38.8-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1998.
Wigpool Ironstone Mine is a 34.88-hectare (86.2-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1998.