Wormsley Chalk Banks

Last updated
Wormsley Chalk Banks
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Wormsley Chalk Banks 6.JPG
View of easternmost area and the neighbouring countryside
Location Buckinghamshire
Oxfordshire
Grid reference SU747926 SU751923
SU737932 SU728936
SU745938 SU736958
InterestBiological
Area14.1 hectares
Notification 1989
Location map Magic Map

Wormsley Chalk Banks are six separate areas which together are a 14.1-hectare (35-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Turville in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. The site is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. [1] [2]

The site has chalk grassland which is rich in both plant and invertebrate species which have sharply declined nationally. The areas vary, with the dominant grass being sheep's fescue in some, which have the greatest variety of plants, while others with deeper soils have coarser grasses such as upright brome and tall oat-grass. Flowers include bee and fly orchids, the latter of which have become more scarce. Invertebrates include a variety of butterflies, harvest spiders and slow-worms. [1]

Public footpaths cross several of the areas.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windsor Hill</span> Biological Site

Windsor Hill is a 61.8 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Princes Risborough in Buckinghamshire. It lies within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and it is featured in the Nature Conservation Review. A small part is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, and access to this area requires a permit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp Down</span>

Camp Down is a 7.3-hectare (18-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire in South West England. It was designated as such in 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ingrebourne Marshes</span>

Ingrebourne Marshes are a 74.8 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Hornchurch in the London Borough of Havering. Ingrebourne Valley Local Nature Reserve includes a small part of the SSSI west of the River Ingrebourne. The site is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woldingham and Oxted Downs</span>

Woldingham and Oxted Downs is a 128.4-hectare (317-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Caterham in Surrey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Totternhoe Knolls</span>

Totternhoe Knolls is a 13.1 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Totternhoe in Bedfordshire. It is also a local nature reserve, and part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The site is owned by Central Bedfordshire Council and leased to the National Trust. Most of the site is maintained jointly by the National Trust and the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (WTBCN), and is part of the WTBCN Totternhoe nature reserve, which also includes Totternhoe Chalk Quarry and Totternhoe Stone Pit. The SSSI also includes Totternhoe Castle, the earthworks of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle which is a Scheduled monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Totternhoe Chalk Quarry</span>

Totternhoe Chalk Quarry is a 13.4 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Totternhoe in Bedfordshire. Part of it lies in Totternhoe nature reserve, which is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. The site is part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deacon Hill SSSI</span>

Deacon Hill SSSI is a 35.4 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Pegsdon in Bedfordshire. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and it is part of the Pegsdon Hills and Hoo Bit nature reserve, managed by Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve</span> A Chiltern Hills nature reserve

Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve is located on the north-west escarpment of the Chiltern Hills, in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It has an area of 159.1 hectares, and most of it is a 128.5 hectares biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is listed as a Grade 1 site in A Nature Conservation Review. The reserve is in several sections, mostly in the parish of Lewknor in Oxfordshire, with smaller sections in the parish of Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hackpen, Warren & Gramp's Hill Downs</span>

Hackpen, Warren & Gramp's Hill Downs is a 71.4-hectare (176-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Letcombe Bassett in Oxfordshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frogmore Meadows</span>

Frogmore Meadows is a 4.6-hectare (11-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire, north of the village of Chenies. It consists of two meadows in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, next to the River Chess, one of which is a Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust nature reserve. The planning authorities are Three Rivers District Council, Dacorum Borough Council and Chiltern District Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarratt Bottom nature reserve</span> Meadow in Hertfordshire, England

Sarratt Bottom nature Reserve in Hertfordshire is a 3.2 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. The site is a meadow beside the River Chess. It is an example of damp grassland which has been traditionally managed for grazing. There are also areas of swamp and marsh. The main plants in grassland areas include sweet vernal grass and meadow foxtail, and marsh horsetail and common spike-rush are common in damper areas. The site has hedgehogs and a wide variety of wetland birds and invertebrates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gomm Valley</span>

Gomm Valley is a 4.1-hectare (10-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Micklefield, a district of High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. It is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust and is part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The local planning authority is Wycombe District Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homefield Wood</span>

Homefield Wood is a 6.1 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest in Hambleden in Buckinghamshire. It is owned by the Forestry Commission, and managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dancersend Waterworks</span>

Dancersend Waterworks is a 4 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Spencersgreen south of Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire. It was formerly a private waterworks supplying the Rothschild Dancersend estate, and is now owned by Thames Water. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. A cooling pond within the Thames Water site is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turville Hill</span>

Turville Hill is a 22.4 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Turville in Buckinghamshire. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Cobstone Windmill, also known as Turville Windmill, is located at the top.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fayland Chalk Bank</span>

Fayland Chalk Bank is a 0.6 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest in Parmoor, south of Lane End in Buckinghamshire. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frieth Meadows</span> Site of Special Scientific Interest in Frieth, Buckinghamshire, England

Frieth Meadows is a 2.5 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest in Frieth in Buckinghamshire. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buttlers Hangings</span>

Buttlers Hangings is a 3.9 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest north of West Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aston Rowant Woods</span>

Aston Rowant Woods is a 209.7-hectare (518-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Aston Rowant in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Part of it is in Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve, and a large part is in the Chiltern Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation. The site is also in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Island Meadows</span>

Temple Island Meadows is a 14.1-hectare (35-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the Buckinghamshire bank of the River Thames. It is north of Henley-on-Thames and opposite Temple Island, an island in the Thames.

References

  1. 1 2 "Wormsley Chalk Banks citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  2. "Map of Wormsley Chalk Banks". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 11 February 2016.

Coordinates: 51°38′17″N0°55′26″W / 51.638°N 0.924°W / 51.638; -0.924