| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 | |
| Location | Suffolk |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | TM 199 429 [1] |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 5.1 hectares [1] |
| Notification | 1990 [1] |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Bixley Heath is a 5.1-hectare (13-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the eastern outskirts of Ipswich in Suffolk. [1] [2] It is also a Local Nature Reserve owned and managed by Ipswich Borough Council. [3] [4]
The heath is split between the Ipswich Borough Council and East Suffolk council areas. It is located adjacent to the Broke Hall Farm and Purdis Farm areas of Ipswich and to the west of Ipswich Golf Club on the edge of the urban area. [5]
The site is part of the Suffolk Sandlings area and consists of lowland dry heathland and scarce swamp vegetation along a small valley to the southern edge of the site. The heathland area of the site is dominated by the heather Calluna vulgaris . Other heathers and grass species, such as Common Bent-grass Agrostis capillaris are also present, with some Bracken and scrub tree species on the edges of the site. [6]
The swamp area of the site has Lesser Pond-sedge Carex acutiformis as the dominant plant species, with other species such as Great Reedmace Typha latifolia and Great Willowherb Epilobium hirsutum found in the area. Sallow is found throughout the swamp area with some areas of open reed bed where Common Reed Phragmites australis is found. [6]
Some springs in Bexley Heath contribute to the Bucklesham Mill River.
There is access from Bucklesham Road and Salehurst Road.
Knettishall Heath is a 91.7-hectare (227-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Knettishall in Suffolk. A larger area of 176 hectares is the Knettishall Heath Nature Reserve, which is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.
Chobham Common is a 655.7-hectare (1,620-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Chobham in Surrey. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I and a national nature reserve. It is part of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area and the Thursley, Ash, Pirbright and Chobham Special Area of Conservation. It contains three scheduled monuments. Most of the site is managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust as the Chobham Common nature reserve, but the SSSI also includes a small private reserve managed by the Trust, Gracious Pond.
Suffolk Wildlife Trust (SWT) describes itself as the county's "nature charity – the only organisation dedicated wholly to safeguarding Suffolk's wildlife and countryside." It is a registered charity, and its headquarters is at Brooke House in Ashbocking, near Ipswich. It was founded in 1961, and is one of 46 wildlife trusts covering the Great Britain and Northern Ireland. As of March 2017, it has 13,200 members, and it manages 3,120 hectares of land in 60 nature reserves, most of which are open to the public. It had an income of £3.9 million in the year to 31 March 2017.
Lindow Common is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the western edge of the town of Wilmslow, Cheshire, in the northwest of England. It is also designated a Local Nature Reserve.
Blaxhall is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. Located around 8 miles (13 km) south-west of Leiston and Aldeburgh, in 2007 its population was estimated to be 220, measured at 194 in the 2011 Census.
Breckland in Norfolk and Suffolk is a 39,433 hectare Special Protection Area (SPA) under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The SPA partly overlaps the 7,544 hectare Breckland Special Area of Conservation. As a landscape region it is an unusual natural habitat of England. It comprises the gorse-covered sandy heath that lies mostly in the south of the county of Norfolk but also in the north of Suffolk. An area of considerable interest for its unusual flora and fauna, it lies to the east of another unusual habitat, the Fens, and to the south west of the Broads. The typical tree of this area is the Scots pine. Breckland is one of the driest areas in England.
Hothfield Common is a 56.5-hectare (140-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-east of Ashford in Kent. It is also a Local Nature Reserve, and is part of the 86-hectare (210-acre) Hothfield Heathlands nature reserve owned by Ashford Borough Council and managed by Kent Wildlife Trust.
Foxhole Heath is an 85.2-hectare (211-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Eriswell in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and part of Breckland Special Area of Conservation and Breckland Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.
Wangford Warren and Carr is a 67.8-hectare (168-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Brandon and Lakenheath in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and part of the Breckland Special Area of Conservation, and Special Protection Area An area of 15 hectares is managed as a nature reserve by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust
Blaxhall Common is a nature reserve in the parish of Blaxhall in the East Suffolk District of Suffolk. The reserve is owned by Blaxhall Parish Council and managed by Suffolk Wildlife Trust. It is designated a 45.9-hectare (113-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest as Blaxhall Heath. It is part of the Sandlings Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds, and of the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. A Bronze Age bowl barrow is a Scheduled Monument.
Dingle Marshes is a 93-hectare (230-acre) wildlife reserve on the North Sea coast of the English county of Suffolk. The reserve is located between Dunwich and Walberswick, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) south-west of Southwold. The marshes make up part of the Suffolk Coast National Nature Reserve along with reserves at Walberswick and Hen Reedbeds. They are owned jointly by the RSPB and Suffolk Wildlife Trust and are managed by these two organisations and Natural England. The site is in the Dunwich Heaths and Marshes Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, the Minsmere-Walberswick Ramsar internationally important wetland site, the Minsmere to Walberswick Heaths and Marshes Special Area of Conservation, and the Minsmere-Walberswick Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.
Sutton and Hollesley Heaths is a 483.3-hectare (1,194-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-east of Woodbridge in Suffolk. Most of the site is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust as Sutton and Hollesley Commons. It is part of the Sandlings Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds, and the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Suffolk Coast National Nature Reserve is a wildlife reserve on the North Sea coast of the English county of Suffolk. It is located around the village of Walberswick to the south of the town of Southwold. The reserve was designated in 2003, combining the existing Walberswick National Nature Reserve with reserves at Dingle Marshes and Hen Reedbeds to create a 1,340 hectares reserve.
Berner's Heath is a 236.9-hectare (585-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-east of Icklingham in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, a Special Area of Conservation, and a Special Protection Area
Barnham Heath is a 78.6-hectare (194-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Barnham, a village south of Thetford in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2, and part of the Breckland Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds
Ipswich Heaths is a 39.4-hectare (97-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Ipswich in Suffolk.
Thetford Heaths is a 270.6-hectare (669-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and parts of it are a national nature reserve, and a Geological Conservation Review, It is part of the Breckland Special Area of Conservation, and Special Protection Area A large part of this dry heathland site is calcareous grassland, and some areas are grazed by sheep or rabbits. There are several nationally rare plants and an uncommon heathland bird, and many lichens and mosses.
Burbage Wood and Aston Firs is a 51.1-hectare (126-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Leicestershire.
52°02′28″N1°12′18″E / 52.041°N 1.205°E
