Gallows Hill SSSI, Wiltshire

Gallows Hill
Site of Special Scientific Interest

View towards Gallows Hill
Location within Wiltshire
Grid reference ST 952 244
Coordinates 51°01′08″N 2°04′12″W / 51.019°N 2.070°W / 51.019; -2.070Coordinates: 51°01′08″N 2°04′12″W / 51.019°N 2.070°W / 51.019; -2.070
Interest Biological
Area 27.8 hectares (69 acres)
Notification 1965

Gallows Hill SSSI is a Site of Special Scientific Interest on the north side of the Ebble Valley in south Wiltshire. The area is chalk grassland and scrub which contains a number of animal and plant species that are nationally rare. The 27.8 hectares (69 acres) site was notified in 1965.

The site

The site includes three areas of a series of slopes with a range of aspects on a long ridge on a long ridge of Lower, Middle, and Upper Chalk formations.[1] The site lies within the area of the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.[1] The OS grid reference for the site is ST 952 244.[1]

Importance

The site is important as an example of a species rich downland habitat.[1] This type of habitat has been reduced across the country because of changes in agricultural practice.[1]

The site is notable for (in the grassland areas) Festuca ovina (sheep's fescue), Avenula pratensis (meadow oat-grass), Brachypodium pinnatum (tor-grass), and Polyommatus bellargus (Adonis Blue) - a nationally scarce species of butterfly, and in the scrub areas, Crataegus monogyna (common hawthorn), and Hedera helix (ivy).[1]

History

Gallows Hill SSSI was first notified in 1965 under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The notification was revised in 1975.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gallows Hill SSSI Citation (PDF) (Report). English Nature. Retrieved 4 September 2016.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.