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List Of Sites Of Special Scientific Interest In Somerset
__NOTOC__ This is a list of the Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in Somerset, England, United Kingdom. In England the body responsible for designating SSSIs is Natural England, which chooses a site because of its fauna, flora, geological or physiographical features. There are 127 sites designated in this Area of Search, of which 83 have been designated due to their biological interest, 35 due to their geological interest, and 9 for both. Natural England took over the role of designating and managing SSSIs from English Nature in October 2006 when it was formed from the amalgamation of English Nature, parts of the Countryside Agency and the Rural Development Service. Natural England, like its predecessor, uses the 1974–1996 county system, and as such the same approach is followed here, therefore some sites you may expect to find in this list could be in the Avon list. The data in the table is taken from English Nature in the form of citation sheets for each SSSI.''En ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cheddar
Cheddar most often refers to either: *Cheddar cheese *Cheddar, Somerset, the village after which Cheddar cheese is named Cheddar may also refer to: Places * Cheddar, Ontario, Canada * Cheddar Yeo, a river which flows through Cheddar Gorge and the village of Cheddar Food and service * Cheddaring, a process in the manufacturing of cheddar cheese * Cheddars, a brand of biscuit Other uses *Cheddar (TV channel), a live and on demand financial news network *Cheddar (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), "Cheddar" (''Brooklyn Nine-Nine''), a television episode * Slang for money See also * Cheddar Valley (other) * Cheddar Complex, a biological site of special scientific interest * Cheddar Gorge, the largest gorge in the UK * Cheddar Man, the Mesolithic remains of a human male found in Cheddar Gorge * Cheddar Reservoir, an artificial water reservoir * Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, a Florida-based chain of dining restaurants * Cheddar Wood, a site of special scientific interest {{Disambig, geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aller Hill
Aller Hill () is an 18.4 hectare (45.4 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Aller in Somerset, notified in 1988. The site contains three species of plant which are nationally rare and a further three which are of restricted distribution in Somerset. The central area contains a sward dominated by sheep's fescue (''Festuca ovina'') in combination with yellow oat grass (''Trisetum flavescens'') and quaking-grass (''Briza media''). Salad burnet (''Sanguisorba minor'') forms a major component of the sward with rough marsh-mallow (''Althaea hirsuta'') and nit-grass (''Gastridium ventricosum''), two nationally rare species, also present. Aller and Beer Woods on the slopes of the hill are also designated as a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest 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 are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Briggins Moor
Briggins Moor is a 15.3 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset, notified in 1994. The site is south of Dulverton and close to the border with Devon. This site is an example of unimproved mire of a type which is restricted to south-west England and Wales and which has been significantly reduced in extent in the recent past. Purple moor-grass (''Molinia caerulea'') and meadow thistle (''Cirsium dissectum'') are abundant. There is a large colony of the marsh fritillary The marsh fritillary (''Euphydryas aurinia'') is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. Commonly distributed in the Palearctic region, the marsh fritillary's common name derives from one of its several habitats, marshland. The prolonged larval s ... butterfly (''Eurodryas aurinia''). [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bridgwater Bay
Bridgwater Bay is on the Bristol Channel, north of Bridgwater in Somerset, England at the mouth of the River Parrett and the end of the River Parrett Trail. It stretches from Minehead at the southwestern end of the bay to Brean Down in the north. The area consists of large areas of mudflats, saltmarsh, sandflats and shingle ridges, some of which are vegetated. It has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) covering an area of since 1989, and is designated as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. The risks to wildlife are highlighted in the local Oil Spill Contingency Plan. Several rivers, including the Parrett, Brue and Washford, drain into the bay. Man-made drainage ditches from the Somerset Levels, including the River Huntspill, also run into the bay. The mud flats provide a habitat for a wide range of flora and fauna. These include some nationally rare plants, beetles and snails. It is particularly important for over-wint ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brean Down
Brean Down is a promontory off the coast of Somerset, England, standing high and extending into the Bristol Channel at the eastern end of Bridgwater Bay between Weston-super-Mare and Burnham-on-Sea. Made of Carboniferous Limestone, it is a continuation of the Mendip Hills. Two further continuations are the small islands of Steep Holm and Flat Holm. The cliffs on the northern and southern flanks of Brean Down have large quantities of fossils laid down in the marine deposits about 320–350 million years ago. The site has been occupied by humans since the late Bronze Age and includes the remains of a Romano-Celtic Temple. At the seaward end is Brean Down Fort which was built in 1865 and then re-armed in the Second World War. Brean Down is now owned by the National Trust, and is rich in wildlife, history and archaeology. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to both the geology and presence of nationally rare plants including the white rock-rose. It has also been sche ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Anchor To Lilstock Coast
Blue Anchor to Lilstock Coast SSSI ( to ) is a 742.8 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Blue Anchor and Lilstock in Somerset, notified in 1971. It provides an outstanding series of sections through the Early Jurassic Lower Lias, spanning the Hettangian and Pliensbachian Stages and named the "Lilstock Formation". This sequence and the good Rhaetian succession beneath are repeatedly affected by faulting, making it of interest to geologists and fossil hunters. It also displays coastal geomorphology which demonstrates a particularly well-developed series of intertidal shore platforms varying in width from about 200-600m. The cliff and beach are rich in reptile remains, including complete skeletons. Lilstock also yields ammonites, shells and fish remains. A unique specimen of an ichthyosaur, named ''Excalibosaurus costini'' McGowan, 1986 in which the lower jaw is shorter than the upper was found in the Lower Jurassic Sinemurian Stage, Lower Lias beds on t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Down And Sampford Commons
Black Down and Sampford Commons () is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Devon and Somerset, notified in 1952. The Little Breach reserve, which forms part of the SSSI is an area of heathy grassland on Greensand, with some blackthorn and birch, noted for its butterflies and moths. Blackdown and Sampford Commons have the finest and most extensive surviving examples of the heathland, carr woodland and marshy grassland habitats that have developed on the acidic soils overlying the Greensand and Keuper Marls of the Blackdown Hills. The heathland supports a typical invertebrate fauna, including a wide variety of butterfly species, and with spiders Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species dive ... notably abundant. The site is regionally important for birds which favo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berrow, Somerset
Berrow is a small residential coastal village and holiday area, a civil parish in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, England, situated in between Burnham-on-Sea and Brean. According to the 2011 census it had a population of 1,534. History Berrow was part of the hundred of Brent-cum-Wrington. Governance The parish council has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover the council's operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The parish council evaluates local planning applications and works with the local police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. The parish council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of parish facilities, as well as consulting with the district council on the maintenance, repair, and improvement of highways, drainage, footpaths, public transport, and street cleaning. Conservation matte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben Knowle
Ben Knowle () is a 1.5 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset, notified in 1984. Ben Knowle is a natural outcrop of Celestine rising from the Somerset Levels where contacts with the host rock, Tea Green Marl, can be seen which illustrate the stratigraphic Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithostrati ... setting of the mineral deposit. (accessed 7 August 2006) References External links [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barrington Hill Meadows
Barrington Hill Meadows () is a 16.1 hectare (39.5 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset, England, notified in 1987. Barrington Hill Meadows, 2 km west of the A358, midway between the villages of Windmill Hill and Bickenhall, is an English Nature national nature reserve. This site comprises four meadows surrounded by well established hedges on gently sloping clay-rich soils. It is an outstanding example of a traditionally managed unimproved neutral grassland of a type now rare in Britain. Additional interest lies in the occurrence of an extremely rare grass species. The meadows belong to a type characterised by the widespread occurrence of Sweet Vernal Grass (''Anthoxanthum odoratum''), Crested Dog's-tail (''Cynosurus cristatus''), Cowslip (''Primula veris'') and Green-winged Orchid (''Orchis morio''). A total of 74 different species have so far been recorded. This site is one of only 3 localities in Britain in which the grass ''Gaudinia fragi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barle Valley
Barle Valley is a Site of Special Scientific Interest within Exmoor National Park, situated in the counties of Devon and Somerset through which the River Barle flows. It was notified in its current form under the Wildlife and Countryside Act in 1988. The site includes the Somerset Wildlife Trust's Mounsey Wood Nature Reserve and the Knaplock and North Barton SSSI which has been notified since 1954. Plantlife The Barle Valley, which consists of steep sandstone slopes with acidic soils, contains large areas of ancient upland of Sessile Oak woodland. This woodland is present between and on the valley-side. Over Eighty-five different types of vascular plant species have been recorded in the area, including thirty-one ancient woodland indicators. As well, it features areas of the valley mire, heathland and acidic grassland. These meadows are biodiverse with one of the few sites of great burnet in Exmoor. The mires are fed by springs which flow from the base of the sandstone slop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
River Barle
The River Barle runs from the Chains on northern Exmoor, in Somerset, England to join the River Exe at Exebridge, Devon. The river and the Barle Valley are both designated as biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest. On the Chains above Simonsbath is a former reservoir known as Pinkery Pond. It was formed in the 19th century when John Knight and his son dammed the river at that point. Vestiges of a small water channel sometimes referred to as a 'canal' can be seen nearby. Wheal Eliza Mine was an unsuccessful copper and iron mine on the river near Simonsbath. The river passes under a late medieval six-arch stone Landacre Bridge in Withypool, and the Tarr Steps, a prehistoric clapper bridge possibly dating from 1000 BC. The stone slabs weigh up to 5 tons apiece. According to local legend, they were placed by the devil to win a bet. The bridge is long and has 17 spans. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building. In Dulverton the river i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
