Spion Kop Quarry () is a nature reserve in Gloucestershire in the Forest of Dean. Kelham, A, Sanderson, J, Doe, J, Edgeley-Smith, M, et al., 1979, 1990, 2002 editions, 'Nature Reserves of the Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation/Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust' The site is managed by the

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust 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 Gl ...

and held under agreement with the Forestry Commission. The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).

Location and use

The site is on Purples Hill and about one and a half miles to the east of Coleford. It lies in the middle of the

Nagshead Nagshead is a woodland reserve, located on the western edge of Parkend, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, and is home to RSPB Nagshead. The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review'. More than half of the reserve consists ...

and Barnhill Plantations. It is a large, deep quarry and is considered to be the best example of a quarry in the Dean

Coal Measures In lithostratigraphy, the coal measures are the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. In the United Kingdom, the Coal Measures Group consists of the Upper Coal Measures Formation, the Middle Coal Measures Formation and the Lower Coal ...

. The quarry's stone blocks would have been durable and much prized for buildings. The quarry is one of many in the

Bixslade Bixslade, occasionally written Bix Slade, is a short, steep-sided, valley in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. It begins on high ground at Bixhead, near Broadwell, and descends sharply to meet the Cannop Valley at Stonyhill Green. Bixslade h ...

area which are on

Pennant Sandstone The Pennant Measures is the traditional name for a sequence of sedimentary rocks of the South Wales Coalfield. They were also referred to as the Upper Coal Measures and assigned to the Westphalian 'C' and Westphalian 'D' stages of the Carbonifero ...

. The quarry became disused in the early 20th century. Shropshire Archives (sic) have photographs of it in operation. It is remote and has developed an interesting flora and fauna. As a consequence there are restrictions on the use of the rock faces for mountaineering purposes. In particular, no climbing is allowed in the nesting season, and the faces which have the best plant growth are not permitted in the climbing routes.

The site

The main rock face is some 100 feet high. There are three parts to it being a south bay, a north bay and a central tower. Opposite the south bay is a small wall which is west facing. There are vistas across the Cannop valley from the spoil tips to the east of the reserve. The boundaries of the reserve have safety fencing.

Flora

This is an area for ferns and many grow in the rock crevices. They include

maidenhair spleenwort ''Asplenium trichomanes'', the maidenhair spleenwort, is a small fern in the spleenwort genus ''Asplenium''. It is a widespread and common species, occurring almost worldwide in a variety of rocky habitats. It is a variable fern with several subs ...

, lady-fern,

scaly male-fern ''Dryopteris affinis'', the scaly male fern or golden-scaled male fern, is a fern native to western and southern Europe and southwestern Asia. It is most abundant on moist soils in woodlands in areas with high humidity, such as the British Isles ...

, western polypody and

hard fern ''Blechnum'', known as hard fern, is a genus of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, subfamily Blechnoideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). Two very different circumscriptions of the genus are used by d ...

. Other species recorded are tutsan, bilberry, wood sage and foxglove. Mosses thrive on the boulders. There is a plantation of

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

and

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

to the west of the reserve. Scrub includes holly,

gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are n ...

bushes,

rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, r ...

, birch, goat willow,

hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

and

elder An elder is someone with a degree of seniority or authority. Elder or elders may refer to: Positions Administrative * Elder (administrative title), a position of authority Cultural * North American Indigenous elder, a person who has and tr ...

Birds

Nesting birds include

common redstart The common redstart (''Phoenicurus phoenicurus''), or often simply redstart, is a small passerine bird in the genus ''Phoenicurus''. Like its relatives, it was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family, (Turdidae), but is now known to be ...

, great tit and blue tit. The wood warbler and turtle dove are recorded visitors.

Conservation

Vistas are maintained to allow the rock face to be seen from beyond the boundary fence. Monitoring is done of the effect on the flora of the climbing activity.

Walks

There is a publication which details places to visit for recreation, and for observing particular wildlife in this part of the Forest of Dean.'Where to see Wildlife in the Forest of Dean', January 2012, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust

Publications

* Kelham, A, Sanderson, J, Doe, J, Edgeley-Smith, M, et al., 1979, 1990, 2002 editions, 'Nature Reserves of the Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation/Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust' * ‘Nature Reserve Guide – discover the wild Gloucestershire on your doorstep’ - 50th Anniversary, January 2011, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust * 'Where to see Wildlife in the Forest of Dean', January 2012, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust

Forestry Commission
Nature reserves in Gloucestershire Forest of Dean Quarries in Gloucestershire