Godrevy Head to St Agnes is a coastal Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in north

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, England], noted for both its Flora and fauna of Cornwall, biological and

geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other E ...

characteristics. A number of rare and scarce plant species can be found on the site, along with many breeding seabirds.

Geography

The site, notified in 1951, is situated along the north Cornwall coast of the

Celtic Sea The Celtic Sea ; cy, Y Môr Celtaidd ; kw, An Mor Keltek ; br, Ar Mor Keltiek ; french: La mer Celtique is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the southern coast of Ireland bounded to the east by Saint George's Channel; other limits includ ...

in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. It starts at Godrevy Head (with the Godrevy Towans) in the west and continues for to the north east, through

Portreath Portreath ( kw, Porthtreth or ) is a civil parish, village and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is about three miles (5 km) northwest of Redruth. The village extends along both sides of a st ...

Porthtowan Porthtowan ( kw, Porth Tewyn, meaning ''cove of sand dunes'') is a small village in Cornwall, England which is a popular summer tourist destination. Porthtowan is on Cornwall's north Atlantic coast about west of St Agnes, north of Redruth, w ...

and ends just past St Agnes Head, north of the village of St Agnes.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' The South West Coast Path runs through the SSSI and part of the coastline is owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. Large sections of this site lie within the

Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty The Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covers in Cornwall, England, UK; that is, about 27% of the total area of the county. It comprises 12 separate areas, designated under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 for ...

(AONB).

Geology

The SSSI is predominantly situated on Devonian

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

s and shales, with the area around St Agnes formed from Grampound grit.

Wildlife and ecology

The site provides a variety of different habitats, including

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prin ...

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

, maritime heathland, sand dunes and scrubland which are host to numerous plant species and seabird colonies. For its flora the site is also designated a

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and a ...

Flora

The whole of this SSSI, as well as Cligga Head SSSI, has been designated as ''Godrevy Head to Cligga Point''

Important Plant Area Important Plant Areas (IPA) is a programme set up in the UK, by the organisation Plantlife, to provide a framework for identifying and maintaining the richest sites for plant life, possibly within existing protected areas; though the protection of ...

, by the environmental organisation

Plantlife Plantlife is the international conservation membership charity working to secure a world rich in wild plants and fungi. It is the only UK membership charity dedicated to conserving wild plants and fungi in their natural habitats and helping peo ...

, for it flora. The nationally rare species of shore dock ('' Rumex rupestris'') and wild asparagus (''

Asparagus officinalis Asparagus, or garden asparagus, folk name sparrow grass, scientific name ''Asparagus officinalis'', is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus''. Its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. It was once classified in ...

'') can be found in the maritime grassland habitats, along with the also nationally rare carrot-broomrape ('' Orobanche maritima''), a parasite of wild carrot ('' Daucus carota''). Amongst the common plant species of the maritime heathland the nationally rare Cornish eyebright ('' Euphrasia vigursii''), Dorset heath ('' Erica ciliaris'') and hairy greenweed (''

Genista pilosa ''Genista pilosa'', commonly known as hairy greenweed, silkyleaf broom, silkyleaf woadwaxen and creeping broom, is a plant species in the genus '' Genista''. It is tall and has green coloured stems. It has yellowish coloured flowers which grow i ...

'') can be found as well as the generally rare pale dog-violet ('' Viola lactea''). The sand dunes, found around the east of the site at the Godrevy Towans, supports the nationally rare slender bird's-foot trefoil ('' Lotus angustissimus''). Within the

calcareous grassland Calcareous grassland (or alkaline grassland) is an ecosystem associated with thin basic soil, such as that on chalk and limestone downland. Plants on calcareous grassland are typically short and hardy, and include grasses and herbs such as clover. ...

section of the dunes the rare Portland spurge ('' Euphorbia portlandica'') can be found, as well as a large colony of spotted cat's-ear ('' Hypochaeris maculata''), which are nationally rare.

Fauna

The site contains 25 species of

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...

and 15 dragonfly and

damselfly Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings along ...

species, which include the nationally scarce varieties of silver-studded blue (''Plebejus argus'') and blue-tailed damselfly (''Ischnura pumilio''). Black-legged-Kittiwake

Scarlet and gold star coral are present within the rocky intertidal shores, rare for the Cornish coast; with

grey seal The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or " ...

(''Halichoerus grypus'') having breeding sites within the inaccessible sea caves. The rest of the cliffs, along with the offshore islands, are an important breeding site for a variety of

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

species and are home to the largest Cornish breeding colony of black-legged kittiwake (''Rissa tridactyla''), with 1000–5000 birds being recorded in the area.

References

{{SSSIs Cornwall geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cornwall Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1951 Special Areas of Conservation in Cornwall Nature Conservation Review sites National Trust properties in Cornwall Seabird colonies Cornish coast