Knettishall Heath is a 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 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 ...

. Despite its name, Knettishall Heath is in fact a diverse mosaic of habitats with

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

and riverside meadows, as well as large areas of

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler a ...

Ecology

The site is heath and grassland, mainly on acidic soils, with areas of secondary woodland and wet hollows. There are heathland plants such as

sheep's sorrel ''Rumex acetosella'', commonly known as red sorrel, sheep's sorrel, field sorrel and sour weed, is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family Polygonaceae. Native to Eurasia and the British Isles, the plant and its subspecies are commo ...

, tormentil,

harebell ''Campanula rotundifolia'', the harebell, Scottish bluebell, or bluebell of Scotland, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This herbaceous perennial is found throughout the temperate regions of the northern hemi ...

, ling and

heath bedstraw ''Galium saxatile'' or heath bedstraw is a plant species of the genus ''Galium''. It is related to cleavers. ''Galium saxatile'' is a perennial mat-forming herb, found on grassland, moors, heaths and woods. It can reach a height of , and flower ...

, while wet areas have fen vegetation including water mint and

yellow iris ''Iris pseudacorus'', the yellow flag, yellow iris, or water flag, is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. It is native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa. Its specific epithet ''pseudacorus'' means "false acorus", ref ...

Rare species

Of the more than 12,500 species living in the Brecks, 30% are nationally rare. The heath is home to the rare grey carpet moth which is only found in Breckland, and the lunar yellow underwing moth. Seven

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

species are found at Knettishall, including the nationally scarce barbastelle bat.

Exmoor ponies

In 2013, a five-year funded project to restore lowland heath at the nature reserve began. As part of this project, 19 wild Exmoor ponies have roamed and grazed the land, helping other species to thrive. The 'Vision for the Future' project was funded by the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

and WREN - a not-for-profit organisation that offers grants for heritage and biodiversity schemes. The shrinkage of heathland has been caused partially by a decline in rabbits grazing; rabbit populations have been decimated by myxomatosis and more recently rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD). The addition of ponies grazing the heathland looks to reverse this shrinkage.

Archaeology

An 18th century rabbit warren and a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

at Hut Hill are evidence of thousands of years of human occupation in the area. At the western end of the heath, ‘patterned ground’ shows evidence of the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

. Repeated freezing and thawing of ground created a unique mix of the sandy soil and the underlying

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...

. Unusual vegetation stripes reflect the two soil types, and the different plants that grow in each.

Footpaths

It is the site where four long-distance footpaths meet: Angles Way,

Icknield Way The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern and eastern England that runs from Norfolk to Wiltshire. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills. Background It is generally said to be, wi ...

, Iceni Way and

Peddars Way The Peddars Way is a long distance footpath that passes through Suffolk and Norfolk, England. Route The Peddars Way is 46 miles (74 km) long and follows the route of a Roman road. It has been suggested by more than one writer that it was n ...

(part of the Norfolk Coast Path, a

National Trail National Trails are long distance footpaths and bridleways in England and Wales. They are administered by Natural England, a statutory agency of the UK government, and Natural Resources Wales (successor body to the Countryside Council for Wal ...

). The Icknield Way joins with the Peddars Way at the end of its journey from Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire. The Icknield Way trail, a multi-user route for walkers, horse riders and off-road cyclists also joins with the Peddars Way riders route. The Hereward Way ends nearby in East Harling, and it linked to Knettishall Heath by path.

Access

There are several access points to the heathland, most found off the road between Knettishall and Rushford villages. The main car park for the area can be found on an unnamed road (informally known as Heath Road) off Spalding's Chair Hill. The A1066 passes within a mile or two of the heathland, where it runs from

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , in 2015 had a population of 24, ...

to Garboldisham.

Gallery

File:Peddars Way - Knettishall Heath.jpg,

on the heath File:Icknield Way, near Euston - geograph.org.uk - 1599671.jpg,

nearby File:Standing In Norfolk - geograph.org.uk - 1619239.jpg, Bridge over

River Little Ouse The River Little Ouse is a river in the east of England, a tributary of the River Great Ouse. For much of its length it defines the boundary between Norfolk and Suffolk. It rises east of Thelnetham, close to the source of the River Waveney, ...

File:Footpath, Knettishall Heath - geograph.org.uk - 1458843.jpg, Footpath on the heath File:Dew Pond on Knettishall Heath - geograph.org.uk - 911519.jpg, Dew Pond on Knettishall Heath File:River Little Ouse at Knettishall - geograph.org.uk - 338087.jpg,

File:Two footpaths meet road - geograph.org.uk - 1458840.jpg, Meeting point of Icknield Way (left) and Peddars Way (right)

References

{{Suffolk Wildlife Trust Suffolk Wildlife Trust Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Suffolk