Newlyn Downs is a 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, UK, noted for its biological characteristics.

Geography

The SSSI, notified in 1997, is located mainly within the civil parish of St Newlyn East, south of the town of

Newquay Newquay ( ; kw, Tewynblustri) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, in the south west of England. It is a civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries, spaceport and a fishing port on the North Atlantic coast of ...

. The streams that rise on the site are tributaries of the

River Gannel The River Gannel ( kw, Dowr Gwyles, meaning '' lovage river'') rises in the village of Indian Queens in mid Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It flows north under Trevemper Bridge and becomes a tidal estuary, the Gannel ( kw, An Ganel, meaning ...

.Ordnance Survey: Explorer map sheet 106 ''Newquay & Padstow'' The Downs are 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 ...

Wildlife and ecology

The soil of the site, deriving from slate-based mudstones and siltstones, is permanently waterlogged in large places. It is the foundation for the largest area in Cornwall of Southern Atlantic wet heath, containing cross-leaved heath (''

Erica tetralix ''Erica tetralix'', the cross-leaved heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to western Europe, from southern Portugal to central Norway, as well as a number of boggy regions further from the coast in Central Europ ...

'') and Dorset heath ('' Erica ciliaris'').

References

Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cornwall Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1997 Special Areas of Conservation in Cornwall {{England-SSSI-stub