Salmonsbury Meadows () is an biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, notified in 1985.Natural England SSSI information on the citation
/ref> The site is listed in the 'Cotswold District' Local Plan 2001-2011 (on line) as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS). The site is owned and 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 is part of its Greystones Farm nature reserve (). The reserves lie to the east of

Bourton-on-the-Water Bourton-on-the-Water is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, that lies on a wide flat vale within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The village had a population of 3,296 at the 2011 census. Much of the village ...

, which is in the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jur ...

. The site, which includes the

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 area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

(SSSI), was bought in three phases over four years. Salmonsbury Meadows were purchased first in 1999. This was followed in 2000 by the Restoration area, which is a area of improved grassland adjacent to the SSSI. The third part acquired in 2002 secured the whole farm. This final acquisition included Salmonsbury Camp (ramparts are visible), which is a

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. The nature reserve is a site. The River Eye runs through the meadows and the River Dikler forms the eastern boundary. There is a network of public footpaths and the long-distance

Oxfordshire Way The Oxfordshire Way is a long-distance walk in Oxfordshire, England, with 6 miles in Gloucestershire and very short sections in Buckinghamshire. The path links with the Heart of England Way and the Thames Path. The path runs for from Bourton ...

crosses the farm.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' There is fuller history of Greystones Farm, its meadows and Salmonsbury Camp in a publication produced by the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust.'Greystones Farm Nature Reserve – A 6000-year heritage of farming and wildlife', (undated), Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust Further information may be found on the

Dobunni The Dobunni were one of the Iron Age tribes living in the British Isles prior to the Roman conquest of Britain. There are seven known references to the tribe in Roman histories and inscriptions. Various historians and archaeologists have examined ...

, a Celtic tribe which inhabited this area (Iron Age period).Tom Moore, Iron Age Societies in the Severn-Cotswolds: developing narratives of social and landscape change, 2006, BAR British Series 421, pp218-222

Hay meadows

There are eleven meadows which are on

alluvium Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

and

Lower Lias The Lias Group or Lias is a lithostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) found in a large area of western Europe, including the British Isles, the North Sea, the Low Countries and the north of Germany. It consists of marine limestones, ...

clays near the confluence of the Rivers Eye and Dikler. The citation states they are one of the richest and largest traditional meadow systems remaining in the Cotswolds. The meadows are divided by well developed ancient hedges and there are occasional hedgerow trees. The meadows which make up the SSSI support a wide range of species. These include

southern marsh orchid ''Dactylorhiza praetermissa'', the southern marsh orchid or leopard marsh orchid, is a commonly occurring species of European orchid. Description ''Dactylorhiza praetermissa'' grows to tall, with leaves generally unspotted. The flowers, appea ...

and

early marsh orchid ''Dactylorhiza incarnata'', the early marsh-orchid, is a perennial, temperate-climate species of orchid generally found growing in wet meadows, and generally on base-rich soils, up to about 2100m asl. The species occurs widely in Europe and Asia ...

. They support

great burnet ''Sanguisorba officinalis'', commonly known as great burnet, is a plant in the family Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae. It is native throughout the cooler regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, northern Asia, and northern North America. It ...

cuckoo flower ''Cardamine pratensis'', the cuckoo flower, lady's smock, mayflower, or milkmaids, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is a perennial herb native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia. The specific name ''pratensis'' is Latin ...

, quaking grass,

ragged robin ''Silene flos-cuculi'' (syn. ''Lychnis flos-cuculi''), commonly called ragged-robin, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. This species is native to Europe and Asia, where it is found along roads and in wet meadows and p ...

pepper saxifrage ''Silaum silaus'', commonly known as pepper-saxifrage, is a perennial plant in the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) (the carrot family) found across south-eastern, central, and western Europe, including the British Isles. It grows in damp grasslan ...

and meadow rue. Wetland species grow alongside the River Eye. These include

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 ...

marsh marigold ''Caltha palustris'', known as marsh-marigold and kingcup, is a small to medium size perennial herbaceous plant of the buttercup family, native to marshes, fens, ditches and wet woodland in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It flower ...

and meadowsweet.

Eurasian otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of ...

s are recorded to be on adjacent rivers. The River Eye supports one of the county's remaining populations of water vole. The lakes to the south of the SSSI are in private ownership and support water wildlife.

Restoration area and other farmland

The restoration area, which is adjacent to the SSSI, is undergoing a programme of management to improve the diversity of the flora. The remainder of the farm is mainly improved grassland, but there are dense headerows which provide good habitat for a wide range of species.

Conservation

The SSSI is managed by haymaking which is followed by grazing by cattle. Hay cut from the SSSI is spread in the restoration area to support the introduction of additional wildflowers. The Ancient Monument is protected by low intensity grazing.

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' * 'Greystones Farm Nature Reserve – A 6000-year heritage of farming and wildlife', (undated), Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust

References

External links

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust

Natural England SSSI information on the citation

Natural England SSSI information on the Salmonsbury Meadows unit
{{SSSIs Gloucs geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1985 Nature reserves in Gloucestershire Meadows in Gloucestershire Cotswolds