Wingletang Down (St Agnes)
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Wingletang Down is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the southern side of the island of St Agnes in the Isles of Scilly, England, UK, which is noted for its biological characteristics. The site is managed by the
Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust The Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, formed in 1985, is a Wildlife Trust covering the Isles of Scilly, a group of islands off the coast of Cornwall. It became the 46th member of The Wildlife Trusts in 2001 and is dedicated to ensuring that the a ...
and is within the Isles of Scilly Heritage Coast and the Isles of Scilly
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of ...
. It is the only site in Great Britain and Ireland for the small
fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...
, least adder's–tongue (''
Ophioglossum lusitanicum ''Ophioglossum lusitanicum'', the least adder's-tongue, is a small fern of the family Ophioglossaceae. It is a pan-tropically species categorised as least concern by the IUCN (2001). Description ''Ophioglossum lusitanicum'' is a small winter ...
''). As of 11 September 2009 the SSSI was considered to be in ″unconditional recovering″ condition because European gorse (''
Ulex europaeus ''Ulex europaeus'', the gorse, common gorse, furze or whin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to the British Isles and Western Europe. Description Growing to tall, it is an evergreen shrub. The young stems are g ...
'') and bramble (''
Rubus fruticosus ''Rubus fruticosus'' L. is the ambiguous name of a European blackberry species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the rose family. The name has been interpreted in several ways: *The species represented by the type specimen of ''Rubus fruticosus'' L., ...
'') are at unacceptable levels.


History

Forty–three
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 ...
cairns have been recorded, some of which have granite kerbstones and others are linked by hedge walls. A cairn usually indicates a burial site. On the west side of St Warna's Cove is a stone–lined well that is reputed to be of great antiquity, and close to where the saint is supposed to have come ashore in a
coracle A coracle is a small, rounded, lightweight boat of the sort traditionally used in Wales, and also in parts of the West Country and in Ireland, particularly the River Boyne, and in Scotland, particularly the River Spey. The word is also used of ...
after a journey from Ireland. The name Warna is unknown anywhere else as a Celtic saint, and may be the name of a Celtic water goddess. In the past pins were dropped into the well as an offering to encourage storms to drive ships ashore. Wrecks were a vital resource for coastal communities. Ceramic beads from the 17th-century wreck of a Venetian ship can be found on the beach at Beady Pool on Wingletang Bay.


Geology

The underlying rock is
Hercynian The Variscan or Hercynian orogeny was a geologic mountain-building event caused by Late Paleozoic continental collision between Euramerica (Laurussia) and Gondwana to form the supercontinent of Pangaea. Nomenclature The name ''Variscan'', come ...
granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
covered by thin, skeletal and
podzolic In soil science, podzols are the typical soils of coniferous or boreal forests and also the typical soils of eucalypt forests and heathlands in southern Australia. In Western Europe, podzols develop on heathland, which is often a construct of huma ...
soils on the higher land where there are many weathered outcrops. At the southernmost tip is Horse Point which is almost separated from the rest of St Agnes by a narrow neck of blown sand between two bays; Wingletang Bay and Porth Askin. Along the coast to the west towards St Warna Cove are boulder beaches.


Wildlife and ecology

Wingletang Down is of maritime heath, dune grassland and scrub reaching a maximum height of above sea level and is considered by
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 ...
to be an
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 ...
. Due to exposure to salt–laden winds, wind-pruned or "waved" maritime heath has developed on the low nutrient, shallow soils on the higher land, whilst to the south on the deeper sandy soils close to sea–level dune grassland grows. At the southern promontory of Horse Point there is short maritime grass and a tumble of large granite boulders where shallow temporary brackish pools occur. Sea milkwort ('' Glaux maritima'') is a rare plant in Scilly and grows here. Sand sedge ('' Carex arenaria'') and sand couch ('' Elytrigia juncea'') dominate the dune grassland between Wingletang Bay and Porth Askin whilst flowering plants include common storksbill ('' Erodium cicutarium''), Portland spurge ('' Euphorbia portlandica'') and hemlock water dropwort (''
Oenanthe crocata ''Oenanthe crocata'', hemlock water-dropwort (sometimes known as dead man's fingers) is a flowering plant in the carrot family, native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia. It grows in damp grassland and wet woodland, often along river and s ...
'') which is unusual here as it usually grows in wet habitats. At Beady Pool, which is part of Wingletang Bay, sea kale ('' Crambe maritima'') grows on the strandline along with yellow horned poppy (''
Glaucium flavum ''Glaucium flavum'', the yellow horned poppy, yellow hornpoppy or sea poppy, is a summer flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae. It is native to Europe, Northern Africa, Macaronesia and temperate zones in Western Asia. The plant grows on th ...
'') and sea spurge (''
Euphorbia paralias ''Euphorbia paralias'', the sea spurge, is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae, native to Europe, northern Africa and western Asia. The species is widely naturalised in Australia. It invades coastal areas, displacing local ...
''). There is a colony of six–spot burnet ('' Zygaena filipendulae'') here and in the past ringed plover ('' Charadrius hiaticula'') nested. The nationally scarce (but common on all the inhabited islands) early meadow grass ('' Poa infirma'') grows in the short maritime grass west of Porth Askin. The wind pruned maritime heath, on the higher part of the site is dominated by western gorse (''
Ulex gallii ''Ulex gallii'', the western gorse or dwarf furzeA R Clapham, T G Tutin, E F Warburg, ''Flora of the British Isles'', Cambridge, 1962, p. 332 is an evergreen shrub in the pea family (Fabaceae), native to the Atlantic coasts of western Europe: sou ...
''), heather ('' Calluna vulgaris'') and bell heather (''
Erica cinerea ''Erica cinerea'', the bell heather, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, native to western and central Europe. The plant provides a great deal of nectar for pollinators. It was rated in the top 5 for most nectar produc ...
''). This heath is unique because all three ''
Ophioglossum ''Ophioglossum'', the adder's-tongue ferns, is a genus of about 50 species of ferns in the family Ophioglossaceae. The name ''Ophioglossum'' comes from the Greek meaning "snake-tongue".
'' species found in the
British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
have been recorded within this small area. The largest and easiest to find is adder's–tongue (''
Ophioglossum vulgatum ''Ophioglossum vulgatum'', commonly known as adder's-tongue, southern adders-tongue or adders-tongue fern, is a species of fern in the family '' Ophioglossaceae''. The adder’s tongue fern is generally believed to have the largest number of chr ...
'') which is the commonest on the mainland but the rarest in Scilly and has not been seen in the Isles (on St Agnes) since 1990, or on Wingletang Down since 1938. The second which has been recorded on all the inhabited islands is small adders's–tongue ('' Ophioglossum azoricum''), which is nationally scarce and found along the western coast of Britain and Ireland north to Orkney and Shetland; there is only one recent Cornish (unconfirmed) record from near
Porthgwarra Porthgwarra ( kw, Porth Gorwedhow, meaning ''very wooded cove'') is a small coastal village in the civil parish of St Levan, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom situated between Land's End and Porthcurno. Access to the cove is via a minor ro ...
. The third is least adder's–tongue which, in Britain, is known only from this small area of St Agnes, where it was discovered in March 1950 by
John Raven John Earle Raven (13 December 1914 – 5 March 1980) was an English classical scholar, notable for his work on presocratic philosophy, and amateur botanist. Early life and education John Raven was born on 13 December 1914 in Cambridge, the ...
who found a colony of about one hundred fronds covering an area of one square metre. Botanists have since found other colonies all within the area of the downs. The probable reason for its late discovery is because the fronds are found in the winter and turn yellow and disintegrate by early April which is before most botanists are in the area. Since the withdrawal of grazing by cattle and, due to
Myxomatosis Myxomatosis is a disease caused by ''Myxoma virus'', a poxvirus in the genus '' Leporipoxvirus''. The natural hosts are tapeti (''Sylvilagus brasiliensis'') in South and Central America, and brush rabbits (''Sylvilagus bachmani'') in North A ...
, the fall in the population of rabbits (''
Oryctolagus cuniculus The European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') or coney is a species of rabbit native to the Iberian Peninsula (including Spain, Portugal, and southwestern France), western France, and the northern Atlas Mountains in northwest Africa. It has b ...
''), some of the colonies are in danger of being smothered by competitive vegetation such as bracken (''
Pteridium aquilinum ''Pteridium aquilinum'' (bracken, brake or common bracken), also known as eagle fern, is a species of fern occurring in temperate and subtropical regions in both hemispheres. Originally native to Eurasia and North America, the extreme lightness o ...
''), European gorse and bramble. Outside of the Isles of Scilly the nearest colony is in Guernsey where it was discovered in 1854.


References


External links


Lowland heathland – a cultural and endangered landscape

Isles of Scilly Seabird Recovery Project

Isles of Scilly Seabird Recovery Project: Frequently asked questions

The Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Beauty

The Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust

The Megalithic Portal

Friendly Guides
{{SSSIs Cornwall biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the Isles of Scilly Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1971 St Agnes, Isles of Scilly