Woodchester Park SSSI

Woodchester Park
Site of Special Scientific Interest
	View over Woodchester Park, Gloucestershire
	Location within Gloucestershire
Location	Gloucestershire
Grid reference	SO820014
Coordinates	51°42′38″N 2°16′39″W / 51.710666°N 2.277596°WCoordinates: 51°42′38″N 2°16′39″W / 51.710666°N 2.277596°W
Interest	Biological
Area	214.9 hectare
Notification	1966
	Natural England website

Woodchester Park (grid reference

SO820014) is a 214.9-hectare (531-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1966.^[1]^[2]

Location and habitat[]

The site is in a secluded and sheltered valley in the Cotswold escarpment near Nailsworth. It overlies Jurassic limestone and clays. As a consequence it supports a diversity of wildlife and habitat associated with the woodland, grassland and wetland within this valley.^[1]

Flora[]

The site is mostly woodland and managed for timber production. There are remnants of the original semi-natural woodland (beech and ash with wild cherry and yew). There are nationally restricted plants which include fingered sedge, angular Solomon's seal, stinking hellebore and lily-of-the-valley.^[1]

Fauna[]

European badger (Meles meles) - a well-studied resident of Woodchester Park.

Woodchester mansion - an unfinished 19th century mansion house within the park - supports a very important breeding colony of greater horseshoe bats, which feed in the surrounding cattle pasture. A long-term study of the bat colony was set up in late 1950s and continues today.^[3] The valley is also of outstanding invertebrate interest for butterflies, moths, dragonflies and some rare snails. There is abundant bird-life and breeding birds include sparrowhawk, green woodpecker and tawny owl. The lakes on the site are also used by overwintering wildfowl, and breeding species such as little grebe and mallard. There are also colonies of the yellow-necked mouse.^[1] Additionally, Woodchester Park is notable as the site of the Animal and Plant Health Agency long term study into the epidemiology of bovine tuberculosis in badgers.^[4]

.

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Natural England SSSI information on citation, map and unit details". Sssi.naturalengland.org.uk. 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
^ "Stroud District Local Plan, adopted November 2005, Appendix 6 'Sites of Nature Conservation Interest'". Stroud.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
^ "Woodchester Bat Project | Gareth Jones' Lab | University of Bristol". Gareth Jones' Lab. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
^ "House of Commons - Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - Seventh Report". publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2020-02-20.

External links[]

Woodchester Park official web site
Natural England (SSSI information)
Woodchester Greater Horseshoe Bat Project

[NE_citation-1] "Natural England SSSI information on citation, map and unit details". Sssi.naturalengland.org.uk. 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2013-11-29.

[2] "Stroud District Local Plan, adopted November 2005, Appendix 6 'Sites of Nature Conservation Interest'". Stroud.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2013-11-29.

[3] "Woodchester Bat Project | Gareth Jones' Lab | University of Bristol". Gareth Jones' Lab. Retrieved 2020-02-20.

[4] "House of Commons - Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - Seventh Report". publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2020-02-20.

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[2]

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[4]

v Biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire
Summarised data for all sites (biological and geological)
Ashleworth Ham Astridge Wood Badgeworth Barnsley Warren Barton Bushes Bigsweir Woods Blaisdon Hall Bourton Down Box Farm Meadows Boxwell Brassey Brooks Head Grove Buckshraft Mine & Bradley Railway Tunnel Bull Cross, The Frith and Juniper Hill Bushley Muzzard, Brimpsfield Caerwood and Ashberry Goose House Chaceley Meadow Clarke's Pool Meadow Cleeve Common Cockleford Marsh Collinpark Wood Coombe Hill Canal Coombe Hill Cotswold Commons and Beechwoods Cotswold Water Park Crickley Hill and Barrow Wake Daneway Banks Dean Hall Coach House & Cellar Devil's Chapel Scowles Dingle Wood Dixton Wood Dymock Woods Edge Common Elmlea Meadows Frampton Pools Highbury Wood Hobbs Quarry Hornsleasow Roughs Hucclecote Meadows Innsworth Meadow Juniper Hill, Edgeworth Kempley Daffodil Meadow Kingscote and Horsley Woods Lark Wood Leckhampton Hill and Charlton Kings Common Lineover Wood Lower Woods Lower Wye Gorge May Hill Midger Minchinhampton Common Nagshead Old Bow and Old Ham Mines Old River Severn, Upper Lode Pennsylvania Fields, Sedbury Poor's Allotment Puckham Woods Range Farm Fields River Wye Rodborough Common Rough Bank, Miserden Salmonsbury Meadows Selsley Common Severn Estuary Severn Ham, Tewkesbury Shorn Cliff and Caswell Woods Slade Brook Soudley Ponds Speech House Oaks Stenders Quarry Stinchcombe Hill Strawberry Banks Swanpool Wood and Furnace Grove Swift's Hill Sylvan House Barn The Hudnalls The Malvern Hills Tudor Farm Bank Turvey's Piece Upper Severn Estuary Upham Meadow and Summer Leasow Upper Wye Gorge Walmore Common Westbury Brook Ironstone Mine Whelford Meadow Wigpool Ironstone Mine Wildmoorway Meadows Winson Meadows Woodchester Park Workman's Wood Wotton Hill Yarley Meadows
Neighbouring areas Avon Herefordshire Oxfordshire Wiltshire Worcestershire