Bigsweir Woods

Bigsweir Woods
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Bluebells in Bigsweir Woods
Location within Gloucestershire
Area of Search	Gloucestershire
Grid reference	SO546060
Coordinates	51°45′05″N 2°39′30″W / 51.751297°N 2.658343°W / 51.751297; -2.658343Coordinates: 51°45′05″N 2°39′30″W / 51.751297°N 2.658343°W / 51.751297; -2.658343
Interest	Biological
Area	48.16 hectare
Notification	1984
Natural England website

Bigsweir Woods (grid reference SO546060) is a 48.16-hectare (119.0-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1984.^[1]^[2] The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS) (including Wyeseal and Slip Woods).^[3]

The site is within the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is part owned by the Woodland Trust.^[1]

Wye Valley Woodlands/ Coetiroedd Dyffryn Gwy are recognised as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under the EU Habitats Directive.^[4]^[5]

Habitat and flora

The woods of the region are one of the most important areas of woodland conservation in the United Kingdom, being semi-natural woodland, and run continuously along the Lower Wye Gorge (which is also notified as an SSSI).^[1]

There is a rich mixture of tree types and rare and local species are present. Bigsweir Woods are sited on Devonian Old Red Sandstone and quartz conglomerate. This produces acid soil. The wood is dominated by Sessile Oak but includes some Beech, Small-leaved Lime and Birch. Hazel, Beech, Small-leaved Lime also make up an understorey with Rowan and Holly. Ground flora includes Bramble, Bracken, Ivy, Dog's Mercury and Bilberry.^[1]

Local herbs include Forester's Woodrush (Luzula forsteri), Bitter Vetch, Alder Buckthorn and Wood Fescue (Festuca altissima). There are carpets of Bluebell. The site supports a significant range of ferns.^[1]

References

1 2 3 4 5 Natural England SSSI information on the citation
↑ Forest of Dean District Local Plan Review, adopted November 2005, Appendix D 'Nature Conservation Site Designations Within the Forest of Dean District', Sites of Special Scientific Interest
↑ Forest of Dean District Local Plan Review, adopted November 2005, Appendix D 'Nature Conservation Site Designations Within the Forest of Dean District', Key Wildlife Sites
↑ Information on Wye Valley Woodlands/ Coetiroedd Dyffryn Gwy Special Area of Conservation designation
↑ Joint Nature Conservation Committee Listing of Special Areas of Conservation

SSSI Source

External links

Media related to Bigsweir Woods at Wikimedia Commons

Natural England (SSSI information)
Woodland Trust

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 Hereford and Worcester Oxfordshire Wiltshire

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