Leckhampton Hill and Charlton Kings Common

Leckhampton Hill and Charlton Kings Common
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Cliff face on Leckhampton Hill
Location within Gloucestershire
Area of Search	Gloucestershire
Grid reference	SO952187
Coordinates	51°52′02″N 2°04′13″W / 51.867306°N 2.070391°W / 51.867306; -2.070391Coordinates: 51°52′02″N 2°04′13″W / 51.867306°N 2.070391°W / 51.867306; -2.070391
Interest	Biological/Geological
Area	63.8hectare
Notification	1954
Natural England website

Leckhampton Hill and Charlton Kings Common (grid reference SO952187) is a 63.8-hectare (158-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1954.^[1]^[2] There are five units of assessment.^[3]

The site is listed in the 'Cotswold District' Local Plan 2001-2011 (on line) as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).^[4]

Location

The site is in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is one of a series of unimproved Jurassic limestone grassland area which are located along the Cotswold scarp. It is south of Cheltenham and near the communities of Leckhampton and Charlton Kings, and has a north-facing aspect. The site also includes disused quarry faces, and quarry spoil which has been vegetated.^[1]

Geology

The Leckhampton quarries expose the thickest single cross-section through the Middle Jurassic, Inferior Oolite strata of the area. They are a major research interest, and there are many published accounts of the last 150 years. Strata of some 60 m are exposed, and the large outcrops are of significant importance to those studying palaeontology or sedimentology, and for studying ancient environments generally.^[1]

Biology

The site supports a range of habitats which include unimproved calcareous grassland, woodland and scrub, cliff faces and scree slopes. The grassland is of major importance and it comprises a tall ungrazed sward. This is dominated by tor-grass, upright brome, meadow oat-grass, sweet vernal-grass and quaking grass. It is noted for its range of herbs which include salad burnet, common rock-rose, common bird's-foot-trefoil. The quarry floors support wild thyme, dwarf thistle, yellow-wort and autumn gentian. The site supports many plants which are scarce at a national or county level. These include fly orchid, musk orchid and purple milk-vetch. It is one of a small number of sites which support meadow clary in the county.^[1]

Shrub areas support nesting birds such as meadow pipit and grasshopper warbler. It is a shelter area for invertebrates and small mammals.^[1]

There are wooded areas of broad-leaved and coniferous trees including mature beech. These areas support a woodland flora such as ivy broomrape, white helleborine and greater butterfly-orchid.^[1]

There is a reported population of the adder.^[1]

References

SSSI Source

External links

Natural England (SSSI information)

View from Leckhampton Hill
Paths on Leckhampton Hill
Toposcope on Leckhampton Hill
Cotswold Way on Leckhampton Hill
Cliff faces on Leckhampton Hill
Devil's Chimney, Leckhampton Hill
Lower slopes of Charlton Kings Common
Footpath on Charlton Kings Common

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

Geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire

Summarised data for all sites (biological and geological)

Alderton Hill Quarry Bull Cross, The Frith and Juniper Hill Campden Tunnel Gravel Pit Cleeve Common Coaley Wood Quarries Crickley Hill and Barrow Wake Easter Park Farm Quarry Edgehills Quarry Foss Cross Quarry Garden Cliff Hampen Railway Cutting Haresfield Beacon Harford Railway Cutting Hobbs Quarry Hornsleasow Quarry Huntsman's Quarry Jackdaw Quarry Kemble Railway Cuttings Knap House Quarry, Birdlip Land Grove Quarry, Mitcheldean Leckhampton Hill and Charlton Kings Common Longhope Hill Lower Woods Lower Wye Gorge Lydney Cliff May Hill Meezy Hurst Minchinhampton Common New Park Quarry Nibley Knoll Notgrove Railway Cutting Oakenhill Railway Cutting Puddlebrook Quarry River Wye Robin's Wood Hill Quarry Rodborough Common Salmonsbury Meadows Scully Grove Quarry Severn Estuary Slade Brook Stenders Quarry Stony Furlong Railway Cutting Swift's Hill Upper Severn Estuary The Malvern Hills Purton Passage Selsley Common Upper Wye Gorge Veizey's Quarry Wainlode Cliff Wellacre Quarry Wood Green Quarry & Railway Cutting Wotton Hill

Neighbouring areas Avon Hereford and Worcester Oxfordshire Wiltshire

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