Longleat Woods

Longleat Woods
Site of Special Scientific Interest
	Location within Somerset
Location	Somerset
Grid reference	ST795435
Coordinates	51°11′25″N 2°17′41″W / 51.19035°N 2.29472°W
Interest	Biological
Area	249.9 hectares (2.499 km2; 0.965 sq mi)
Notification	1972
	Natural England website

Longleat Woods (grid reference ST795435) is a 249.9 hectare (617.4 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Frome in Somerset, notified in 1972.

This site includes the Ashen Copse Nature Conservation Review site. This site is a large, ancient, semi-natural, broadleaved woodland with a predominantly high forest structure which is unusual in South West Britain. Over the majority of the site, where soils are poorly drained but not waterlogged, the major canopy-forming tree is pedunculate oak (Quercus robur), with ash (Fraxinus excelsior) being locally common and distributed throughout. Hazel (Corylus avellana) is the commonest shrub and occurs throughout. Many plant species normally found only in ancient woodlands occur, including broad-leaved helleborine (Epipactis helleborine) and wood small-reed (Calamagrostis epigejos). One of the largest plantations of coast redwoods (sequoia sempervirens) in Britain is also located here, mostly within the grounds of Center Parcs Longleat. These grounds are also home to the U.K.'s tallest giant redwood (sequoiadendron giganteum).^[1]

The breeding bird community includes woodcock (Scolopax rusticola), tree pipit (Anthus trivialis), wood warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix), common redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus), common buzzard (Buteo buteo), tawny owl (Strix aluco), greater spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major), lesser spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos minor) and European green woodpecker (Picus viridis). The breeding invertebrates include white admiral (Ladoga camilla), silver-washed fritillary (Argynnis paphia) and small pearl-bordered fritillary (Boloria selene) butterflies and hornets (Vespa crabro). ^[2]

References

^ "Center Parcs Longleat is home to the UK's tallest Giant Redwood tree". 3 July 2017.
^ "Longleat Woods" (PDF). English Nature. Retrieved 17 August 2006.

[1] "Center Parcs Longleat is home to the UK's tallest Giant Redwood tree". 3 July 2017.

[2] "Longleat Woods" (PDF). English Nature. Retrieved 17 August 2006.

[1]

[2]

v t e Biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset
Summarised data for all sites (biological and geological)
Aller and Beer Woods Aller Hill Asham Wood Axbridge Hill and Fry's Hill Babcary Meadows Barle Valley Barrington Hill Meadows Berrow Dunes Black Down and Sampford Commons Brean Down Bridgwater Bay Briggins Moor Catcott, Edington and Chilton Moors Chancellor's Farm Cheddar Complex Cheddar Reservoir Cheddar Wood Cleeve Hill Cogley Wood Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill Curry and Hay Moors Deadman Draycott Sleights Dunster Park and Heathlands East Polden Grasslands Ebbor Gorge Edford Woods and Meadows Exmoor Coastal Heaths Fivehead Woods and Meadow Freshmoor Friar's Oven Ge-mare Farm Fields Great Breach and Copley Woods Grove Farm Hardington Moor Hestercombe House Holme Moor & Clean Moor King's Sedgemoor Kingdown and Middledown Kingweston Meadows Lang's Farm Langford Heathfield Langmead and Weston Level Long Lye Long Lye Meadow Longleat Woods Millwater Moorlinch Nettlecombe Park North Brewham Meadows North Curry Meadow North Exmoor North Moor Old Iron Works, Mells Perch Porlock Ridge and Saltmarsh Postlebury Wood Priddy Pools Prior's Park & Adcombe Wood Quantock Hills Quants Ringdown River Barle Rodney Stoke Roebuck Meadows Ruttersleigh Severn Estuary Shapwick Heath Sharpham Moor Plot South Exmoor Southey and Gotleigh Moors Southlake Moor Sparkford Wood St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Stowell Meadow Street Heath Tealham and Tadham Moors Thurlbear Wood and Quarrylands Twinhills Woods and Meadows Vallis Vale Walton and Ivythorn Hills West Moor West Sedgemoor Westhay Heath Westhay Moor Wet Moor Whitevine Meadows Windsor Hill Marsh Wookey Hole Woolhayes Farm
Neighbouring areas Avon Devon Dorset Wiltshire