Shapwick Heath

Shapwick Heath
Site of Special Scientific Interest

Location within Somerset
Area of Search	Somerset
Grid reference	ST430403
Coordinates	51°09′33″N 2°48′52″W / 51.1591°N 2.8144°W / 51.1591; -2.8144Coordinates: 51°09′33″N 2°48′52″W / 51.1591°N 2.8144°W / 51.1591; -2.8144
Interest	Biological
Area	394 hectares (3.94 km²; 1.52 sq mi)
Notification	1967 (1967)
Natural England website

Shapwick Heath is a 394.0-hectare (973.6 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest and national nature reserve^[1] between Shapwick and Westhay in Somerset, notified in 1967. It is part of the Brue Valley Living Landscape conservation project. The project commenced in January 2009 and aims to restore, recreate and reconnect habitat. It aims to ensure that wildlife is enhanced and capable of sustaining itself in the face of climate change^[2] while guaranteeing farmers and other landowners can continue to use their land profitably. It is one of an increasing number of landscape scale conservation projects in the UK.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Shapwick Heath, part of the Avalon Marshes in the Somerset Levels Wetlands, and managed as a national nature reserve by Natural England, is a former raised bog lying in the basin of the River Brue. The site supports a diverse community of terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates. National rarities are the Greater Silver Diving Beetle (Hydrophilus piceus) and the Lesser Silver Diving Beetle (Hydrochara caraboides) which is now confined nationally to the Brue Basin Peat Moors.^[6]

The Sweet Track, an ancient causeway crosses the site. It is one of the oldest engineered roads known and the oldest timber trackway discovered in Northern Europe.

The adjoining Shapwick Moor has been purchased by the Hawk and Owl Trust as a reserve.

References

↑ "Shapwick Heath NNR". Natural England. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
↑ Brue Valley Living Landscape
↑ A Living Landscape - The Wildlife Trusts
↑ RSPB landscape conservation
↑ Natural England Future Landscapes
↑ "SSSI notification" (PDF). Natural England. Retrieved 2015-12-10.

External links

YouTube video - pictures and commentary on the Peat Moor visitors centre.
BBC Somerset: Shapwick Heath gallery
Shapwick Heath Trackway at Digital Digging

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

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