Puckham Woods

Pucham Woods
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Example - Angular Solomon's-seal (Polygonatum odoratum)
Location within Gloucestershire
Area of Search	Gloucestershire
Grid reference	SP010224
Coordinates	51°54′02″N 1°59′10″W / 51.900593°N 1.986146°W / 51.900593; -1.986146Coordinates: 51°54′02″N 1°59′10″W / 51.900593°N 1.986146°W / 51.900593; -1.986146
Interest	Biological
Area	32.38 hectare
Notification	1954
Natural England website

Puckham Woods (grid reference SP010224) is a 32.38-hectare (80.0-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire to the east of Cheltenham near Whittington, notified in 1954.^[1]^[2] The site (including Scrubs Complex) is listed in the 'Cotswold District' Local Plan 2001-2011 (on line) as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).^[3]

Location

The woods lie within the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Cotswold Hills Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA). The site was previously called Puckham. Over the years there have been boundary amendments and review of the operations on the site to protect the special interest of the designation. There are three units of assessment; two are woodland and one is pasture (two fields).^[1]

The site is on the edge of the Cotswold scarp and its geology is of the Jurassic time interval and is made up of Inferior Oolite limestone. There is a band of Fuller's Earth in the northern woodland area.^[1]

Habitat and flora

This site is noted for its unimproved limestone grassland, and its flower-rich, ancient semi-natural woodland. So much of this type of habitat has been lost due to changes in land management and land use.^[1]

The woods are an example of old woodland which comprises Ash, Oak, Silver Birch, Whitebeam and Rowan. This kind of woodland is relatively scarce in the Cotswolds which is mostly Beech. The forestry practices for the wood have ensured that native species are maintained on the site. Understories include Hazel, Field Maple, Hawthorn, Guelder Rose and Holly. This type of woodland is rich in its ground flora and supports species such as Bluebell, Dog's Mercury, Ramsons, Yellow Archangel and Woodruff. Angular Solomon's-seal is recorded and other similar rarities such as Herb Paris, Lily-of-the-valley, Wood Vetch, Greater Butterfly Orchid and Meadow Saffron.^[1]

The pasture faces south to south-east and species include Upright Brome, Tor-grass, Red Fescue, Meadow Oat-grass and Quaking-grass. It is herb-rich and includes Common Rock-rose, Dwarf Thistle, Thyme, Salad Burnet and several species of orchid (notably Pyramidal Orchid, Bee Orchid and Green-winged Orchid. The nationally scarce Bastard Toadflax is recorded.^[1]

References

SSSI Source

External links

Natural England (SSSI information)

Grazing land above Puckham Woods
Long distance view to Puckham Woods

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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