Crickley Hill and Barrow Wake

Crickley Hill and Barrow Wake
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Looking from Barrow Wake to Crickley Hill
Location within Gloucestershire
Area of Search	Gloucestershire
Grid reference	SO929161 & SO931154
Coordinates	51°50′38″N 2°06′13″W / 51.843905°N 2.10374°W / 51.843905; -2.10374Coordinates: 51°50′38″N 2°06′13″W / 51.843905°N 2.10374°W / 51.843905; -2.10374
Interest	Biological/Geological
Area	56.8 hectare
Notification	1974
Natural England website

Crickley Hill and Barrow Wake (grid reference SO929161 & grid reference SO931154) is a 56.8-hectare (140-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1974.^[1]^[2]

The site (two parts) lies within the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It was formerly known as Crickley Hill and includes some of a site known as Tuffleys Quarry. Part of the site is owned and managed by Gloucestershire County Council and the National Trust as a Country Park.^[1]^[3] The Cotswold Way National Trail passes through Crickley Hill and Barrow Wake.^[4]

Barrow Wake and Tuffley's Quarry are listed in the 'Cotswold District' Local Plan 2001-2011 (on line) as Key Wildlife Sites.^[5] Crickley Hill is listed in the 'Cotswold District' Local Plan 2001-2011 (on line) as an SSSI and Regionally Important Geological Site.^[6]^[7]

Location

The site lies south of Cheltenham on the Cotswold scarp and it supports a range of habitats characteristic of the Cotswold limestone. It includes species rich grassland, semi-natural woodland, scrub and particularly nationally important rock exposures.^[1]^[3]

Biological interest

The site supports several types of grassland and the turf contains many lime-loving herbs. There are several species of orchid recorded such as Early purple orchid, Bee Orchid, and Musk Orchid. Viper's Bugloss flowers in abundance. This diversity supports a varied invertebrate fauna (butterflies, moths and local snails).^[1]^[3]

The site includes the Scrubbs and Crickley Woods which are areas of mature Beech woodland with regenerating Beech and Ash.^[1]^[3] Short Wood is an area of Oak parkland.^[3]

The scarp slopes provide basking areas for Adders.^[3]

Geological interest

The rock exposures constitute a key Jurassic locality and show a major section in the Lower Inferior Oolite. There are extensive exposures of Lower and Middle Jurassic rocks and these exhibit the best sections in the Cotswolds in the Pea Grit and the overlying Coral Bed.^[1]^[3]

Crickley Hill is part of the Cotswold escarpment which runs from Dorset to the Yorkshire Coast. The stone has been quarried for hundreds of years and was probably used for dry stone walling.^[3]

Archaeology

There is evidence of settlements over 5000 years back. As the soil is thin on the Hill the evidence lies close to the surface under the grassland. The site has been excavated each summer period from 1969 to 1993 and is considered to be of international importance as a result of the findings. These point to occupation by humans over 4000 years (Neolithic period) to a post-Roman period.^[3]

The archaeologists have stayed regularly at Ullenwood Camp close to Crickley Hill for the excavation period.

Crickley Hill Country Park

The Crickley Hill Country Park was established in 1979 with assistance from the then Countryside Commission. Access to the countryside at this Park provides limestone grassland; beech woodlands, oak parkland; an archaeological site and panoramic views.^[3]

There is a range of self-guided trails with supporting leaflets. These include Hill Fort Trail; Scrubbs Trail; Scarp Trail; Family Trail and Park Trail. There are also circular walks of different lengths (5 and 8.5 miles).^[3]

Crickley Hill is wardened by Gloucestershire Country Council Sites Warden Service and volunteers from the Cotswold Warden Service.^[3]

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 Natural England SSSI information on the citation
↑ Tewkesbury Borough Local Plan to 2011, adopted March 2006, Appendix 3 'Nature Conservation', Sites of Special Scientific Interest
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Gloucestershire Country Council - Crickley Hill Country Park information including leaflet 'Crickley Hill Country Park - Discover the Countryside in Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds', (undated), Gloucestershire County Environment Department
↑ Cotswold Way National Trail and see picture gallery below.
↑ Cotswold District Local Plan, Appendix 2, Key Wildlife Sites Archived October 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
↑ Cotswold District Local Plan, Appendix 1, Sites of Special Scientific Interest Archived March 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
↑ Cotswold District Local Plan, Appendix 3, Regionally Important Geological Sites Archived March 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.

Archaeological publications

Dixon, Philip, 1994, The Hillfort Defences, Crickley Hill, Volume 1, with contributions by Alvey, R C, Elsdon, S, Firman, R, Gelling, M, Haldane, J W, Sturgess, J, Crickley Hill Trust and the Department of Archaeology, University of Nottingham
Cunliffe B, 1984, Gloucestershire and the Iron Age of Southern Britain, Transactions of the Bristol Gloucestershire Archaeological Society 102:5-15.
Dixon, P W, 1979, A Neolithic and Iron Age site on a hill top in southern England, Scientific American 241(5):42-50.
Dixon, P W, 1977, Crickley Hill and Gloucestershire Prehistory, Gloucestershire County Council, Gloucester.

SSSI Source

External links

Natural England (SSSI information)
Gloucestershire Country Council - Crickley Hill Country Park information
National Trust

Crickley Hill
Crickley Hill
Crickley Hill
Crickley Hill Viewpoint
Old Quarry, Crickley Hill
Old Quarry, Crickley Hill
Crickley Hill Country Park showing quarry workings
Crickley Hill Country Park
Crickley Hill Country Park
Cotswold Way on Barrow Wake
Beech trees, the Scrubbs
Footpath through woodland, Crickley Hill

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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