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Lower Wye Gorge SSSI

Forests and woodlands of GloucestershireNature reserves in GloucestershireRiver WyeSites of Special Scientific Interest in GloucestershireSites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1954
TidenhamUse British English from July 2014

Lower Wye Gorge (grid reference ST548983, ST537967) is a 65-hectare (160-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1954 and renotified 1987. The site includes two Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust nature reserves being Ban-y-gor Wood and Lancaut. The Natural England citation states a revision for Lancaut inclusion.The site (Lancaut and Ban-y-gor) is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).Wye Valley Woodlands/ Coetiroedd Dyffryn Gwy are recognised as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under the EU Habitats Directive.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Lower Wye Gorge SSSI (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Lower Wye Gorge SSSI
Lancaut Walk, Forest of Dean Tidenham

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N 51.666 ° E -2.666 °
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Lancaut Walk

Lancaut Walk
NP16 7JP Forest of Dean, Tidenham
England, United Kingdom
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Piercefield House
Piercefield House

Piercefield House is a largely ruined neo-classical country house near St Arvans, Monmouthshire, Wales, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of the centre of Chepstow. The central block of the house was designed in the very late 18th century, by, or to the designs of, Sir John Soane. It is flanked by two pavilions, of slightly later date, by Joseph Bonomi the Elder. The house sits within Piercefield Park, a Grade I listed historic landscape, that was created in the 18th century as a notable Picturesque estate. The estate has links to colonialism and slavery. After long ownership by the Walter family, in 1740 it was bought by Valentine Morris, a slaver and planter from Antigua. His son, also Valentine, developed the park and grounds into one of the 18th century’s most famous Picturesque landscapes. His prodigality ruined him, and the estate was sold to a banker, George Smith, who began the present house. He was in turn bankrupted and Piercefield was bought by Sir Mark Wood, a nabob who had made his fortune in Bengal. In 1802, the estate was bought by Nathaniel Wells, son of William Wells, a slaver from Saint Kitts, and Juggy, later Joardine Wells, his enslaved house servant. Nathaniel and his mother both received their freedom and he inherited the bulk of his father’s wealth. Establishing himself at Piercefield, Nathaniel Wells became, in turn, a Justice of the Peace, a Lieutenant in the Chepstow Yeomanry, and Deputy lieutenant and High Sheriff of Monmouthshire, a notable series of firsts, or near firsts, for a black man in Georgian England. The house is now a shell, along with its extensive stable block, but its status as a Grade II* listed building reflects its importance. It is currently owned by the Reuben brothers, London-based property developers. A campaign to save and restore the building was launched by SAVE Britain's Heritage in 2013. The house has been repeatedly marketed for sale since the early 2000s but no sale has been concluded. Despite emergency stabilising work in 2008/9, the condition of the house continues to deteriorate.

Gloucester Hole
Gloucester Hole

The Gloucester Hole is a roughly square opening in the limestone cliffs of the River Wye, directly opposite the town of Chepstow. The hole itself is on the Tutshill side of the river, in Gloucestershire, England; the river forms the boundary with Wales. The small square opening leads into a much larger chamber within the cliffs. The entrance is about 5 feet 6 inches (1.7 m) square, and runs in for about 12 feet (3.7 m). The cave was a natural opening in the limestone which was enlarged so that its greatest depth and greatest breadth are 27 feet (8.2 m), and its height at one point is 15 feet (4.6 m). There is speculation about its origin and about what it has been used for in the past. Suggestions include its use by the Shirenewton Quakers for storing tea, or for the storing of explosives by Brunel when the railway was built. A local antiquarian, J.G. Wood, wrote in 1901 that nearly 50 years earlier he had quizzed the oldest inhabitants and discovered that this natural cave had been enlarged and fitted with a crane at its mouth to unload large ships that could moor there in deep water, but could not easily dock at the shallower wharves on the Chepstow side of the river. The cargo was then reloaded onto trows and taken up river to Monmouth and Hereford. For many years mooring chains and rings in the cliff below survived to support this explanation. The cave can only be reached by boat at high tide.Next to the Hole is a Union Flag which was first painted in 1935 to mark the Silver Jubilee of King George V by some Chepstow salmon fishermen, and is regularly repainted. The highest tides reach nearly to the top of it. During flooding in January 2014, the water level rose above the flag for the first time in many years.