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Cleaves Wood

Bath and North East SomersetForests and woodlands of SomersetSites of Special Scientific Interest in AvonSites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1988Use British English from July 2014
Woodland Sites of Special Scientific Interest
Cleaveswood
Cleaveswood

Cleaves Wood (grid reference ST758576) is a 40.38 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) near the village of Wellow in Bath and North East Somerset, notified in 1988. Cleaves Wood is an ancient, semi-natural deciduous woodland on oolitic limestone. It has a high diversity of tree and shrub species and a large population of the nationally scarce plant spiked star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum pyrenaicum). There are also areas of grassland which is lightly grazed by rabbits and is a mosaic of close grazed and rough swards, and wetter areas.The scarce plants found here include the fly orchid and wild daffodil.The habitat diversity of the site has resulted in a rich invertebrate fauna, including two nationally rare insects: the beetle Osphya bipunctata and the hoverfly Cheilosia nigripes. Twenty-seven butterflies have been recorded from the site including the nationally scarce species, Duke of Burgundy (Hamearis lucina). The nationally scarce moth, Blomer's rivulet (Discoloxia blomeri) has also been recorded on the site. Other nationally scarce species include the snail Ena montana, the hoverfly Xanthogramma citrofasciatum, and a number of beetle species.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Cleaves Wood (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Cleaves Wood
Norton Lane,

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Wikipedia: Cleaves WoodContinue reading on Wikipedia

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Latitude Longitude
N 51.31699 ° E -2.34863 °
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Norton Lane

Norton Lane
BA2 7SR , Norton St Philip
England, United Kingdom
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Cleaveswood
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Nearby Places

Wellow Brook
Wellow Brook

The Wellow Brook is a small river in Somerset, England. It rises near Ston Easton Park in the village of Ston Easton and flows east to Midsomer Norton. West of Radstock, it is joined by the River Somer and a tributary from Kilmersdon (formed itself from Snails Brook and Kilmersdon Brook) to the south. It then flows through Wellow before joining the Cam Brook at Midford to form Midford Brook, before joining the River Avon close to the Dundas Aqueduct. The Environment Agency does not recognise the Midford Brook, instead identifying the Wellow Brook as continuing to the Avon. On this basis the length of the Wellow Brook, from Radstock to the Avon, is 17.8 km (11.1 mi).Alongside the brook are remains of the Somerset Coal Canal which served the Somerset Coalfield in the 19th century. The valley sides are rounded and undulating through erosion. There are several springs dotted along the valley sides and the resultant streams are often lined with trees. The junction of the valley sides with the base is usually gentle and rounded and the valley floors are narrow but flat with the brooks meandering freely across their flood plain. The brook is quite deep in places and frequently has steep sides. This was taken advantage of in making anti-tank defences during World War II when many concrete bunkers known as pillboxes were built as part of the GHQ Line to defend against an expected German invasion.The area is of interest to the Cam Valley Wildlife Group.