| Barrington Hill Meadows | |
|---|---|
  Shown within Somerset
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| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
| Area of Search | Somerset |
| Grid Reference | ST300170 |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 16.1 hectares (0.161 km2; 0.062 sq mi) |
| Notification | 1987 |
| Natural England Website | |
Barrington Hill Meadows (grid reference ST300170) is a 16.1 hectare (39.5 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset, England, notified in 1987.
Barrington Hill Meadows, 2 km west of the A358, midway between the villages of Windmill Hill and Bickenhall, is an English Nature National Nature Reserve.[1]
This site comprises four meadows surrounded by well established hedges on gently sloping clay-rich soils. It is an outstanding example of a traditionally managed unimproved neutral grassland of a type now rare in Britain. Additional interest lies in the occurrence of an extremely rare grass species. The meadows belong to a type characterised by the widespread occurrence of Sweet Vernal Grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum), Crested Dog's Tail (Cynosurus cristatus), Cowslip (Primula veris) and Green-winged Orchid (Orchis morio). A total of 74 different species have so far been recorded. This site is one of only 3 localities in Britain in which the grass Gaudinia fragilis is a prominent feature of the sward. [2]
References
- ^ "Barrington Hill NNR". English Nature. http://www.english-nature.org.uk/special/nnr/nnr_details.asp?C=0&Habitat=0&NNR_ID=13&X=&local_team=0&natural_area=&nnr_name=&spotlight_reserve=0. Retrieved on 2008-10-18.
- ^ "Barrington Hill Meadows". English Nature. http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1002546.pdf. Retrieved on 2006-08-12.
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