Boscastle to Widemouth

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Coordinates: 50°45′53″N 4°36′10″W / 50.7646°N 4.6027°W / 50.7646; -4.6027
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Boscastle to Widemouth
Notification
1972 (1972)
Natural England website

Boscastle to Widemouth is a coastal Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Cornwall, England, noted for its biological and geological characteristics. The Dizzard dwarf oak woodland is unique and of international importance for its lichen communities, with 131 species recorded.[1]

Geography

The 639-hectare (1,580-acre) site is located on the north Cornish coast, by the Celtic Sea of the Atlantic Ocean. The 12 miles (19 km) length of coastline stretches from Boscastle in the south to Widemouth Bay to the north.[2][3] The coast on either side of Crackington Haven is characterised by the cliffs collapsing and rather than having steep vertical slopes such as in west Cornwall, there is a series of 'undercliffs' which are thickly vegetated. Some are grazed by cattle and horses and the resulting mosaic of semi–natural habitats is of national importance for the coastal heath and grassland. High Cliff (grid reference SX125943) at 223 metres (732 ft) is the highest cliff in Cornwall.[4]

The

National Trust and five Geological Conservation Review sites are within the area.[3][5]

Geology

The coast between Boscastle and Widemouth is characterised by high slumped cliffs leading to areas of thickly vegetated, sloping lower undercliffs. The underlying rock, a type of

Ma (million years ago) and were folded during the Variscan orogeny a period of mountain building caused by the collision of two continents.[5]

During the

periglacial deposits called head. At the time the area was tundra and was just to the south of an ice sheet which covered most of Britain.[1]

There are five Geological Conservation Review sites within the SSSI.[1] They are:-

  • Boscastle
  • Millook to Foxhole Point
  • Rusey Cliff to Buckator
  • Widemouth to Crackington
  • Widemouth to Saltstone Strand

Wildlife and ecology

The valleys at Crackington Haven, Cleave, Dizzard and Millook show good examples of the zonation of habitats from splash zone lichen communities, to cliff vegetation with maritime grass, heath and scrub into woodland communities.[1][5]

Sea cliff vegetation

In the

Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), last bred on the north Cornwall coast in 1952 and is currently breeding in the Land's End and Lizard
areas.

Maritime grassland

Soil accumulates where the slope is not too steep and herb rich coastal grassland communities develop. The dominant grass is red fescue and the flowering plants include bird's–foot trefoil (

Silene maritima), spring squill (Scilla verna) and kidney vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria
).

Maritime heath

A feature of coastal heaths is the undulating or waved appearance caused by the exposure to winds. A good example is at Aller Shoot, a valley to the north of Crackington Haven. The taller species are heather (

Calluna vulgaris), bell heather (Erica cinerea) and western gorse (Ulex gallii). Growing amongst these plants are bristle bent (Agrostis curtisii), red fescue (Festuca rubra), sheep's–bit (Jasione montana), tormentil (Potentilla erecta) and lousewort (Pedicularis sylvatica
).

Scrub

The dominant species of scrub depend on previous land management with varying amounts of blackthorn (

Sylvia communis
).

Dizzard woodland

The woodland is between Crackington Haven and Millook and runs for approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) between the coastal path and the shore.

Calluna vulgaris) and bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) as the dominant species, and cow wheat (Melampyrum pratense) and hay-scented buckler-fern (Dryopteris aemula) also occurring. Management by the National Trust includes the removal of invasive sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) and maintenance of the coastal footpath from where the wood can be observed as there is no public access.[4][5]

Large blue butterfly

The discovery of the large blue butterfly (

Oryctolagus cuniculus) caused by the rapid spread of myxomatosis after its introduction in 1953 would also have led to the spread of gorse, and in that year Millook valley was described as "by then totally overgrown and without a vestige of wild thyme, but several other localities, including parts of Crackington Haven, appeared to be, and in fact still are much less obviously changed". In 1963 a search of twenty-three sites in Cornwall found only eight small colonies left, all to the north of Bude and thus outside the area of this SSSI; the large blue was last seen in Cornwall in 1973 (although it was introduced to a north Cornwall site in 2000).[7][8]

References
  1. ^ a b c d Hughes, Michel; Tonkin, Beth (June 1997). The Culm Natural Area. English Nature. p. 72.
  2. ^ "Boscastle to Widemouth map". Natural England. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-0-319-23145-6
  4. ^ a b c Le Messurier, Brian; Luck, Liz (2001). Crackington Haven (third ed.). National Trust. p. 8.
  5. ^ a b c d "Boscastle to Widemouth" (PDF). Natural England. 1990. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  6. ^ Miles, Archie (2007). Hidden Trees of Britain. Ebury Publishing.
  7. ISBN 0-9515785-1-0
    .
  8. ISBN 0-906802-07-5
    .
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