Elmlea Meadows

Site of Special Scientific Interest
Example - Snake's Head Fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris)
Location within Gloucestershire
Area of Search	Gloucestershire
Grid reference	SU079948
Coordinates	51°39′09″N 1°53′11″W / 51.652387°N 1.886485°W / 51.652387; -1.886485Coordinates: 51°39′09″N 1°53′11″W / 51.652387°N 1.886485°W / 51.652387; -1.886485
Interest	Biological
Area	6.9 hectare
Notification	1989
Natural England website

Elmlea Meadows (grid reference SU079948) is a 6.9-hectare (17-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1989.^[1]^[2] The site is listed in the 'Cotswold District' Local Plan 2001-2011 (on line) as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).^[3]

Location

The site lies to the north-west of Cricklade near the county boundary, and consists of three meadows which have been managed for hay followed by grazing. The meadows overlie the alluvium and gravels of the Thames floodplain.^[1]

Species

The grassland included Meadow Foxtail and Great Burnet and supports a rich flora. This is a nationally important meadow area, and supports the nationally rare Fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris) and the rare Downy-fruited Sedge (Carex tomentose). The population of Fritillary is the largest reported in Gloucestershire.^[1] To the north of Cricklade, in the county of Wiltshire, is North Meadow which is both an SSSI and a national nature reserve (NNR) which supports some 80% of the British population of Fritillary.

The small area of scrub on the site is dominated by Grey Willow and Crack Willow and supports a large number of typical wetland species. It is the only known site for Tufted-sedge (Carex elatain) in Gloucestershire.^[1]

References

SSSI Source

External links

Natural England (SSSI information)

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

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