Midger

Midger
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Midger nature reserve entrance
Location within Gloucestershire
Area of Search	Gloucestershire
Grid reference	ST797895
Coordinates	51°36′14″N 2°17′38″W / 51.604°N 2.294°W / 51.604; -2.294Coordinates: 51°36′14″N 2°17′38″W / 51.604°N 2.294°W / 51.604; -2.294
Interest	Biological
Area	65.7 hectare
Notification	1966
Natural England website

Midger (grid reference ST797895) is a 65.7-hectare (162-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest straddling the border of Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire, notified in 1966 and renotified in 1984. Since the last revision in 1974, the size has been reduced to a 56-hectare (140-acre) site.^[1]^[2] It lies east of Hillesley, Gloucestershire and north of Hawkesbury Upton, South Gloucestershire. It is at the head of the Kilcott Valley.

There are six units of assessment.^[1]

Part of the site (grid reference ST794892) is part owned (and managed) by the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust.

The Wildlife Trust reserve

Fuller information is available from the Wildlife Trust reserves handbook, the Midger reserve publication and the Nature Reserves Guide for 2011.^[3] The reserve comprises Midger Wood which was purchased by the trust in 1965, Back Common, Whitewell Wood, Twizzle Well Piece, Wedgewood and Saddlewood Roughs, which is part of the Badminton Estate.

Woodland

This is ancient woodland and has a canopy comprising mainly ash (including coppiced stools), pedunculate oak and field maple, and some crab apple and holly. There has been some interplanting with beech, Scots pine, spruce and larch. The understorey is dominated by hazel. This also contains goat willow and dogwood.

Plants

The ground layer includes herb paris, green hellebore and lily-of-the-valley which grow amongst bluebell, yellow archangel, wood anemone, ramsons (wood garlic), wood-sorrel and many ferns.

The stream (Kilcott Brook). which is one of the features of the reserve, is edged by opposite-leaved golden-saxifrage and pendulous sedge. It has small waterfalls. Some of them are petrified with calcaerous tufa deposits. The damp valley bottom below Saddlewood Roughs supports butterbur in the spring and meadow saffron in the autumn.

There are small glades in the hawthorn and blackthorn thickets in Back Common which indicates this area's past use as common grazing land. The rough banks in the north of the reserve have a typical limestone grassland flora including wild thyme, common rock-rose and early-purple orchid.

Other species

There are good populations of butterflies including chalkhill blue, marbled white, green hairstreak and the Duke of Burgundy fritillary. The bird life is supported by the diverse habitat. In the woods treecreeper, little owl, lesser spotted woodpecker, nuthatch, marsh tit, wood warbler and goldcrest have been recorded. In the stream area dipper and grey wagtail have been recorded. In the rough grassland areas meadow pipit and yellowhammer have been recorded.

Other notable species are yellow-necked field mouse, common dormouse and fallow deer. Nest boxes support the dormouse population.

Conservation

Conservation work in the reserve includes coppicing of hazel, thinning of young ash, and clearing of invasive scrub such as hawthorn, blackthorn and oak in areas designated as open grassland.

Items of interest

In March 1995 HRH Prince of Wales visited the Midger SSSI reserve, being one of the protected woodland reserves in the county. The guided walk included a demonstration of the production of barbecue charcoal from coppiced and fallen timber, a new Wildlife Trust venture at that time.^[4]

Publications

Kelham, A, Sanderson, J, Doe, J, Edgeley-Smith, M, et al., 1979, 1990, 2002 editions, 'Nature Reserves of the Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation/Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust'
(undated), mid-late 1980s, 'Midger Reserve Kilcot', Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation
'Midger Nature Reserve – Wonderful ancient woodland in a hidden valley', (undated), Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust

References

1 2 Natural England SSSI information on the Midger units
↑ Stroud District Local Plan, adopted November 2005, Appendix 6 ‘Sites of Nature Conservation Interest’
↑ Kelham, A, Sanderson, J, Doe, J, Edgeley-Smith, M, et al, 1979, 1990, 2002 editions, 'Nature Reserves of the Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation/Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust', 'Midger Reserve Kilcot', Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation and 2011, Nature Reserves Guide, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, published to celebrate its 50th anniversary
↑ 'HRH Prince of Wales Visit', Wildlife News (Summer 1995 edition)

SSSI Source

External links

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust
Natural England (SSSI information)

Biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Avon

Ashton Court Avon Gorge Banwell Caves Biddle Street, Yatton Bishop's Hill Wood Blagdon Lake Bodkin Hazel Wood Brockley Hall Stables Brown's Folly Burledge Sidelands and Meadows Burrington Combe Chew Valley Lake Cleaves Wood Cleeve Wood, Hanham Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines Compton Martin Ochre Mine Congrove Field and The Tumps Dolebury Warren Ellenborough Park West Folly Farm Goblin Combe Gordano Valley Harptree Combe Hawkesbury Meadow Hinton Charterhouse Field Horseshoe Bend, Shirehampton Iford Manor King's Wood and Urchin Wood Long Dole Wood and Meadows Lower Woods Max Bog Middle Hope Midger Monkswood Valley Plaster's Green Meadows Purn Hill Puxton Moor Severn Estuary Shiplate Slait St. Catherine's Valley Steep Holm Tickenham, Nailsea and Kenn Moors Uphill Cliff Upton Coombe Walton Common Weston Big Wood Yanal Bog

Neighbouring areas Gloucestershire Somerset Wiltshire

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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