Avery's Pightle facts for kids
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 |
|
| Area of Search | Berkshire |
|---|---|
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 1.3 hectares (3.2 acres) |
| Notification | 1985 |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Avery's Pightle is a really special place in Berkshire, England, that's protected for its amazing nature. It's about 1.3 hectares (that's like 3 football fields!) of beautiful, old grassland. This area is so important that it's called a Site of Special Scientific Interest, or SSSI for short. It's looked after by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, who work hard to keep it healthy.
Contents
What Makes Avery's Pightle So Special?
Avery's Pightle isn't just any field; it's an "unimproved meadow." This means it hasn't been changed much by modern farming methods. Farmers haven't used strong chemicals like herbicides (to kill weeds) or artificial fertilisers (to help plants grow faster). Because of this, the meadow is full of many different kinds of plants and grasses.
A Living History Book
You can even see old "ridge and furrow" patterns in the ground. These are bumps and dips left over from when fields were ploughed a very long time ago, before modern tractors. This shows that Avery's Pightle has been managed in a traditional way for many, many years.
Home to Many Plants
Scientists have found an incredible number of plants here! They've counted:
- 24 different types of grass
- 113 different kinds of herbs (flowering plants that aren't woody)
There's also a wet ditch, which is like a small canal, where you can find a special plant called water whorl grass. This plant loves wet places and is another sign of how healthy and natural this meadow is.
Visiting Avery's Pightle
If you want to explore this amazing natural spot, you can get to Avery's Pightle from Church Lane. It's a great place to see what a traditional English meadow looks like and to spot some of the many plants that call it home.
