List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Oxfordshire facts for kids

Oxfordshire is a county in South East England. It's a special place with lots of amazing natural areas. These areas are called Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs).

What are SSSIs? They are places that Natural England has chosen to protect. Natural England is a group that looks after England's natural environment. SSSIs are the very best spots for wildlife and geology (the study of rocks and Earth's history).

As of 2020, Oxfordshire has 111 SSSIs. Most of these (78) are important for their plants and animals. Some (27) are special for their rocks and landforms. A few (6) are important for both!

What do the symbols mean?

Special Places in Oxfordshire

Top - 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Alvescot Meadows

This meadow is a special place for nature.

• B
• Public access: No info
• Location: Alvescot

Appleton Lower Common

This common has many different kinds of trees and plants. You can find beautiful flowers like primrose and wood anemone here. It's also home to rare insects, like the club-tailed dragonfly.

• B
• Public access: FP
• Location: Appleton

Ardley Cutting and Quarry

This place is important for both nature and rocks! The quarry shows rocks from about 167 million years ago. This helps scientists understand the Jurassic Period in Britain. The site also has special grasslands and is home to the great crested newt, which is a protected animal.

• B, G
• Public access: PP
• Location: Ardley
• Other: BBOWT, GCR, SM

Ardley Trackways

This site is super important worldwide! It has fossilized footprints made by herds of huge plant-eating dinosaurs (sauropods). There are also tracks from meat-eating dinosaurs (theropods). These tracks are from about 165 million years ago. They are the only ones like this in England and help us learn how dinosaurs moved and behaved.

• G
• Public access: NO
• Location: Bucknell
• Other: GCR

Arncott Bridge Meadows

These are old hay meadows next to the River Ray. They haven't been ploughed for hundreds of years! This means they have many different plants, including some rare ones like the narrow-leaved water-dropwort.

• B
• Public access: NO
• Location: Arncott

Ashdown Park

Ashdown Park is special because of the lichens growing on its many large rocks. Lichens are like tiny plants that grow on surfaces. The park is grazed by animals to make sure these slow-growing lichens get enough sunlight.

• B
• Public access: YES
• Location: Ashbury

Aston Rowant

This site has beech woodlands, bushes, and chalk grasslands. You can find unusual plants like wood barley and different types of orchids here. It's also home to many kinds of beetles, moths, and fifty different bird species that breed here.

• B
• Public access: YES
• Location: Shirburn
• Other: NCR, NNR, SAC

Aston Rowant Cutting

This cutting shows rocks from about 88 million years ago. It's the best place in central England to see rocks from this time. It also has many fossils, which help scientists understand ancient times.

• G
• Public access: YES
• Location: Shirburn
• Other: GCR

Aston Rowant Woods

Natural England says this is a very important area of old woodland. It's a large, natural forest typical of the Chilterns hills. It has 52 types of plants that only grow in old woods, and over 100 kinds of fungi.

• B
• Public access: YES
• Location: Aston Rowant
• Other: NCR, NNR, SAC

Aston Upthorpe Downs

This site has dry valleys in the Berkshire Downs. Most of it is chalk grassland with many different plants and animals. You can find rare plants like wild candytuft and the pasque flower, which is very special to this area.

• B
• Public access: YES
• Location: Aston Upthorpe
• Other: NCR

Barrow Farm Fen

This fen is a special wetland area.

• B
• Public access: No info
• Location: Marcham

Bear, Oveys and Great Bottom Woods

This beech woodland has over 40 types of ground plants that are common in old woods in southern Britain. You can find plants like broad-leaved helleborine and woodruff here.

• B
• Public access: FP
• Location: Rotherfield Peppard

Berins Hill Bank

This bank is a special place for nature.

• B
• Public access: No info
• Location: Ipsden

Berrick Trench

This is an old, natural beech wood on a hillside. It has many old tree stumps that have regrown, like ash, oak, and hazel. You can see woodland flowers like early purple orchid here.

• B
• Public access: FP
• Location: Swyncombe

Bestmoor

This moor is a special place for nature.

• B
• Public access: No info
• Location: North Aston

Bix Bottom

This site has ancient woods that have been around since at least 1786! It also has grassy clearings and bushes. Over 500 types of plants have been found here, including 18 kinds of orchids and the rare meadow clary. There are also more than 75 bird species and 650 types of fungi.

• B
• Public access: YES
• Location: Swyncombe
• Other: BBOWT

Blenheim Park

This park used to be a hunting ground long ago. Now, it has some of the best grasslands and oak woodlands in the country. The big lakes were made in the 1700s and are important for birds that breed or spend winter here. It's also home to three rare beetles.

• B
• Public access: YES
• Location: Woodstock

Bould Wood

This site is mostly old, natural woodland. It also has two streams, a pond, and a wet meadow. It's home to many different lower plants, fungi, and lichens.

• B
• Public access: PP
• Location: Chipping Norton
• Other: BBOWT

Brasenose Wood and Shotover Hill

Brasenose Wood is a piece of the old Shotover Forest. It's managed in a traditional way, which helps many different plants grow. Over 220 types of plants have been found here, including 46 that are typical of ancient woodlands. Shotover Hill has heathland and grasslands. Natural England says it's "outstanding" for its insects, with many rare flies, bees, wasps, and ants.

• B
• Public access: YES
• Location: Headington
• Other: NCR

Buckland Warren

This small strip of land is special because it has a population of the very rare broad-leaved cudweed. This plant is found in less than ten places in Britain! It needs the soil to be disturbed by ploughing to grow.

• B
• Public access: NO
• Location: Buckland

Cassington Meadows

This meadow is a special place for nature.

• B
• Public access: No info
• Location: Witney
• Other: SAC

Chimney Meadows

This site has six rich meadows that are next to the River Thames. The meadows are cut by ditches and have common grasses like crested dog's-tail.

• B
• Public access: PP
• Location: Bampton
• Other: BBOWT, NNR

Chinnor Chalk Pit

Natural England says this site is important because it shows rocks from about 100 million years ago. It has many fossils of ammonites, which are ancient sea creatures.

• G
• Public access: NO
• Location: Chinnor
• Other: GCR

Chinnor Hill

This hill has grasslands rich in different plant species, juniper bushes, and woodlands. Over 300 types of plants and 65 bird species have been recorded here. Many small birds breed in the bushes, and thrushes eat berries in winter.

• B
• Public access: YES
• Location: Chinnor
• Other: BBOWT

Cothill Fen

This site is special for both its nature and geology. It has rare wetland habitats and many different insects, including 25 species that are on the Red Data Book of Invertebrates (meaning they are threatened). Over 330 types of plants have been found here. Geologically, it's important because studying the peat helps us understand plants from 10,000 to 6,500 years ago.

• B, G
• Public access: PP
• Location: Marcham
• Other: BBOWT, GCR, NCR, NNR, SAC

Culham Brake

This brake (a thicket or dense growth of bushes) is a special place for nature.

• B
• Public access: No info
• Location: Culham

Cumnor

This site is important for its geology.

• G
• Public access: No info
• Location: Oxford
• Other: GCR

Ditchley Road Quarry

This quarry is important for its geology.

• G
• Public access: No info
• Location: Charlbury
• Other: GCR

Dry Sandford Pit

This old sand quarry shows layers of limestone rocks that formed in shallow coastal waters about 160 million years ago. It has many fossil ammonites. It also has different habitats like fen, grassland, and heath. It's very important for insects, especially bees and wasps.

• B, G
• Public access: YES
• Location: Abingdon
• Other: BBOWT, GCR

Ducklington Mead

This meadow is managed in a traditional way and has many different plants. It's home to the rare snake's-head fritillary flower, which is becoming less common. It also has ditches with interesting wetland plants and an old hedge with various bushes.

• B
• Public access: NO
• Location: Ducklington

Fernham Meadows

This meadow is a special place for nature.

• B
• Public access: No info
• Location: Faringdon

Frilford Heath, Ponds and Fens

Natural England says the grasslands, heathland, and fens here are unique in southern England. Over 400 types of plants have been found, including some that are nationally rare. There are also unusual insects like a rare wasp and threatened flies.

• B
• Public access: PP
• Location: Abingdon
• Other: BBOWT

Glyme Valley

This site follows parts of the River Glyme valley. It has many different habitats, including the river, ponds, fens, grasslands, and woodlands. It's home to a large group of meadow clary, a rare plant. Badgers also live here.

• B
• Public access: PP
• Location: Chipping Norton
• Other: BBOWT

Grafton Lock Meadow

This meadow is a special place for nature.

• B
• Public access: No info
• Location: Faringdon

Hackpen, Warren & Gramp's Hill Downs

This site has three areas of natural chalk grassland, which are kept short by grazing animals. Eleven types of butterflies have been seen here, including the chalkhill blue and marbled white.

• B
• Public access: YES
• Location: Childrey
• Other: SM

Harpsden Wood

Most of this old wood is on acidic clay, but some parts are on chalky soil. The chalky areas have many different ground plants. You can find orchids like broad-leaved helleborine and bird's-nest orchid here.

• B
• Public access: YES
• Location: Henley-on-Thames

Hartslock

This site on the east bank of the River Thames has many different natural habitats. These include chalk downland, ancient yew woodland, and riverside fens. It was listed in 1915 as a place "worthy of preservation" by Charles Rothschild, who started the Wildlife Trusts. The wood has various trees and a large group of badgers.

• B
• Public access: YES
• Location: Goring-on-Thames
• Other: BBOWT, SAC

Highlands Farm Pit

This site shows gravel from an old channel of the River Thames. This channel existed before the Anglian ice age, about 450,000 years ago. It's very important for understanding the river's history. Many ancient flint tools have been found here, which are some of the earliest of their kind. Natural England calls it a "crucial site."

• G
• Public access: YES
• Location: Henley-on-Thames
• Other: GCR

Holly Court Bank

This bank is a special place for nature.

• B
• Public access: No info
• Location: Witney

Holly Wood

This old wood is a small part of the medieval Royal Forest of Shotover. It's managed in a traditional way and has many different insects. You can find uncommon butterflies like the black hairstreak and purple emperor here.

• B
• Public access: NO
• Location: Oxford

Holton Wood

This ancient wood was once part of Bernwood Forest, a medieval hunting forest. It's managed traditionally, with old oak trees. It has many different insects, including 27 types of butterflies, like the white admiral and purple emperor.

• B
• Public access: FP
• Location: Oxford

Hook Meadow and The Trap Grounds

These meadows are in the floodplain of the River Thames. They are often wet and have clay soils. The southern field is the wettest and has wetland plants like marsh arrow grass and early marsh orchid.

• B
• Public access: NO
• Location: Oxford

Hook Norton Cutting and Banks

This site is a nature reserve along an old railway line. Most of it is grassland with many different plants. It's known for its bee species, including one found in only three other places in the country. The cutting also shows rocks from about 167 million years ago.

• B, G
• Public access: PP
• Location: Chipping Norton
• Other: BBOWT, GCR

Horsehay Quarries

These quarries show rocks from the Middle Jurassic period. They help scientists understand the different layers of rock from about 172 to 167 million years ago.

• G
• Public access: NO
• Location: Chipping Norton
• Other: GCR

Hurst Hill

This hill is important for both its nature and geology. Its mosses and liverworts have been studied for over fifty years. Geologically, it's famous because a fossil of a large plant-eating dinosaur, Camptosaurus prestwichii, was found here in 1879. This dinosaur lived about 143 million years ago.

• B, G
• Public access: YES
• Location: Cumnor
• Other: GCR

Iffley Meadows

These meadows are between two parts of the River Thames. They are managed traditionally for hay and grazing. The soil is enriched by silt when the river floods each year. A special feature is the 89,000 snake's head fritillaries that bloom purple in spring.

• B
• Public access: YES
• Location: Oxford
• Other: BBOWT

Kirtlington Quarry

This old quarry is one of only five Middle Jurassic mammal sites in the world! It has the most different types of mammal fossils. It dates back about 150 million years ago. You can also find fossils of dinosaurs, crocodiles, and sharks here.

• G
• Public access: YES
• Location: Kidlington
• Other: GCR, LNR

Knightsbridge Lane

This site is a woodland along a small road. It's special because it has about one-tenth of all the very rare green hound's tongue plants in the country. This plant is found in only seven other places in Britain. It often grows where the soil has been disturbed.

• B
• Public access: YES
• Location: Watlington

Lamb and Flag Quarry

This quarry is important for its geology.

• G
• Public access: No info
• Location: Abingdon
• Other: GCR

Lambridge Wood

The soil in this wood changes from chalky to very acidic. The main trees are beech, with some oak, ash, and elm. The ground is mostly covered in brambles and bracken.

• B
• Public access: YES
• Location: Henley-on-Thames

Langley's Lane Meadow

This meadow is a special place for nature.

• B
• Public access: No info
• Location: Witney

Little Tew Meadows

This site has four natural meadows. One is used for hay, and the others are grazed by cattle. Two of them still show old medieval plough lines. There are also wet areas and limestone outcrops from an old quarry.

• B
• Public access: FP
• Location: Little Tew

Little Wittenham

This site is managed by the Earth Trust. It has woods, grasslands, bushes, and ponds on a hillside next to the River Thames. You can find the rare greater dodder plant here. It's also home to one of the largest groups of great crested newts in the country, which are a very important protected species.

• B
• Public access: YES
• Location: Dorchester-on-Thames
• Other: SAC

Littlemore Railway Cutting

This cutting shows limestone and clay rocks that were laid down about 160 million years ago. The clay seems to have been deposited in a channel between coral reefs that once covered the Oxford area.

• G
• Public access: NO
• Location: Oxford
• Other: GCR

Littleworth Brick Pit

This pit is important for its geology.

• G
• Public access: No info
• Location: Oxford
• Other: GCR

Long Hanborough Gravel Pit

This pit is important for its geology.

• G
• Public access: No info
• Location: Witney
• Other: GCR

Lye Valley

This is a special type of wetland called a calcareous valley fen, which is rare and threatened in the country. It has many different moss species. Rare insects like the soldier fly and uncommon spiders also live here.

• B
• Public access: YES
• Location: Oxford
• Other: LNR

Lyehill Quarry

This old quarry shows rocks from about 160 million years ago. These rocks are limestones from an unstable reef area. The only fossils found here are oysters.

• G
• Public access: NO
• Location: Oxford
• Other: GCR

Magdalen Grove

This grove is important for its geology.

• G
• Public access: No info
• Location: Oxford
• Other: GCR

Magdalen Quarry

This quarry is important for its geology.

• G
• Public access: No info
• Location: Oxford
• Other: GCR, LNR

Middle Barton Fen

This fen is a special wetland area.

• B
• Public access: No info
• Location: Chipping Norton

Moulsford Downs

This chalk grassland site has rich wildlife. It's home to many different insects, including the uncommon robber-fly and the adonis blue butterfly.

• B
• Public access: NO
• Location: Moulsford

Murcott Meadows

This meadow is a special place for nature.

• B
• Public access: No info
• Location: Oxford
• Other: BBOWT

Neithrop Fields Cutting

This site shows rock layers from about 190 to 180 million years ago. It helps us understand that this area was once next to an island called the "London landmass." It has many fossil ammonites. Natural England says it's a "key" site for understanding ancient geography and rock layers.

• G
• Public access: YES
• Location: Banbury
• Other: GCR

New Marston Meadows

These meadows are in the floodplain of the River Cherwell. They are managed traditionally for hay or by grazing. Some plants here are typical of old meadows, like common meadow-rue. The nationally scarce snake's head fritillary is also found here.

• B
• Public access: PP
• Location: Oxford

Otmoor

This site in the floodplain of the River Ray has damp grasslands, wet sedge, woodlands, and pools. Over sixty bird species breed here, like curlew and lapwing. In winter, birds like teal, wigeon, and snipe visit.

• B
• Public access: PP
• Location: Murcott

Out Wood

This natural wood is a piece of the medieval Royal Forest of Wychwood. It's managed traditionally, with oak trees of different ages. The paths have many different ground plants, including meadow saffron and greater butterfly orchid.

• B
• Public access: PP
• Location: Woodstock

Pishill Woods

These natural woods have many different ground plants, including 35 species found in ancient woodlands. The southern part has beech and oak trees that have been coppiced (cut back to regrow). The northern part has mostly mature beech trees.

• B
• Public access: PP
• Location: Henley-on-Thames

Pixey and Yarnton Meads

These are natural flood meadows next to the River Thames. They have been grazed and cut for hay for over a thousand years! This has made them very rich in plants, with over 150 species. Scientists have studied the plants and water here in detail.

• B
• Public access: PP
• Location: Oxford
• Other: NCR, SAC

Port Meadow with Wolvercote Common and Green

This site has meadows in the floodplain of the River Thames. It's believed to have been grazed for over a thousand years. It's a classic place to study how grazing affects plants. While it has fewer types of plants than nearby hay fields, 178 flowering plants have been recorded. This includes the creeping marshwort, a rare plant found nowhere else in Britain.

• B
• Public access: PP
• Location: Oxford
• Other: NCR, SAC, SM

Priest's Hill

This hill is important for its geology.

• G
• Public access: No info
• Location: Henley-on-Thames
• Other: GCR

Reed Hill

This sheltered valley has natural limestone grassland, secondary woodland, and bushes. A spring makes the ground damp in some areas. It's home to many insects, including the small blue and Duke of Burgundy butterflies.

• B
• Public access: NO
• Location: Witney

Rock Edge

This site shows limestone rocks rich in coral, formed when the area was under a warm, shallow sea, like the Bahamas today. It has many fossils from these coral reefs. These rocks are from about 145 million years ago.

• G
• Public access: YES
• Location: Oxford
• Other: GCR, LNR

Rushy Meadows

These natural grasslands are next to the Oxford Canal. They have many different plant species, like hard rush and water avens, which is very uncommon in the Thames Basin.

• B
• Public access: NO
• Location: Kidlington

Salt Way, Ditchley

This is an old track with rich grass verges and hedges. It's special because it has the largest known group of the very rare downy woundwort plant in Britain. This plant is found in only seven other places and often grows along old Roman roads and tracks.

• B
• Public access: YES
• Location: Chipping Norton
• Other: LNR

Sarsgrove Wood

This ancient wood has different types of rocks, which means different soil conditions. A stream runs through it, making some areas wet. Drier areas have ground plants like early-purple orchid, bluebell, and sweet violet.

• B
• Public access: NO
• Location: Chipping Norton

Sharp's Hill Quarry

This quarry is the "type locality" for the Sharp's Hill Formation, meaning it's the main place where these rocks were first studied. It has many fossils and dates back to about 167 million years ago. It's very important for understanding the rock layers in north Oxfordshire.

• G
• Public access: NO
• Location: Banbury
• Other: GCR

Sheep's Banks

This steeply sloping site has rich grassland that is managed traditionally. An old hedge runs along it, and a small stream flows nearby. You can find five types of orchids here, including bee and pyramidal orchids.

• B
• Public access: NO
• Location: Woodstock

Shellingford Crossroads Quarry

This site shows rocks from about 160 million years ago. It has many fossils of corals and shellfish that lived in reefs. It's also important for understanding the complex rock layers of this period.

• G
• Public access: YES
• Location: Faringdon
• Other: GCR

Shipton-on-Cherwell and Whitehill Farm Quarries

This site shows rock layers from about 167 million years ago. Natural England says Shipton-on-Cherwell Quarry is "internationally important" because it's one of the best sites for finding reptile fossils from this time. It has yielded fossils of two types of crocodiles and a dinosaur called Dacentrurus vetustus.

• G
• Public access: NO
• Location: Kidlington
• Other: GCR

Shirburn Hill

This hill has chalk grassland, chalk heath, bushes, and woodlands. Most grasslands in the Chilterns are grazed by animals, but this site is special because it's mainly grazed by rabbits. It has areas with taller grasses and large areas of hawthorn and buckthorn bushes.

• B
• Public access: YES
• Location: Watlington

Sidling's Copse and College Pond

This copse (small wood) and pond are special places for nature.

• B
• Public access: No info
• Location: Oxford
• Other: BBOWT

Spartum Fen

This fen is a special wetland area.

• B
• Public access: No info
• Location: Oxford

Stanton Great Wood

This wood is managed traditionally. The main trees are oak, ash, and hazel. It has many different plants and insects. Moths like the buff footman and the nationally uncommon small black arches live here.

• B
• Public access: NO
• Location: Oxford

Stanton Harcourt

This site is important for its geology.

• G
• Public access: No info
• Location: Witney
• Other: GCR

Stonesfield Common, Bottoms and Banks

This site has steep valleys and banks. Most of it is natural limestone grassland and bushes, but there's also an area of old, natural woodland. The common has upright brome grass and flowers like field scabious and pyramidal orchid.

• B
• Public access: PP
• Location: Witney

Stonesfield Slate Mines

This site is important for its geology.

• G
• Public access: No info
• Location: Witney
• Other: GCR

Stratton Audley Quarries

These quarries are important for their geology.

• G
• Public access: No info
• Location: Bicester
• Other: GCR

Sturt Copse

This wood has many huge old tree stumps that have regrown, like ash and elm, along with oaks. The ground is mostly covered by dog's mercury. You can find uncommon plants here like yellow star-of-Bethlehem.

• B
• Public access: FP
• Location: Witney

Sugworth

This site dates back over half a million years to a warm period between ice ages. It's an old river channel with rich deposits of fossils. You can find bones of vertebrates, tiny shellfish, molluscs, beetles, and plant remains here.

• G
• Public access: NO
• Location: Abingdon
• Other: GCR

Swyncombe Downs

This area has chalk grassland and bushes on the steep slopes of the Chiltern Hills. Natural England says it's outstanding for its butterflies and moths. Butterflies include the nationally rare silver-spotted skipper and dark green fritillary.

• B
• Public access: PP
• Location: Henley-on-Thames
• Other: SM

Taynton Quarries

These quarries are a special place for nature.

• B
• Public access: No info
• Location: Taynton

Tuckmill Meadows

This meadow is a special place for nature.

• B
• Public access: No info
• Location: Shrivenham
• Other: LNR

Warren Bank

This steeply sloping site has natural chalk grassland and bushes. It has many different plants, including horseshoe vetch and bee orchid. There are also many insects, with butterflies like the dark green fritillary.

• B
• Public access: YES
• Location: Wallingford
• Other: BBOWT

Waterperry Wood

This wood is special because it has many different and important insects, including many rare species. There are nineteen types of uncommon hoverflies, many uncommon beetles, thirty butterfly species, and several rare moths.

• B
• Public access: YES
• Location: Forest Hill
• Other: NCR

Watlington and Pyrton Hills

This site has chalk grassland with many different flowers, chalk bushes, and woodlands. Watlington Hill has short grass, grazed by rabbits. You can find flowering plants like yellow-wort and the nationally rare candytuft.

• B
• Public access: PP
• Location: Watlington
• Other: LNR

Wendlebury Meads and Mansmoor Closes

Wendlebury Meads has several meadows that have been managed traditionally. They have many different plants. Most show signs of old medieval ploughing. Mansmoor Closes were fenced off before 1622 and are important for their history and landscape. Over 160 plant species have been found here.

• B
• Public access: FP
• Location: Kidlington
• Other: BBOWT, NCR

Weston Fen

This site has many different habitats, including a fast-flowing stream, rich fen, willow woodland, and grassland. There are several rare types of beetles here.

• B
• Public access: FP
• Location: Bicester

Westwell Gorse

This gorse (bushy area) is a special place for nature.

• B
• Public access: No info
• Location: Burford

Whitecross Green and Oriel Woods

These ancient woods were once part of two old royal forests, Shotover and Bernwood. They have paths with many different plants and grasses, some with ditches. There's also a pond and a marsh. Twenty-four types of butterflies have been seen here, including the nationally rare black hairstreak.

• B
• Public access: YES
• Location: Murcott
• Other: BBOWT

Whitehill Wood

This wood is a special place for nature.

• B
• Public access: No info
• Location: Witney

Whitehorse Hill

This dry valley shows evidence of slow downhill movement of soil due to freezing and thawing during cold periods over half a million years ago. The site has natural chalk grassland with many different plants, especially in old chalk quarries.

• B, G
• Public access: PP
• Location: Faringdon
• Other: GCR, SM

Wicklesham and Coxwell Pits

These pits are important for their geology.

• G
• Public access: No info
• Location: Faringdon
• Other: GCR

Wolvercote Meadows

These meadows next to the River Thames are managed traditionally for grazing and hay. They have many different plants. The largest field is used for grazing, and others are for hay. There are also water channels with many dragonflies.

• B
• Public access: PP
• Location: Oxford
• Other: SAC

Woodeaton Quarry

This site shows rock layers from about 167 million years ago. It has one of the most complete sections of rocks from this period in the county. Natural England says it's "of great palaeontological and sedimentological interest," meaning it's important for studying ancient life and how rocks formed.

• G
• Public access: YES
• Location: Oxford
• Other: GCR

Woodeaton Wood

This wood is a piece of the ancient Shotover Forest. It's managed traditionally. The ground has plants like wood anemone, ramsons, and goldilocks buttercup.

• B
• Public access: NO
• Location: Oxford

Wormsley Chalk Banks

This site has chalk grassland rich in plants and insects that have become rare nationally. Flowers include bee and fly orchids, with the fly orchid becoming scarce. Insects include various butterflies, harvest spiders, and slowworms.

• B
• Public access: PP
• Location: Stokenchurch

Worsham Lane

This lane is a special place for nature.

• B
• Public access: No info
• Location: Witney

Wychwood

This is what's left of a large royal hunting forest. It's the biggest area of old broadleaved forest in the county. It also has limestone grassland and four marl lakes. Over 360 types of flowering plants and ferns have been found, along with 85 lichens and 60 mosses. It has many different insects, including 17 rare flies.

• B
• Public access: PP
• Location: Witney
• Other: NCR, NNR, SM

Wytham Ditches and Flushes

These ditches have many different water plants and fen plants. Uncommon wetland plants include greater water-parsnip and water violet. There's also a small field that stays partly wet from natural springs.

• B
• Public access: NO
• Location: Wytham

Wytham Woods

This site used to belong to Abingdon Abbey. It has ancient woodland and limestone grassland. Over 500 types of plants have been found here. This site has been studied a lot by Oxford University, so we have tons of information about its birds, mammals, and insects. Over 900 types of beetles, 580 types of flies, and 700 types of bees, wasps, and ants have been recorded!

• B
• Public access: YES
• Location: Wytham
• Other: NCR

More to explore

• Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust
• List of local nature reserves in Oxfordshire