Weston in Gordano - Geography

Geography

There are two nearby nature reserves, both owned and managed by the Avon Wildlife Trust. Weston Big Wood is 38 hectares of ancient woodland, and Weston Moor is 59 hectares of wet grassland. Weston Big Wood falls within a wider biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. The wood itself dates at least from Iron Age times, with some evidence that there has been woodland here since trees began to recolonise after the last Ice Age some 10,000 years ago. Some of its internal features e.g. old stones, ditches and banks are thought to be medieval boundaries, dating from the Middle Ages and used to divide the wood into sectors. Adjacent to the wood on its southern side is a large quarry. The woodland sits on a ridge of Carboniferous limestone, and its slopes are covered with Small-leaved lime trees; oak and hazel are more common on flatter hilltop areas. Rare Whitebeams are also dotted throughout the wood. The rare plant Purple Gromwell is found at the site. Other flowers include; Wood Anemones, Violets and Bluebells. The presence of other plants such as Herb Paris and Yellow Archangel together with the Purple Gromwell, show that this wood is ancient. There is a wide coppiced open area inside the wood, created as a butterfly feature as part of the reserve management work, called "The Ride". Butterflies such as the Orange Tip, Speckled Wood and Purple Hairstreak can be seen in the area in summer. The birds commonly seen, include Woodpecker, Nuthatch, and Tawny Owl. Bats also roost in the trees, and the presence of many setts indicates a large badger population.

Weston-in-Gordano SSSI is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest and Geological Conservation Review site because temporary exposures here have shown Pleistocene sediments, including interglacial fluvial sands and marine gravels and cold-stage fluvial gravels. Rich molluscan faunas have been reported from the section. The presence of freshwater and marine interglacial deposits gives it great potential importance for the understanding of the Quaternary sequence of the Vale of Gordano and Avonmouth lowlands.