| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 | |
| Location | Hampshire West Sussex |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | SU 802 317[1] |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 1,298.5 hectares (3,209 acres)[1] |
| Notification | 1994[1] |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Woolmer Forest is a 1,298.5-hectare (3,209-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Bordon in Hampshire and West Sussex.[1][2] It is also a Special Area of Conservation[3] and part of the Wealden Heaths Phase II Special Protection Area.[4] Two areas are Nature Conservation Review sites, Grade I.[5]
It is part of the former royal hunting forest of Woolmer. It lies within the western Weald in the South Downs National Park, straddling the border between east Hampshire and West Sussex. Historically a largely treeless heathland on sterile sandy soils, the forest was traditionally managed, like other royal forests, as "wood pasture" in which deer would be kept for hunting by the aristocracy for sport and for venison, and where commoners were permitted to graze their livestock.[6] The forest today consists of both dry and humid lowland heath. It contains the largest and most diverse area of lowland heathland habitats outside the New Forest and is considered to be the most important area of heathland in the Weald of southern England; it is the only site in England known to support all twelve known native species of reptiles and amphibians, and it supports a nationally important heathland flora with associated birds and invertebrate fauna.[6]
Woolmer village lies within the confines of the forest.
- ^ a b c d "Designated Sites View: Woolmer Forest". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ "Map of Woolmer Forest". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ "Designated Sites View: Woolmer Forest". Special Areas of Conservation. Natural England. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
- ^ "Designated Sites View: Wealden Heaths Phase II". Special Protection Areas. Natural England. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
- ^ Ratcliffe, Derek, ed. (1977). A Nature Conservation Review. Vol. 2. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 168, 305. ISBN 0521-21403-3.
- ^ a b "SSSI Citation — Woolmer Forest" (PDF). Natural England. Retrieved 22 May 2009.