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Vale of White Horse Parishes

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Cherwell

South Oxfordshire

Vale of White Horse

West Oxfordshire

Districts - Landscape Types

Great Faringdon

This map highlights the landscape types within the parish you selected, and its associated local character areas. You can click on any area of the map for a description of its landscape character and biodiversity. Please note that local character areas can cover large areas of the countryside, and may include several parishes, so the description may not be specific to this parish. If there are any wildlife habitats within the parish their descriptions can be found by scrolling to the bottom of this page.

Great Faringdon Image Map

The following wildlife habitats fall within this parish. They are listed according to their associated landscape type or local character area.

If you want more information about any of the sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) listed below, take a look at English Nature's Nature on the Map website. It may also be possible to find out a bit more about the unnamed wildlife habitats in the parish by contacting the Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre (owls@oxfordshire.gov.uk) and quoting the site code next to the habitat description.

The majority of these wildlife habitats are on private land and access to them is not possible without permission of the landowner, unless there is a statutory right of way. However, many wildlife habitats in the county are open to the public. More information on these can be obtained from the Oxfordshire Nature Conservation Forum.

Wildlife Habitats

Wooded Estatelands

Site Code: 29X01

Area: 12.8ha

Wicklesham and Coxwell Pits SSSI

Quarrying has resulted in the exposure of important geological features at a number of sites in Oxfordshire including these quarries near Faringdon. These are important in the understanding of geological history. The special feature here is the exposure of Faringdon sponge gravels. It is one of Britain’s richest sites for fossils, many of which have been found only at Faringdon.

Site Code: 29X07

Area: 3.2ha

Faringdon Wet Meadow

This wet meadow near Faringdon is a steeply sloping field with a line of springs across the slope. The grassland has a good range of wildflowers and has not been agriculturally improved through the use of herbicides or fertilizers. The wildflowers include pepper saxifrage and colourful species such as cowslip, cuckooflower and common knapweed. Such grassland is a national priority for nature conservation. The wet areas where the springs rise have many sedges and wetland wildflowers such as meadowsweet and hemp agrimony.