Heyshott Down is a 42.6-hectare (105-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Midhurst in West Sussex.[1][2] It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2.[3]

Heyshott Down
Site of Special Scientific Interest
LocationWest Sussex
Grid referenceSU 897 168[1]
InterestBiological
Area42.6 hectares (105 acres)[1]
Notification1986[1]
Location mapMagic Map

This site on the South Downs is unimproved chalk grassland, which is a nationally rare habitat. The grassland is plant-rich and it is nationally important for mosses and liverworts, such as Antitrichia curtipendula, Hylocomium brevirostre and Rhytidiadelphus loreus. The site is also nationally important for spiders and harvestmen and it is one of only two sites in Britain where the spider Tapinocyboides pygmaea has been recorded.[4]

There is access by footpaths from Cocking and Heyshott.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Designated Sites View: Heyshott Down". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Map of Heyshott Down". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  3. ^ Ratcliffe, Derek, ed. (1977). A Nature Conservation Review. Vol. 2. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 120. ISBN 0521-21403-3.
  4. ^ "Heyshott Down citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 26 May 2019.

50°56′38″N 0°43′30″W / 50.944°N 0.725°W / 50.944; -0.725