Roydon Common
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 | |
| Location | Norfolk |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | TF 686 224[1] |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 194.9 hectares (482 acres)[1] |
| Notification | 1984[1] |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Roydon Common is a 194.9-hectare (482-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of King's Lynn in Norfolk.[1][2] It is also a Grade I Nature Conservation Review site,[3] a National Nature Reserve[4] and a Ramsar site.[5] It is part of the Roydon Common and Dersingham Bog Special Area of Conservation[6] and Roydon Common and Grimston Warren nature reserve, which is managed by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust,[7]
| Designations | |
|---|---|
| Official name | Roydon Common |
| Designated | 5 March 1993 |
| Reference no. | 588[8] |
Ecology
[edit]The common is described by Natural England as "one of the best examples in Britain of a lowland mixed valley mire". It has diverse habitats, including wet acid heath, calcareous fen and dry heath on acid sands. There are rare plants, birds and insects, including the black darter dragonfly.[9]
Uncommon plant species include black bogrush, marsh fern, cranberry, bog asphodel, common cotton-grass, all three species of sundew and sphagnum moss. The common also supports some uncommon dragonfly species such as the broad-bodied chaser. Many species of flowers grow in grassy clearings on the drier ground which attract butterflies such as green and purple hairstreaks and brown argus.
Access
[edit]There is access by footpaths including one from Pott Row which runs along the southern boundary
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Designated Sites View: Roydon Common". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ "Map of Roydon Common". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ Ratcliffe, pp. 130–31, 212–13
- ^ "Designated Sites View: Roydon Common". National Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ "Designated Sites View: Roydon Common". Ramsar Site. Natural England. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ "Designated Sites View: Roydon Common and Dersingham Bog". Special Area of Conservation. Natural England. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ "Roydon Common and Grimston Warren". Norfolk Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
- ^ "Roydon Common". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ^ "Roydon Common citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
52°46′23″N 0°30′04″E / 52.773°N 0.501°E
