Ham Street Woods

Infobox SSSI


name=Ham Street Woods
aos=Kent
interest=Biological
gridref=TQ996352
area=172.2 hectares (425.5 acres)
notifydate=1951

http://www.natureonthemap.org.uk/map.aspx?
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Ham Street Woods is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) near Hamstreet and Ruckinge, six miles (10 km) from Ashford in Kent, England (gbmapping|TQ996352). The woodland is said to be more than 400 years old.

The site is on the escarpment of the old Saxon shoreline [ [http://www.english-nature.org.uk/special/nnr/nnr_details.asp?NNR_ID=75 English Nature] ] and the Saxon Shore Way passes through the woods. The boundary of the site was amended to include the Ham Street Woods National Nature Reserve(one of the first in the country [ [http://www.kent.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/explore-kent/parks-and-open-spaces/hamstreet-woods-national-nature-reserve.htm Hamstreet Woods NNR] ] and a former part of the site (Burnt Oak Wood) is now included in the nearby Orlestone Forest (SSSI).

Most of the site has been coppiced and in parts the coppicing is still cut. Plants such as bluebell, primrose (Primula vulgaris) and wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa) flourish, and plants of open areas such as goldenrod (Solidago virgaurea) and heath cudweed (Gnaphthalium sylvaticum) colonise. [ [http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1001531.pdf SSSI citation] ]

References