Purn Hill (grid reference ST332573) is a 6.1 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the village of Bleadon, Somerset, notified in 1990. The site is a small promontory of Carboniferous Limestone projecting southward from the main Mendip ridge.
The SSSI citation sheet describes the site as having an "exceptionally diverse unimproved calcareous grassland flora". The richest grassland communities are situated on the thin and stony soils of the steeper west-facing flanks of the hill. Over 200 species occur in the sward, including Salad Burnet (Sanguisorba minor), Dropwort (Filipendula vulgaris), Fairy Flax (Linum catharticum), Kidney Vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria) and Dwarf Thistle (Cirsium acaule). The rare plants are mainly associated with the small exposures of dolomitic limestone in the southern part of the site. Purn Hill is one of only five British sites for the nationally rare coastal limestone umbellifer species Honewort (Trinia glauca). White Rock-rose (Helianthemum apenninum) is found at the site and hybridises with Common Rock-rose (Helianthemum nummularium) to form the hybrid H. x sulphureum.[1] Forty species of grass occur at the site, including Somerset Hair-grass (Koeleria vallesiana) which in Britain is confined to the western Mendips. Musk Stork's-bill (Erodium moschatum) occurs here.[2]
PurnHill (grid reference ST332573) is a 6.1 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the village of Bleadon, Somerset, notified in...
Cheddar Gorge Cheddar Gorge is a limestone gorge in the Mendip Hills, near the village of Cheddar, Somerset, England. The gorge is the site of the Cheddar...
The Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare...
Pen Hill forms part of the Mendip Hills plateau in Somerset, England. The hill is located in St Cuthbert Out civil parish in Mendip district. The name...
of 10,810 in 2019. Mendip District Council was based there. The Mendip Hills lie to the north and the River Sheppey runs through the town, as does the...
Bos Swallet is a karst cave in Burrington Combe on the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England. It is noted for being rather steep, with a length of 78 metres...
Somerset, England, on the River Axe, near the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. Its population according to the 2011 census was 2,057. Axanbrycg is suggested...
attraction in the village of Wookey Hole on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills near Wells in Somerset, England. The River Axe flows through the cave. It...
was the establishment of England's first urban nature reserve at Brandon Hill, bringing hay meadows, wildlife ponds and butterfly gardens into a formal...
city of Bristol and surrounding area, taking its supply from the Mendip Hills. Some of the lake water is used to maintain the flow in the River Chew....
is a cave on the edge of Burrington Combe in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. Due to early attempts to turn it into a show cave...
Litton Reservoirs Hills Axbridge Hill Black Down Bleadon Hill Burledge Hill Crook Peak Fry's Hill Pen HillPurnHill Shute Shelve Hill Wavering Down Caves...
Litton Reservoirs Hills Axbridge Hill Black Down Bleadon Hill Burledge Hill Crook Peak Fry's Hill Pen HillPurnHill Shute Shelve Hill Wavering Down Caves...
a limestone quarry at East Cranmore, near Shepton Mallet on the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England. The quarry was formerly known as Merehead, a name which...
Mendip Hills, where it was first found by Dillenius in c.1726. Here, in addition to the Crook Peak and Sand Point sites, it is found on PurnHill, on Wavering...
The Mendip Hills, (Mendips) in northern Somerset, are the most southerly Carboniferous Limestone uplands in Britain. The Mendips comprise three major...
The caves of the Mendip Hills are formed by the particular geology of the Mendip Hills: large areas of limestone worn away by water makes it a national...
Shelve Hill is a 332.2 hectare (820.9 acre) geological and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the western end of the Mendip Hills, Somerset...
limestone quarry owned by Hanson plc, near the village of Whatley on the Mendip Hills, Somerset, England. The quarry exhibits pale to dark grey Carboniferous...
a former quarry near Wells, Somerset on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills that produced Carboniferous Limestone. The rock was described as having...
Limestone gorge near the village of Burrington, on the north side of the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in North Somerset, England. "Combe"...
Global Information
