Steeple Point to Marsland Mouth

Steeple Point to Marsland Mouth
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Cliffs at Yeol Mouth, to the north of the site
Location within Cornwall
Area of Search	Cornwall
Grid reference	SS212174
Coordinates	50°54′54″N 4°33′36″W / 50.9149°N 4.5599°W / 50.9149; -4.5599Coordinates: 50°54′54″N 4°33′36″W / 50.9149°N 4.5599°W / 50.9149; -4.5599
Interest	Biological
Area	342.8 hectares (3.43 km²; 1.32 sq mi)
Notification	1973 (1973)
Natural England website

Steeple Point to Marsland Mouth is a coastal Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Cornwall, England, UK, noted for its biological characteristics.

Geography

The 343-hectare (850-acre) site, notified in 1973, is situated on the north Cornish coast, within Morwenstow civil parish, 5 miles (8.0 km) north of the town of Bude. It starts at Steeple Point in the south, following the shores of the Celtic Sea in the Atlantic Ocean to Marsland Mouth in the north, which is on the Cornwall-Devon border. This site is contiguous with the Bude Coast, Duckpool to Furzey Cove and Marsland to Clovelly Coast (in Devon) chain of SSSIs on this section of coastline.^[1]^[2]

The South West Coast Path runs through the SSSI and parts of the coastline are owned by the National Trust. The SSSI also covers the Cornish side of Marsland Valley nature reserve, jointly owned by the Devon and Cornwall Wildlife Trusts.^[2]^[3]

Wildlife and ecology

The SSSI is sited on a geological formation of Upper Carboniferous Culm Measures, which support a variety of habitats including maritime grassland, woodland, maritime heath, scrub, bodies of water as well as rocky foreshore and cliffs.^[4]

Flora

Amongst the cliff edge grassland buckshorn plantain (Plantago coronopus), carline thistle (Carlina vulgaris), red fescue (Festuca rubra), thrift (Armeria maritima) and wild thyme (Thymus praecox) can be found. Along with some of these species bell heather (Erica cinerea), heather (Calluna vulgaris), burnet rose (Rosa pimpinellifolia), catsear (Hypochaeris), eyebright (of the Euphrasia genus), western gorse (Ulex gallii) and yarrow (Achillea millefolium) grow in the heathlands.^[4]

Fauna

The SSSI supports a wide variety of invertebrates, in particular butterflies and 14 species of dragonfly.^[4]

Uncommon species of butterfly found include brown hairstreak (Thecla betulae), grayling (Hipparchia semele), grizzled skipper (Pyrgus malvae), high brown fritillary (Argynnis cydippe) and marsh fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia).^[4] The coastline of the SSSI supported one of the last known British colonies of breeding large blue butterfly (Maculinea arion), which was declared nationally extinct in 1979. Thereafter, from 1983 the butterfly was reintroduced to the country, including at locations on this site.^[4]^[5]

The coastal habitats support bird-life including the great black-backed gull (Larus marinus) and stonechat (Saxicola torquata), while the common buzzard (Buteo buteo), dipper (Cinclus cinclus), sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) and wood warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix) can be found in the woodland areas.^[4]

Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) are also found in the Marsland Valley section of the site.^[3]

References

↑ "Steeple Point to Marsland Mouth map". Natural England. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
1 2 Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 190 Bude & Clovelly ISBN 978-0-319-23145-6
1 2 "Marsland Valley Nature Reserve". Cornwall Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
1 2 3 4 5 6 "Steeple Point to Marsland Mouth" (PDF). Natural England. 4 December 1987. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
↑ "The Large Blue & the National Trust". National Trust. Retrieved 1 December 2011.

Ceremonial county of Cornwall

Cornwall Portal

Unitary authorities	Cornwall Council Council of the Isles of Scilly

Major settlements	Bodmin Bude Callington Camborne Camelford Falmouth Fowey Hayle Helston Launceston Liskeard Looe Lostwithiel Marazion Newlyn Newquay Padstow Par Penryn Penzance Porthleven Redruth Saltash St Austell St Blazey St Columb Major St Ives St Just in Penwith St Mawes Stratton Torpoint Truro Wadebridge See also: List of civil parishes in Cornwall

Rivers	Allen Camel Cober De Lank Fal Fowey Gannel Gover Hayle Helford Inny Kensey Looe Lynher Menalhyl Ottery Par Pont Pill Port Navas Red Seaton St Austell Tamar Tiddy Truro Valency

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Penwith North Cornwall

Biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly

Summary	Summarised data for all sites (biological and geological)

Cornwall	Aire Point to Carrick Du Amble Marshes Baulk Head to Mullion Bedruthan Steps and Park Head Boconnoc Park and Woods Bodmin Moor, North Borlasevath and Retallack Moor Boscastle to Widemouth Brendonmoor Breney Common Bude Coast Cabilla Manor Wood Caerthillian to Kennack Carnkief Pond Carrick Heaths Carricknath Point to Porthbean Beach Carrine Common & Penwethers Chyenhal Moor Cligga Head Coombe Mill Coverack to Porthoustock Crow's Nest Crowhill Valley Dozmary Pool Draynes Wood East Lizard Heathlands Eglarooze Cliff Gerrans Bay to Camels Cove Godrevy Head to St Agnes Goonhilly Downs Goss and Tregoss Moors Greenamoor Greenscoombe Wood, Luckett Grimscott Gwithian to Mexico Towans Hayle Estuary & Carrack Gladden Kelsey Head Kennack to Coverack Kernick and Ottery Meadows Loe Pool Loggans Moor Lower Bostraze and Leswidden Lower Fal & Helford Intertidal Lymsworthy Meadows Lynher Estuary Malpas Estuary Marazion Marsh Meddon Moor Meneage Coastal Section Merthen Wood Minster Church Mullion Cliff to Predannack Cliff Nance Wood Newlyn Downs Ottery Valley Park Wood Penhale Dunes Pentire Peninsula Phoenix United Mine Plymouth Sound Shores And Cliffs Polruan to Polperro Polyne Quarry Porthgwarra to Pordenack Point Rame Head & Whitsand Bay Red Moor Redlake Meadows & Hoggs Moor Retire Common River Camel Valley and Tributaries Rock Dunes Rosemullion Rosenannon Bog and Downs St Austell Clay Pits St John's Lake St Nectan's Glen Steeple Point to Marsland Mouth Swanpool Sylvia's Meadow Talland Barton Tamar–Tavy Estuary Tintagel Cliffs Treen Cliff Tregonetha & Belowda Downs Tregonning Hill Trehane Barton Trelow Downs Trevose Head and Constantine Bay Upper Fal Estuary and Woods Upper Fowey Valley Ventongimps Moor West Cornwall Bryophytes West Lizard

Isles of Scilly	Annet Big Pool and Browarth Point Castle Down (Tresco) Chapel Down Eastern Isles Great Pool Gugh Higher Moors and Porth Hellick Pool Lower Moors Norrard Rocks Peninnis Head Pentle Bay, Merrick And Round Islands Plains and Great Bay Pool Of Bryher & Popplestone Bank Rushy Bay and Heathy Hill Samson Shipman Head & Shipman Down St Helen's St Martin's Sedimentary Shore Teän Western Rocks White Island Wingletang Down

Neighbouring areas Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Devon Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset

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