Knettishall Heath is a biological

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

west of Knettishall in

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. A larger area of 176 hectares is the Knettishall Heath Nature Reserve, which is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. Despite its name, Knettishall Heath is in fact a diverse mosaic of habitats with

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

and riverside meadows, as well as large areas of

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

Ecology

The site is heath and grassland, mainly on acidic soils, with areas of secondary woodland and wet hollows. There are heathland plants, such as sheep's sorrel, tormentil, harebell, ling and

heath bedstraw ''Galium saxatile'' or heath bedstraw is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is related to cleavers. ''Galium saxatile'' is a perennial mat-forming herb, found on grassland, moors, heaths and woods. It can reach a height of ...

, while wet areas have fen vegetation, including

water mint ''Mentha aquatica'' (water mint; syn. ''Mentha hirsuta'' Huds.Euro+Med Plantbase Project''Mentha aquatica'') is a perennial flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It grows in moist places and is native to much of Europe, northwest Africa ...

and yellow iris.

Rare species

Of the more than 12,500 species living in the Brecks, 30% are nationally rare. The heath is home to the rare grey carpet moth which is only found in

Breckland Breckland in Norfolk and Suffolk is a 39,433 hectare Special Protection Area (SPA) under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The SPA partly overlaps the 7,544 hectare Breckland Special Area of Conservation. As a la ...

, and the lunar yellow underwing moth. Seven

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

species are found at Knettishall, including the nationally scarce barbastelle bat.

Exmoor ponies

In 2013, a five-year funded project to restore lowland heath at the nature reserve began. As part of this project, 19 wild Exmoor ponies have roamed and grazed the land, helping other species to thrive. The 'Vision for the Future' project was funded by the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

and WREN - a not-for-profit organisation that offers grants for heritage and biodiversity schemes. The shrinkage of heathland has been caused partially by a decline in

rabbits Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated form ...

grazing; rabbit populations have been decimated by

myxomatosis Myxomatosis is a disease caused by '' Myxoma virus'', a poxvirus in the genus '' Leporipoxvirus''. The natural hosts are tapeti (''Sylvilagus brasiliensis'') in South and Central America, and brush rabbits (''Sylvilagus bachmani'') in North ...

and more recently

rabbit haemorrhagic disease Rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHD), also known as viral hemorrhagic disease (VHD), is a highly infectious and lethal form of viral hepatitis that affects European rabbits. Some viral strains also affect hares and cottontail rabbits. Mortality rate ...

(RHD). The addition of ponies grazing the heathland looks to reverse this shrinkage.

Archaeology

An 18th century rabbit warren and a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

at Hut Hill are evidence of thousands of years of human occupation in the area. At the western end of the heath, ‘patterned ground’ shows evidence of the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

. Repeated freezing and thawing of ground created a unique mix of the sandy soil and the underlying

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...

. Unusual vegetation stripes reflect the two soil types, and the different plants that grow in each.

Footpaths

It is the site where four long-distance footpaths meet: Angles Way,

Icknield Way The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern and eastern England that runs from Norfolk to Wiltshire. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills. Background It is generally said to be, withi ...

, Iceni Way and

Peddars Way The Peddars Way is a long distance footpath that passes through Suffolk and Norfolk, England. Route The Peddars Way is 46 miles (74 km) long and follows the route of a Roman road. It has been suggested by more than one writer that it was ...

(part of the Norfolk Coast Path, a

National Trail National Trails are long distance footpaths and bridleways in England and Wales. They are administered by Natural England, an agency of the Government of the United Kingdom, UK government, and Natural Resources Wales, a Welsh Government, Welsh ...

). The Icknield Way joins with the Peddars Way at the end of its journey from

Ivinghoe Beacon Ivinghoe Beacon is a prominent hill and landmark in Buckinghamshire, England, 233 m (757 ft) above sea level in the Chiltern Hills, close to Ivinghoe and Aldbury. Dunstable, Berkhamsted and Tring are nearby. The Beacon lies within t ...

in Buckinghamshire. The Icknield Way trail, a multi-user route for walkers, horse riders and off-road cyclists also joins with the Peddars Way riders route. The Hereward Way ends nearby in East Harling, and it linked to Knettishall Heath by path.

Access

There are several access points to the heathland, most found off the road between Knettishall and Rushford villages. The main car park for the area can be found on an unnamed road (informally known as Heath Road) off Spalding's Chair Hill. The A1066 passes within a mile or two of the heathland, where it runs from

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road (England), A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, coverin ...

to Garboldisham.

Gallery

File:Peddars Way - Knettishall Heath.jpg,

on the heath File:Icknield Way, near Euston - geograph.org.uk - 1599671.jpg,

nearby File:Standing In Norfolk - geograph.org.uk - 1619239.jpg, Bridge over

River Little Ouse The River Little Ouse, also known as the Brandon River, is a river in the east of England, a tributary of the River Great Ouse. For much of its length it defines the boundary between Norfolk and Suffolk. It rises east of Thelnetham, close to ...

File:Footpath, Knettishall Heath - geograph.org.uk - 1458843.jpg, Footpath on the heath File:Dew Pond on Knettishall Heath - geograph.org.uk - 911519.jpg, Dew Pond on Knettishall Heath File:River Little Ouse at Knettishall - geograph.org.uk - 338087.jpg,

File:Two footpaths meet road - geograph.org.uk - 1458840.jpg, Meeting point of Icknield Way (left) and Peddars Way (right)

References

{{Suffolk Wildlife Trust Suffolk Wildlife Trust Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Suffolk