Old Castle Down is a

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 ...

between

St Brides Major St. Brides Major () is a village within the community also called St Brides Major in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales. The village is located approximately 1.5 mi from the Glamorgan Heritage Coast. It is connected by bus to the nearby tow ...

and

Ewenny Ewenny () is a village and community on the River Ewenny in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Over the years the village has grown into the neighbouring village of Corntown to such an extent that there is no longer a clear boundary between the ...

in the

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( ), locally referred to as ''The Vale'', is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf t ...

, south

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The

Countryside Council for Wales The Countryside Council for Wales (CCW; ) was a Welsh Assembly sponsored body responsible for wildlife conservation, landscape and countryside access in Wales. It merged with Forestry Commission Wales, and Environment Agency Wales to form ...

states that the site has been categorised as a Site of Special Interest "...for a range of vegetation types and rare species. It supports calcareous grassland, acid grassland and heathland on limestone. Soft-leaved sedge and pale heath-violet are themselves features of interest and a number of other plants occur here which are rare in Wales. These include bristle-bent, a grass which is found in South-West England but in only a few places in South Wales. The site and the surrounding area provides habitat for the

high brown fritillary ''Fabriciana adippe'', the high brown fritillary, is a large and brightly colored butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, native to Europe and across the Palearctic to Japan. It is known for being Great Britain's most threatened butterfly and is li ...

, a butterfly which is rare and declining nationally. Old Castle Down SSSI also includes a geological feature of importance. The disused Duchy Quarry exposes Carboniferous rocks (about 340 million years old). Cracks and fissures within these rocks were infilled by sediments in Jurassic times (about 195 million years ago). These sediments incorporate the fossil remains of reptiles and primitive mammals."

Notes

Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the Vale of Glamorgan {{ValeofGlamorgan-geo-stub

See also

Notes