Woolhayes Farm () is a 13.2

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

(32.5 acre)

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 ...

east of

Combe St Nicholas Combe St Nicholas is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated northwest of Chard and from Taunton, on the edge of the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The parish, which includes Wadeford and Scrapton, has a popul ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, notified in 1992. This site comprises

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

, mire and

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

habitats which are now rare in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. It is the largest known example of its type in Somerset and the communities present are near the western limit of their geographical range. The

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

includes

corky-fruited water-dropwort ''Oenanthe pimpinelloides'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae known by the common name corky-fruited water-dropwort. It is a plant of tall, lightly grazed or infrequently mown grassland and coastal meadows in Europe and neigh ...

(''Oenanthe pimpinelloides'') which is a nationally scarce species. Breeding birds include

grasshopper warbler The common grasshopper warbler or just grasshopper warbler (''Locustella naevia'') is a species of Old World warbler in the genus ''Locustella''. It breeds across much of temperate Europe and the western Palearctic. It is migratory, wintering ac ...

(''Locustella naevia'') and

reed bunting The common reed bunting (''Emberiza schoeniclus'') is a passerine bird in the Emberiza, bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. The genus name ''Emberiza'' is from Old High German, ...

(''Emberiza schoeniclus'').

References

{{SSSIs Somerset biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1992