Buckshraft Mine & Bradley Hill Railway Tunnel

Also within

Gloucestershire County

Condition (Natural England)

Climate exposure

This is about exposure to a nationwide pressure this habitat type carries — not a verdict on this site's own management.

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Carboniferous · Rock Type: Carboniferous Limestone, Ironstone, Limestone

Landscape processes: Coastal

Description

Description The Forest of Dean and the Wye Valley form one of the main British strongholds for the lesser horseshoe bat Rhinolophus hipposideros and greater horseshoe bat R. ferrumequinum. Both of these species are rare and threatened due to the continuing loss of breeding and hibernation roosts and vital feeding areas and are protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. European legislation also makes provision for the protection of these species and their habitats through the Bern Convention and EC Habitats Directive. In the Forest of Dean a ring of iron ore bearing Carboniferous Limestone forms the focus of a series of ancient and more recent mines which provide hibernation sites for many species of bat. This site is composed of two separate locations one of which Buckshraft Mine lies on the eastern edge of this ring near the village of Ruspidge. The other location Bradley Hill Railway Tunnel lies near the village of Soudley one and a half kilometres to the south east. This site is notified for its nationally important population of the greater horseshoe bats. A smaller number of lesser horseshoe bats also use the site. Local research has demonstrated that the greater horseshoe bats move between the two parts of the site and the nearby Dean Hall Coach House and Cellar SSSI to the north. Buckshraft Mine was an active ironstone mine in the 19th Century and early to mid parts of the 20th Century. The entrance shaft follows the steep slope of the rock strata extending to a depth of more than 150 metres and leads into over one kilometre of tunnels and workings. The mine is a very important hibernation location for greater horseshoe bats within the Forest of Dean and supports up to two thirds of the juvenile population from the Dean Hall SSSI in winter. Research has also demonstrated that greater horseshoe bats from the other Gloucestershire breeding roost at Woodchester Park SSSI which is at least 15 kilometres away come to the mine to hibernate. The wide range of underground micro climates sought by the bats are dependent on the ventilation, humidity and temperature of the mine system. This is, in part, influenced by the surface woodlands which act as wind breaks. The woodlands also provide feeding habitats for the bats and are important in ensuring a readily available food source of insects. This feature is particularly important in spring when the bats need to build fat reserves quickly to ensure a successful breeding season. Bradley Hill Railway Tunnel is a dis used tunnel which formed part of a link between the Forest of Dean and the Severn Estuary villages and towns to the south east. The stone and brick lined tunnel is a quarter of a kilometre in length and is partly bricked up at each entrance. A two metre gap in the brickwork at the top of each entrance forms the main access to the site for bats. The tunnel is used primarily in spring by greater horseshoe bats as a transition roost before the bats move to the Dean Hall SSSI breeding roost. Smaller numbers also use the site in autumn in advance of moving to Buckshraft Mine as the tunnel temperature is generally too low to support mid winter hibernation. Based on the maximum recorded count the tunnel supports upto one third of the breeding population of the Dean Hall SSSI. Other Information 1. New Site Notification 2. This site is one of a series of Sites of Special Scientific Interest within the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire notified for the lesser and greater horseshoe bat populations. This suite of sites includes both breeding and hibernation roosts and contributes to the conservation of bat populations of European importance. Other sites which form part of this series in Gloucestershire include, Breeding sites, Caerwood and Ashberry Goose House SSSI, Blaisdon Hall SSSI, Sylvan House Barn SSSI and Dean Hall Coach House and Cellar SSSI Hibernation sites, Devil's Chapel Scowles SSSI, Old Bow and Old Ham Mines SSSI, Wigpool Ironstone Mine SSSI and Westbury Brook Ironstone Mine SSSI.

Species mentioned