Newtown St Boswells Woods

Also within

Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale County Eildon and Leaderfoot Scenic Area

Condition (NatureScot)

Habitats

Ancient woodland, Coppiced woodland, Fast flowing river and stream

Description

Newtown St Boswells Woods Newtown St Boswells Woods Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) lies immediately to the north-east of Newtown St Boswells in the Scottish Borders. These primary ancient woodlands are of mixed-age, coppiced ash-wych elm with varied vertical structure and a diverse field-layer rich in calcium loving and nitrophilous plant species. The woodlands have developed on steep, wet slopes with open seepages, which lie along the line of two primary tributary streams of the River Tweed, the Newtown Burn and the Sprouston Burn. The woods occupy steep valley sides making access for grazing and extraction more difficult which meant they have remained relatively unchanged for many hundreds of years The associated plant communities of Newtown St Boswells Woods bear resemblance to those which occur in woodlands further south in England. Such communities are very rare in Scotland but do occur to a small extent in the Scottish Borders and in the Clyde Valley woodlands. The wood has a diverse field layer which includes over 200 flowering plants, including more than twenty indicators of ancient woodland. There are also several species of high regional interest such as giant horsetail Equisetum telmateia, wood stitchwort Stellaria nemorum, wood vetch Vicia sylvatica, beech fern Phegopteris connectilis and alternate-leafed golden saxifrage Chrysosplenium alternifolium.

Species mentioned

Plant communities