Leckhampton Hill

**Leckhampton Hill**
	Leckhampton Hill
Gloucestershire
; Cliff face on Leckhampton Hill
Summit:	961 feet SO949183 ; 51°51’51"N, 2°4’31"W

Leckhampton Hill is on the escarpment of the Cotswold Hills immediately south of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, reaching 961 feet at its summit.

The hill, along with the adjacent Charlton Kings Common is within a "site of special scientific interest' covering 158 acres, notified in 1954.^[1]

The hillside and the common are of a series of unimproved Jurassic limestone grassland along the Cotswold scarp. The site also includes disused quarry faces, and quarry spoil which has been vegetated.

Geology and biology

The Leckhampton quarries expose the thickest single cross-section through the Middle Jurassic, Inferior Oolite strata of the area. They are a major research interest, and there are many published accounts of the last 150 years. Strata of some 200 feet are exposed, and the large outcrops are of significant importance to those studying palaeontology or sedimentology, and for studying ancient environments generally.

The site supports a range of habitats which include unimproved calcareous grassland, woodland and scrub, cliff faces and scree slopes. The grassland is of major importance and it comprises a tall ungrazed sward. This is dominated by tor-grass, upright brome, meadow oat-grass, sweet vernal-grass and quaking grass. It is noted for its range of herbs which include salad burnet, common rock-rose, common bird's-foot-trefoil. The quarry floors support wild thyme, dwarf thistle, yellow-wort and autumn gentian Gentiana amarella. The site supports many plants which are scarce at a national or county level. These include fly orchid, musk orchid and purple milk-vetch. It is one of a small number of sites which support meadow clary in the county.

Shrub areas support nesting birds such as meadow pipit and grasshopper warbler. It is a shelter area for invertebrates and small mammals.

There are wooded areas of broad-leaved and coniferous trees including mature beech. These areas support a woodland flora such as ivy broomrape, white helleborine and greater butterfly-orchid.