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Inkpen Crocus Fields
Site of Special Scientific Interest
	Location within Berkshire
Location	Berkshire
Grid reference	SU 369 639
Coordinates	51°22′23″N 1°28′16″W / 51.373°N 1.471°W
Interest	Biological
Area	3.1 hectares (7.7 acres)
Notification	1986
Location map	Magic Map

Inkpen Crocus Fields is a 3.1-hectare (7.7-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Inkpen in Berkshire.^[1]^[2] It is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.^[3]

Geography

The field is old pasture which has not been ploughed or ‘improved’ with fertilisers. Cattle are used to graze the site in the summer and autumn to ensure coarse grasses don’t out-compete the flower-rich sward and orchids.^[4]

The crocus field slopes down to a spring-fed stream, then rises to become fine meadowland. Along the edge of the pasture an old hedgerow offers food and refuge to a host of birds.^[3]

History

Inkpen parish records have shown the crocuses have been there for at least 200 years.^[4] There is a local legend that 12th-century Crusaders brought the crocuses back from Europe as a source of saffron to flavour food.^[5]

In 1986 the site was designated a site of special scientific interest (SSSI).^[6] The site was created as a SSSI not for its crocuses, as they are non-native, but for its species-rich meadowland.^[5]

Fauna

The site has the following fauna:^[7]^[3]^[5]

Birds

Mammals

Dexter cattle

Invertebrates

Bombus terrestris

Flora

The site has the following Flora:^[6]^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Designated Sites View: Inkpen Crocus Fields". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
^ "Map of Inkpen Crocus Fields". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Inkpen Crocus Fields". Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Inkpen Crocus Field in bloom | Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust". Bbowt.org.uk. 10 March 2014. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c Gardens to Visit. "A spectacular 200-year-old mystery". Telegraph. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Inkpen Crocus Fields citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Inkpen – 7th March 2009 « Reading & District Natural History Society". Rdnhs.org.uk. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.