Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)

Over half the National Stone Centre site is classed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). This is just one of more than 4,000 SSSIs in England.

SSSIs cover some of our most spectacular and beautiful habitats - large wetlands teeming with waterfowl, winding chalk rivers, remote uplands, moorland and peat bog, gorse and heather-clad heathlands, flower-rich meadows, windswept shingle beaches and old limestone quarries.

The pressures of modern development make it very important to protect these areas for the benefit of future generations. SSSIs support plants and animals, that find it difficult to survive in the wider countryside, and are often designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) or Special Protection Areas (SPAs). Many SSSIs are also National Nature Reserves (NNRs) or Local Nature Reserves (LNRs).

SSSIs are the country's very best geological and wildlife sites. Here at the National Stone Centre it is the geological features that are protected and we work with Natural England to preserve these areas. Visitors are requested not to hammer for fossils or remove any material from the site (it is a criminal offence to do so, as it is at all SSSIs).