Skip to Content

Special Areas of Conservation

Chilterns Beechwoods

Designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
Country England
Unitary Authority Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire
Centroid* SP975134
Latitude 51.81083333
Longitude -0.585277778
SAC EU Code UK0012724
Status Designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
Area (ha) 1285.86
* This is the approximate central point of the SAC. In the case of large, linear or composite sites, this may not represent the location where a feature occurs within the SAC.
Location of Chilterns Beechwoods SAC

General site character

  • Heath, Scrub, Maquis and Garrigue, Phygrana (4%)
  • Dry grassland, Steppes (8%)
  • Broad-leaved deciduous woodland (88%)

Download the Standard Data Form for this site (PDF <100kb)

Note When undertaking an appropriate assessment of impacts at a site, all features of European importance (both primary and non-primary) need to be considered.

Annex I habitats that are a primary reason for selection of this site

  • 9130 Asperulo-Fagetum beech forests

    The Chilterns Beechwoods represent a very extensive tract of Asperulo-Fagetum beech forests in the centre of the habitat’s UK range. The woodland is an important part of a grassland-scrub-woodland mosaic. A distinctive feature in the woodland flora is the occurrence of the rare coralroot Cardamine bulbifera.

Annex I habitats present as a qualifying feature, but not a primary reason for selection of this site

Annex II species that are a primary reason for selection of this site

  • Not Applicable

Annex II species present as a qualifying feature, but not a primary reason for site selection

Many designated sites are on private land: the listing of a site in these pages does not imply any right of public access.