Chilterns Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation (SAC) - Background information
The Chilterns Beechwoods SAC is the only SAC in Dacorum. This large site is protected for its:
- beech forests
- semi-natural dry grasslands and scrub, and
- its population of stag beetles.
The SAC is extensive and made up of several components within:
- Dacorum
- Buckinghamshire
- South Oxfordshire, and
- Windsor and Maidenhead
In all, it extends to nearly 1,300 hectares. With the exception of Bisham Woods, all elements of the SAC lie within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
It is an extensively wooded and farmed landscape, which is underlain by chalk bedrock. This forms a distinctive north-west facing escarpment. Individual woodlands occupy a variety of landscape settings including:
- scarp slope
- dry valleys and
- plateau.
Varying environmental conditions result in a range of woodland types, although this is strongly dominated by the beech forests which give the site its name. All parts represent popular visitor attractions. All components are located within the Chilterns Natural Character Area.
Maps
Chiltern Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation (PDF 979KB)
Chiltern Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation within Dacorum (PDF 1.4MB)