WTH is a SSSI?
Much of this issue is devoted to the nation’s most prized landscapes – the national parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. But Britain is generously sprinkled with thousands of officially designated places of interest which means you’ll very likely have one near you. It just takes a bit of codebreaking to decipher all the acronyms and track them down...
SSSI
Site of Special Scientific Interest.
A tongue-twister that is normally said ‘triple-S-I’. While often beautiful, the designation criteria is technical rather than aesthetic, awarded for biological interest (flora or fauna) or geological (rocks or landforms). We like to think of them like cabinets of curiosity packed with fascinating rarities, and there are almost 7000 across the UK (known as ASSIs in Northern Ireland, with A for area). Size varies from a 4.5 square metre site in Gloucester which protects 200 lesser horseshoe bats to the 143 square miles of the Humber Estuary. You can find them on DEFRA’s Magic Map – see panel at end – and it’s well worth Googling for the site’s citation, written by Natural England or its national equivalents. It details why the site is special, reveals fascinating secrets even about places you thought you knew well, and lists unusual species or formations to look out for on your next walk. And while footpaths go through a good number of them, a SSSI listing does not guarantee access, so always check your map beforehand.
SAC
Special Area of Conservation.
There are over 650 of these in the UK. Established as part of an EU-wide project (which the government has said it will maintain post Brexit) these sites protect rare or threatened habitats and species. They are sometimes SSSIs as well (confusingly, any one site can have a string of designations such as AONB, SSSI, SAC, NNR). The full EU list of important landscape types and species is known as the Habitats Directive: Britain has 78 notable habitats, from dry heaths to limestone pavements, and 43 native or resident species from the marsh fritillary butterfly to lady’s slipper orchid. Find them all at sac.jncc.gov.uk, where you can pick a local spot or find a habitat like ‘mountain hay meadow’ that calls to you.
SPA
Not a health resort, but a Special Protection Area. Like SACs, these form part of the EU-wide network of sites known collectively as Natura 2000, but SPAs focus specifically on the conservation of wild birds. As of 2019 there were 275 in the UK, protecting the habitats of rare, vulnerable and migratory species at land and sea. They are heaven for twitchers – binoculars are a must. See jncc.gov.uk/our-work/listof-spas
NNR
The aim of National Nature Reserves is to protect the nation’s most important habitats, species and geology, and – crucially – to provide ‘outdoor laboratories’ for research, which happily for walkers means access tends to be good (but always check). Designated by the relevant national body – Natural England, Scottish Natural Heritage, Natural Resources Wales, Northern Ireland Environment Agency – there are nigh on 400 across the UK. In England, two thirds are directly managed by Natural England; the rest by approved organisations like the RSPB and National Trust.
LNR
Local Nature Reserve. There are thousands – well over 1500 in England alone. This is where local authorities can recognise areas with geology or wildlife that is of neighbourly, if not national, importance. The authority must control the land, which means they can permit public access to at least part of the site, as encouraging people to study nature, or just be in a wild space, is part of the remit. LNRs can’t also be NNRs, but they can be SSSIs. It can be a confusing place, can landscape designation.