- Lambert's Castle
Location map
Dorset
lat=50.78713
long=-2.89509
width=180
float=right
caption="Lambert's Castle shown withinDorset "
(gbmapping|SY370990)Lambert's Castle is an
Iron Age hill fort inDorset ,England .The fort rises to a height of 256 m on a broad northerly spur, with steep natural slopes on three sides, and linear ramparts across the flat southern approaches.
The site is owned by the National Trust.The is a car park accessible down a track off the B3165east of
Axminster .Coney's Castle is about 1.5km to the south,andPilsdon Pen about 5km to the north-east.It is also a
Site of Special Scientific Interest on account of its geology, archaeology and ecology, . It was notified as an SSSI in 1981.Geology
The site consits of sands and marls of the middle Lias with the remains of
Gault andUpper Greensand capping. There are strong outflows of springs at various junctions of the upper greensand and gault.=Ecology=
Plateau surface of
Upper Greensand This is a mosaic of acidic grassland, open heath,
scrubland and secondary woodland and comprises:Sheep-fescue
Festuca ovina , Sweet Vernal-grassAnthoxanthum odoratum , Early Hair-grassAira praecox , Heath-grassDanthonia decumbens and Field Wood-rushLuzula campestris . Herbs present include abundantTormentil Potentilla erecta, Heath MilkwortPolygala serpyllifolia , Cats-earHypochoeris radicata , Heath BedstrawGalium saxatile , HeatherCalluna vulgaris , Bell HeatherErica cinerea , Bristle BentAgrostis curtisii , BilberryVaccinium myrtillus ,Bryophytes ,Lichen , GorseUlex europaeus , Western GorseUlex gallii , BrambleRubusfruticosus , BrackenPteridium aquilinum , BirchBetula spp. HawthornCrataegus monogyna , RowanSorbus aucuparia and Pedunculate OakQuercus robur .Upper Greensand /Gault junctiona zone of acidic bog vegetation comprising of: Purple Moor-grass
Molinia caerulea , Common CottongrassEriophorum angustifolium , SedgesCarex spp.including Star SedgeCarex echinata , Green-ribbed Sedge Carex binervis and Flea Sedge Carex pulicaris; Bog MossSphagnum spp., Heath Spotted-orchidDactylorhiza maculata , Devils-bit ScabiousSuccisa pratensis , Bog AsphodelNarthecium ossifragum , Marsh VioletViola palustris , Meadow ThistleCirsium dissectum, Wood HorsetailEquisetum sylvaticum , Lesser Butterfly-orchidPlatanthera bifolia and Pale ButterwortPinguicula lusitanica .Lower Slopes
unimproved, herb dominated neutral grassland consisting of: Crested Dogstail
Cynosurus cristatus , Common KnapweedCentaurea nigra, Red FescueFestuca rubra , Yellow Oat-grassTrisetum flavescens , Quaking GrassBriza media , Spring-sedgeCarex caryophyllea,Glaucous SedgeCarex flacca , Red CloverTrifolium pratense , Ox-eye DaisyLeucanthemum vulgare ,Common Bird-foot-trefoilLotus corniculatus . Less frequent species are Ladys-mantleAlchemilla vulgaris, Dyers GreenweedGenista tinctoria Corky-fruited Water-dropwort Oenanthe pimpinelloides, Adders-tongueOphioglossum vulgatum Wet areas in grassland
Soft Rush
Juncus effusus , Sharp-flowered RushJuncus acutiflorus, Oval Sedge Carex ovalis, Common Yellow-sedge Carex demissa, Carnation Sedge Carex panicea, Common Marsh-bedstrawGalium palustre , Marsh PennywortHydrocotyle vulgaris , Ragged-RobinLychnis flos-cuculi , Greater Birds-foot-trefoilLotus uliginosus ,Bog PimpernelAnagallis tenella, Bristle Clubrush Isolepis setacea.Notable Invertebrates
*Glow-worm
Lampyris noctiluca
*Pearl-bordered Fritillary Boloria selene
*Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary Bolaria euphrosyneSee also
*
Coney's Castle
*Pilsdon Pen External links
* [http://www.english-nature.org.uk/Special/sssi/sssi_details.cfm?sssi_id=1000318 SSSI Citation etc from Natural England website]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.