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Beacon Hollow
Sharks' teeth, gunpowder, fossils and bluebells: Beacon Wood
Country Park has a varied and interesting history.
A Site of Nature Conservation Interest, the park is home to a
number of locally rare plants and animals.
Native trees - such as oak, ask and sweet chestnut - cover the
outer parts of the park. And bluebells, dog's mercury, wood anemone
and stinking iris grow beneath the trees.
Silver birch and aspen trees now dominate the areas where clay
has been extracted.
A number of seasonal ponds can be found in the lower part of the
old pit, creating excellent breeding grounds for colourful
dragonflies and amphibians, such as newts and frogs.
Depending on the season; green woodpecker; sparrow hawk; fox;
grey squirrel; common blue and small heath butterflies; and fly
agaric fungi can be seen.
Several relics of the site's industrial past can still be seen,
including the foundation blocks of gunpowder buildings; gravel
heaps from clay washing; and the routes of the railway lines used
to transport clay.
The majority of the clay was extracted, leaving beds of
sandstone, sandy clays and fossils. The Woolwich beds contain areas
of rock made up almost entirely of marine animal shells, and
sharks' teeth are often found along the cliffs, in the centre of
the pit.
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