Old SideTracked - Hook Norton Cutting Traditional Cache
SpankyBanksy: Time to say bye bye
Old SideTracked - Hook Norton Cutting
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Hook Norton Cutting is an old railway cutting that has been a Site
of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) since 1971. The site contains
a variety of semi-natural and man-made limestone habitats including
calcareous grassland, alongside scrub and secondary woodland. Hook
Norton Cutting is also important for the interesting geology, and
the species of bees and butterflies that inhabit the site. This was
the site of OCV's first task in October 1977.
Geology and History
Hook Norton Cutting is sited on Jurassic rock sections of the late
Bajocian/early Bathonian formations. Recognised as being among the
most important sections of the Chipping Norton Formation, it is
thought to be vital in the understanding of some of the fundamental
changes from the Middle Jurassic successions. The site runs along
an old railway line that took four years to construct in the late
nineteenth century and was used to move the local ironstone to
smelters in Wales. The construction of the railway and digging of
the cutting exposed many layers of rock, highlighting the
importance of the site for our understanding of geological history.
The railway was closed in 1965, after which parts of the site
reverted back to woodland and scrub though natural
succession.
Conservation Management
Hook Norton Cutting provides a large variety of diverse habitats in
a relatively small space. Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and
Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), with occasional support from
Oxfordshire Conservancy Volunteers, continue to support this site
through important tasks such as scrub clearance to help retain the
delicate balance and to prevent the whole site from reverting to
woodland. Species such as the solitary bees rely on the unimproved
grassland flora, whilst the blackthorn provides important habitats
for butterflies such as the green hairstreak, thus requiring the
balance to be retained.
Caching is not authorised on any BBOWNT land and so this
idyllic spot gets a cache near the entrance but on land not owned
by the Trust. Please take the time to walk this cutting while you
are here. The cache itself is in plain sight so surely no one needs
a clue ...
FTF Spanky when it beloned to
JollyJax
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Vgf abg pnzbhsyntrq - ubj zhpu rnfvre qbrf vg trg?
Treasures
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