Nationally and internationally threatened and important habitats at Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve

Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve is part of a unique coastal landscape in the southeast.  The underlying geology of sandstone and clay provides an acidic topsoil in this part of the UK. The grass that grows on this topsoil is called acid grassland.  The coastal cliffs are soft sandstone that erode and form characteristic toes at the foot of the cliffs.  These become vegetated and provide unique habitats.

Hastings Cliffs is the only area of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that is exposed at the sea.

What are the most important habitats at Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve?

Lowland heath

Lowland Heath is a habitat type found in the lowlands of the UK. It occurs on acidic, impoverished, dry sandy or wet peaty soils, and is characterised by the presence of a range of dwarf-shrubs including various types of heather and gorse.

The coastal cliff top heathland habitat at Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve is unique in the southeast and home to numerous highly specialised plants and animals which are found nowhere else.
It is particularly important for reptiles, such as adders and lizards.  Several scarce birds such as Dartford warbler use lowland heathland as their primary habitat.

Lowland heath is classed as a priority habitat in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan.  It is a rare and threatened habitat, with the UK supporting about 20% of the lowland heath in Europe.  In England it is estimated that only one sixth of the heathland present in 1800 remains - and it still faces major pressures.

The most significant area of coastal cliff top heathland at the reserve occurs at the Firehills.  The management priorities for this habitat are to form a complex habitat mosaic with heather, dwarf and mature scrub and acid grassland. 

Grazing with small numbers of cattle at appropriate times of the year retains a varied habitat structure that allows the habitat to thrive.

Ancient Woodland

Ancient woods are areas of woodland that have persisted in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland since 1600. They are the richest and most complex terrestrial habitat in the UK and home to more threatened species than any other habitat type.

Did you know that only 2.5% of the UK land is covered in ancient woodland? They are the oldest and least disturbed woodlands in South East England, supporting communities of plants and rare invertebrates, found nowhere else in Europe.

The unique gill stream ancient woodland habitat type of deeply incised wooded ravines with humid and relatively stable micro-climates are characteristic of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve.

The coastal nature of the ancient gill woodlands in the reserve makes them wholly unique and invaluable in a UK and international biodiversity context.  There are three ancient gill woodlands in the Reserve, Ecclesbourne Glen, Fairlight Glen and Warren Glen.

No specific management is required for ancient woodlands to thrive in the reserve.

Vegetated Sea Cliffs and clifftop habitats

Vegetated sea cliffs are steep slopes of hard or soft coasts, created by marine erosion, and supporting a wide diversity of vegetation types with a maritime influence.

The cliffs at Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve and other parts of Hastings and St Leonards are 'soft' cliffs that have a sloping or 'slumped' profile, often with a distinct undercliff or vegetated toe.  Soft cliffs may be subject to mudslides or landslips, which create complex habitats for animals and plants.

The cliffs at Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve are actively eroding.  They are the only place High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, AONB, is exposed at the sea.  Wooded ancient gill valleys, maritime scrub, and coastal heathland are characteristic of vegetated sea cliff and clifftop habitats.

Clifftop grassland occurs the length of the coastal reserve.  The grassland is characteristically short on well drained soils and is a unique habitat type in the southeast.  Several very rare invertebrate species are found on the clifftop grassland habitats of the reserve.

Hedgerows and scrub

Scrub and mature hedgerows are found throughout the reserve and connect all other habitats.  Scrub is characterised by gorse, blackthorn and bramble, and the hedges are mainly hawthorn and blackthorn with a range of native hedgerow species.

Scrub and hedgerows are some of the most diverse and important habitats in the UK.  The habitat can be rich in flowering plants, providing nectar, food, shelter, and nesting sites for a range of birds, insects, and small mammals.  It is the lifeline habitat that connects all other habitats in the reserve and makes the nature reserve function as an interconnected and well-functioning ecosystem.

Over the years new hedgerows have been planted which provide new field boundaries and habitats for wildlife. 

Open and running water

There are two small ponds at the reserve, one with full public access, the other sheltered with no public access.  Water bodies are invaluable for wildlife, where specialist aquatic plants and animals can thrive. 

The streams that run through the wooded gills are spring fed and are essential for the rare plants and invertebrates that survive within the shaded gill stream habitats. The streams in the glens are essential for some very rare species that have their UK stronghold here and are rarely found anywhere else in the country.