Highgate Common
Location
Nearest Villages:	Swindon Swindon, Staffordshire Swindon is a village located in Staffordshire, just outside the West Midlands conurbation. The nearest major town is Dudley, approximately five miles eastwards. It stands halfway between the small town of Kingswinford and village of Wombourne.... , Enville Enville, Staffordshire Enville is a small village in rural Staffordshire, England, on the A458 road between Stourbridge and Bridgnorth. Enville is also the name of the parish in which it lies....
County County A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain... :	Staffordshire Staffordshire Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
Country Country A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously... :	England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... , U.K.
Information
Area:	235.4 acres [95.27 ha]
Status:	Common Common land Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
Established:	2004
Awards:	Site of Special Scientific Interest Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
Administration
Administrative authority:	South Staffordshire District Council

Highgate Common is a small area (about 95 hectares or 235 acres) of heath land, a popular leisure destination and a Site of Special Scientific Interest, located in Southern Staffordshire

Staffordshire

Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Location

Highgate Common is situated to the west of the West Midlands conurbation

West Midlands conurbation

The West Midlands conurbation is the name given to the large conurbation that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the large towns of Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge, Halesowen in the English West Midlands....

, on a ridge above the Smestow valley. By road it is 1.2 miles from Swindon

Swindon, Staffordshire

Swindon is a village located in Staffordshire, just outside the West Midlands conurbation. The nearest major town is Dudley, approximately five miles eastwards. It stands halfway between the small town of Kingswinford and village of Wombourne....

, 1.7 miles from Enville

Enville, Staffordshire

Enville is a small village in rural Staffordshire, England, on the A458 road between Stourbridge and Bridgnorth. Enville is also the name of the parish in which it lies....

, 4.5 miles from Wombourne

Wombourne

Wombourne is a very large village and civil parish located in the district of South Staffordshire, in the county of Staffordshire, 4 miles south-west of Wolverhampton. Local affairs are run by a parish council. At the 2001 census it had a population of 13,691...

, 9 miles from Perton

Perton

Perton is a large village and civil parish located in Staffordshire, England. It lies to the south of Codsall, and to the west of the city of Wolverhampton.-Perton:...

 and 10 miles from Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...

.

Geology and Landscape

The Common is located above the Smestow valley on the ridges of Mid-Severn Sandstone, a Bunter deposit

Bunter (geology)

Bunter beds are sandstone deposits containing rounded pebbles, such as can notably be found in Warwickshire, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, Devon and Dorset in England...

 of the Permian

Permian

The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...

 and Triassic

Triassic

The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...

 periods, forming a series of low ridges on both sides of the Severn in Shropshire

Shropshire

Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...

, Worcestershire

Worcestershire

Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...

 and Staffordshire

Staffordshire

Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...

. Similar geology is prominently visible at nearby Kinver Edge

Kinver Edge

Kinver Edge is a high heath and woodland escarpment just west of Kinver, about four miles west of Stourbridge, and four miles north of Kidderminster, and is on the border between Worcestershire and Staffordshire, England. It is now owned by the National Trust....

 and, further afield in the Midlands, at Cannock Chase

Cannock Chase

Cannock Chase is a mixed area of countryside in the county of Staffordshire, England. The area has been designated as the Cannock Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Chase gives its name to the Cannock Chase local government district....

 and Sherwood Forest

Sherwood Forest

Sherwood Forest is a Royal Forest in Nottinghamshire, England, that is famous through its historical association with the legend of Robin Hood. Continuously forested since the end of the Ice Age, Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve today encompasses 423 hectares surrounding the village of...

. Specifically, Highgate is mostly underlain by part of the Bridgnorth Sandstone Formation known as ‘Lower Mottled Soft Red Sandstone’. There are also small areas of Pleistocene

Pleistocene

The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....

 sands and gravels.

The common is situated in a shallow valley on the plateau, like a dish sloping gently to the south. The land formation and vegetation together create a micro-climate warmer than expected for this part of England, with considerable impact on the local flora and fauna.

The thin, relatively dry, sandy soils were historically host to open woodland - predominantly birch, with some oak and beech. The early medieval] settlers clearly used the woods for pig-grazing, as is attested by important local Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...

 toponyms like Swindon

Swindon, Staffordshire

Swindon is a village located in Staffordshire, just outside the West Midlands conurbation. The nearest major town is Dudley, approximately five miles eastwards. It stands halfway between the small town of Kingswinford and village of Wombourne....

 and Kingswinford

Kingswinford

Kingswinford is a suburban area in the West Midlands.Historically within Staffordshire, the area is mentioned in the Domesday Book its name relates to a ford for the King's swine - Latin Swinford Regis. The current significance is probably in tourism, education and housing...

. After the Norman Conquest, the area became part of the vast Kinver Forest, which stretched as far north as the edge of Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...

. In the later Middle Ages, and especially from the 16th century, the forest was denuded to feed the iron industry, which was growing rapidly along the Smestow Brook

Smestow Brook

The Smestow Brook, sometimes called the river Smestow, is a small river that plays an important part in the drainage of Wolverhampton, South Staffordshire, and parts of Dudley in the United Kingdom, and has contributed to the industrial development of the Black Country...

 and the River Stour

River Stour, Worcestershire

The Stour is a river flowing through the counties of Worcestershire, the West Midlands and Staffordshire in the West Midlands region of England. The Stour is a major tributary of the River Severn, and it is about in length...

. The result was a sandy heathland - a landscape created by humans, but fragile and valuable to wildlife.

The ground is particularly hospitable to rabbits, which have excavated large warrens. It was turned over to agriculture during World War II and concrete roads and channels were put in. However, with careful management by the County Council, including regular thinning and reduction of the rapidly-encroaching trees, a diverse habitat has been recreated, consisting mainly of heathland - of which heather

Calluna

Calluna vulgaris is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing perennial shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found widely in Europe and Asia Minor on acidic soils in open sunny situations and in moderate shade...

 is the most dominant plant - and open woodland

Woodland

Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

 with occasional ponds and bogs, over hilly and often rough terrain.

Wildlife

Highgate Common contains one of a small number of sandy heaths in Staffordshire, which are highly prized as habitats. However, the heath is not the whole of the common and the vegetation is very varied for such a small area. The sandy heath is covered mainly with heather, broom

Broom

A broom is a cleaning tool consisting of stiff fibers attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a variety of brush with a long handle. It is commonly used in combination with a dustpan....

 and gorse

Gorse

Gorse, furze, furse or whin is a genus of about 20 plant species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae, native to western Europe and northwest Africa, with the majority of species in Iberia.Gorse is closely related to the brooms, and like them, has green...

, all flowering plants that play an important part in hosting invertebrates. There are areas of woodland, with silver birch

Silver Birch

Betula pendula is a widespread European birch, though in southern Europe it is only found at higher altitudes. Its range extends into southwest Asia in the mountains of northern Turkey and the Caucasus...

 and pendunculate oak as canopy and common bracken

Bracken

Bracken are several species of large, coarse ferns of the genus Pteridium. Ferns are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells . Brackens are in the family Dennstaedtiaceae, which are noted for their large, highly...

 as ground cover, as well as coniferous plantation. There are roadside verges, areas of acid grassland, patches of bare sand and earth, and small areas of wet heath, including two artificial ponds. The varied habitat results in a wide variety of animal life.

Highgate has 140 recorded species of Fauna

Fauna

Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...

 of which 36 are rare either nationally or regionally, 82 species of invertebrate 20 of which are regionally scarce and 51 are nationally scarce and 14 heathland specialist species. Nationally rare are at least four species of Mining Bees

Andrena

Andrena is the largest genus in the family Andrenidae, and is nearly worldwide in distribution, with the notable exceptions of Oceania and South America. With over 1,300 species, it is one of the largest of all bee genera...

, creating burrows that are host to the kleptoparasitic

Kleptoparasitism

Kleptoparasitism or cleptoparasitism is a form of feeding in which one animal takes prey or other food from another that has caught, collected, or otherwise prepared the food, including stored food...

 cuckoo bees of the genera Nomada

Nomada

With over 850 species, the genus Nomada is one of the largest genera in the entire family Apidae, and the largest genus of cleptoparasitic "cuckoo bees." They occur worldwide, and utilize many different types of bees as hosts, primarily the genus Andrena...

 and Sphecodes. Also nationally rare are Solitary Wasps and Wingless Wasps and species that are regionally important include Small Red-tailed bumble bees and Solitary bees

Bee

Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...

.

Other animals, reptiles and insects include: Common lizards, Slow Worms, Grass Snake

Grass Snake

The grass snake , sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake is a European non-venomous snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians.-Etymology:...

s, Rabbits, Bush-crickets, moths

Moths

Moths may refer to:* Gustav Moths , German rower* The Moths!, an English indie rock band* MOTHS, members of the Memorable Order of Tin Hats...

, beetles, flies

Fließ

Fließ is a municipality in the Landeck district and is located5 km south of Landeck on the upper course of the Inn River. It has 9 hamlets and was already populated at the roman age; the village itself was founded around the 6th century. After a conflagration in 1933 Fließ was restored more...

, and Dragonflies.

Amenities

The Common is popular with walkers, especially dog walkers, and has a number of car parks. There are numerous footpaths, some way-marked and some affording wheelchair access, as well as bridle paths and several car parks. The long distance Staffordshire Way

Staffordshire Way

The Staffordshire Way is a long distance walk in Staffordshire, England. The path links with the Cheshire Gritstone Trail, the Heart of England Way and the North Worcestershire Path.- The route :...

forms part of the footpath network on the Common, linking it to many other visitor attractions throughout Staffordshire and neighbouring counties. There are seats and picnic tables at many locations on the Common.

A new ranger centre was opened in February 2010, incorporating toilets and information points, an additional car park and picnic facilities. This is used as a centre for recruiting volunteers to work on maintaining and enhancing the environment.