- Parish: Blickling/Aylsham Area: 4.6 ha
- Grid Ref: TG 175273
- Ownership: National Trust
- County Wildlife Site No: 1380
Summary: Abel Heath lies astride the parishes of Aylsham and Blickling and falls within the Blickling Estate owned by the National Trust. Over the centuries it has experienced a miscellany of uses and misuses ranging from common grazing, through sand extraction, rubbish dumping to being sliced in half by the now defunct railway. Within the boundary of the Heath the railway cutting has been filled in and the line eradicated such that the Heath now forms a lovely example of sandy heath as an island surrounded by agricultural land. But for management by the National Trust the Heath would be in danger of being overtaken by bracken, gorse, blackthorn and other non-heath species. At this point it would cease to be the amenity that it now is from either a local access area or a heath of conservation interest.
Objectives: Members of the Society intend to undertake the following in connection with the National Trust and the Norfolk Wildlife Trust in line with their scheme for “Putting local wildlife on the map”.
This work will include the following:
- Recording of species through the seasons.
- Mapping of species distributions
- Management of the Heath (bracken trampling; willow herb removal, trimming of gorse and blackthorn)
We welcome anyone interested in participating in the scheme.