The site is generally undulating and falls from a high point of 95m.
OD in the north-west to 60m. OD in the south. There are two prominent ridge
lines running east-west containing a small stream. The views from the higher
ground are unusually long for Essex making the area highly attractive
visually. The majority of the site overlays the Bagshot and Claygate Beds
consisting of sandy loam and pebble beds, overlaying London Clay which
outcrops and creates a spring line along the lower slopes, which are
therefore seasonally wet. The woodland meadow at the extreme south is
exceptionally wet.
The whole of the site was formerly farmland, most of which was grazed with
some fields converted temporarily to arable use in wartime. In the 20th
century it was divided between two farms. Hurlocks and Greens, but Greens
was closed down in 1974 and Hurlocks in 1980, although occasional grazing
did continue up to 1991 on some of the fields. Many ancient hedgerows have
survived but with the exception of the SSSI, where grazing persisted
longest, there have been incursions of scrub and developing woodland. There
is thus a diversity of site types, important as regards flora and fauna.
You are visitor number 40192