View across flowering heather in Westleton Heath

Image: © Evelyn Simak Taken: 15 Sep 2010

Heather has been put to many uses over the years: as a bedding material for livestock and humans, bundles have been used as brooms or to thatch roofs, it was burnt as a fuel, wound into ropes, and used to repair holes in trackways and roads. Westleton Heath forms one of the largest remaining blocks of the Sandlings Heath from medieval times which extended from here all the way to Ipswich. The nature reserve is home to birds such as the Dartford warbler, nightjar and stonechat. The site is also known for its population of reptiles and insects. Management of the heath involves the rotational burning of heather. The short heather with bare ground is colonised by the rare silver-studded blue butterfly, while older heather supports rare beetles and spiders. The heath is situated one kilometre north-east of the village of Westleton and crossed by a minor road from Westleton to the coastal village of Dunwich, two kilometres to the east.

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0