Conservation

Heathland occurs on acidic sandy soils. It is only found close to the coast in north-west Europe. Heather, gorse, broom and scattered trees, often with areas of grass and bracken are the typical vegetation.

Heathland soils are not good for crops, and in the past Norfolk’s heaths were used for sheep grazing. Until the mid 20th Century, plant materials such as gorse for kindling and firewood, heather for thatching and bracken for animal bedding were harvested by local people. On Kelling Heath there was much activity during the two World Wars, including the creation of an air strip south of the railway in the 1940s, and practice bombing. All these factors helped to keep the heathland open. Aerial photographs of Kelling Heath taken in 1946 show an absence of scrub and tall gorse, with only two small patches of trees on the western boundary [ref Management Plan for Countryside Stewardship document].

Since the mid-20th Century, many heathlands have been invaded by dense gorse and scrub, with some heaths becoming deciduous woodland. Other heaths were planted with conifers. Heather can not survive under heavy woodland shade, and eventually dies out, along with much of the characteristic wildlife.

Since the mid-1990s Norfolk County Council has been actively promoting heathland conservation, offering advice and grants for restoration. [See Norfolk Countryside Conservation Strategy, Heath Topic Paper. J.M. Shaw, Norfolk County Council, 1996]. Kelling Heath Trustees were by that time already restoring parts of Kelling Heath under a 10 year Countryside Stewardship grant, which began in 1992. By 2002 much of the heavy scrub and gorse targeted by the plan had been removed (see Map 1).

To see fuller details of our

Conservation policy click on the tools

Map 2. Areas of bare ground created mechanically, and recent fire sites, Kelling Heath.