Breckland Forest

{{Short description|Protected areas in east England}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}

{{Infobox SSSI

|image= Wangford Warren - geograph.org.uk - 514541.jpg

|image_caption =

|name= Breckland Forest

|aos= Norfolk, England
Suffolk, England

|interest=Biological
Geological

|gridref={{gbmappingsmall| TL 822 872 }}

|area= 18,126 hectares

|notifydate= 2000

|map=[http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%272000443%27 Magic Map]

}}

Breckland Forest is an 18,126 hectare biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in many separate areas between Swaffham in Norfolk and Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England.{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteDetail.aspx?SiteCode=S2000443&SiteName=breckland&countyCode=&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |title=Designated Sites View: Breckland Forest | series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|access-date = 23 May 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%272000443%27 |title=Map of Breckland Forest|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|access-date= 23 May 2017}} It is part of the Breckland Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteGeneralDetail.aspx?SiteCode=UK9009201&SiteName=breckland&countyCode=&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |title=Designated Sites View: Breckland | series= Special Protection Area|publisher=Natural England|access-date = 10 May 2017}}{{cite web |url= http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/SPA/UK9009201.pdf |title= Special Protection Areas under the EC Birds Directive. Breckland. |publisher= Joint Nature Conservation Committee |access-date= 4 May 2017 |archive-date= 15 March 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160315171523/http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/SPA/UK9009201.pdf |url-status= dead }} It contains two Geological Conservation Review sites, Beeches Pit, Icklingham and High Lodge.{{cite web|url= http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=4174&gcr=2261 |series=Geological Conservation Review|title=Beeches Pit, Icklingham (Quaternary of East Anglia) |publisher=Joint Nature Conservation Committee|access-date= 3 May 2017}}{{cite web|url= http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=4174&gcr=601 |series=Geological Conservation Review |title= High Lodge (Quaternary of East Anglia) |publisher=Joint Nature Conservation Committee|access-date= 3 May 2017}} Barton Mills Valley is a Local Nature Reserve in the south-west corner of the site.{{cite web|url=http://www.lnr.naturalengland.org.uk/Special/lnr/lnr_details.asp?C=38&N=&ID=1138|title=Barton Mills Valley|series=Local Nature Reserves|publisher=Natural England|date=26 March 2013|access-date=4 June 2017|archive-date=28 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428051851/http://www.lnr.naturalengland.org.uk/Special/lnr/lnr_details.asp?C=38&N=&ID=1138|url-status=dead}}

Woodlarks and nightjars breed on this site in internationally important numbers. There are also several nationally rare vascular plants and invertebrates on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Geological sites provide evidence of the environmental and human history of East Anglia during the Middle Pleistocene.{{cite web|url=http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/2000443.pdf|title=Breckland Forest citation|series=Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|access-date=23 May 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040516/http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/2000443.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016}}

Major landowners that own land within Breckland Forest SSSI include the Ministry of Defence, the Forestry Commission and the Crown Estate.{{Cite web |date=2020-10-06 |title=Mapping the habitats of England’s ten largest institutional landowners |url=https://whoownsengland.org/2020/10/06/mapping-the-habitats-of-englands-ten-largest-institutional-landowners/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=Who owns England? |language=en}}