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Important Plant Areas
Important Plant Areas (or IPAs) are exactly that: areas of landscape that have been identified as being of the highest botanical importance.
In 2007, Plantlife announced the establishment of 150 IPAs across the UK, areas nominated for their internationally important wild plant populations. Since then we have been actively raising awareness of these ecologically important habitats and encouraging their long-term protection and improvement through the adoption of an ‘ecosystem-based’ conservation approach.
Our IPA programme is endorsed by national conservation organisations including the RSPB and the Wildlife Trusts, and also by UK government bodies including Natural England, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Countryside Council for Wales.
Click on any of the flags on the map below to find out more about the UK’s Important Plant Areas.
Important Plant Areas
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Alderley Edge
Location: Cheshire, south of Wilmslow. The site is 1½ miles east of ...
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Amberley Wild Brooks and Arun Valley
Location: South of Pulborough, West Sussex. North of B2139. Grid reference: ...
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Anglesey Dunes
Location: Southern tip of the island of Anglesey, off the North Wales ...
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Anglesey Fens / Corsydd Môn
Location: East Anglesey, between Benllech and Llangefni, to the west of the ...
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Ardmeanach
Location: The central peninsula on the west coast of the Isle of Mull. Grid ...
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Arlington Park and Woods
Location: South of Combe Martin, Devon, off the A39. Grid reference: SS 600 ...
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Arnecliff and Park Hole Woods
Location: North Yorkshire, in the Glaisdale valley round the River Esk. Grid ...
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Avon Gorge
Location: On the outskirts of Bristol, 2 miles to the west of Bristol City ...
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Bankhead Moss
Location: South west of Beith, Ayrshire Grid reference: NS 346 505Although ...
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Beinn Bheigier, Islay
Location: East of the Isle of Islay in the South Western Isles, north of ...
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Ben Alder and Aonach Beag
Location: Central Highlands, 10 miles south west of Dalwhinnie, between Loch ...
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Ben More Assynt
Location: The mountain Ben Mor Assynt (Gaelic: Beinn Mòr Asaint) lies in ...
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Ben Nevis and the Grey Corries
Location: South east of Fort William in Inverness-shire.Grid reference: NN ...
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Ben Wyvis
Location: Highlands of Scotland, 25 km north-west of Inverness. Grid ...
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Berwick-upon-Tweed Coast
Location: Coast to the north of Berwick-on-Tweed, Northumberland. Grid ...
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Black Wood of Rannoch
Location: Tay Forest Park, west of Kinloch Rannoch, above the South Loch ...
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Boconnoc Park
Location: Cornwall, five miles east of Lostwithiel, south of the A390. Grid ...
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Bolton Abbey Woods
Location: South of Barden Bridge, Wharfedale, to the north east of the ...
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Braunton Burrows
Location: North Devon, lying behind Saunton Sands, off the A361, five miles ...
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Breadalbanes Mountains
Location: 6 miles north-east of Killin, north of Loch Tay. There is a car ...
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Breckland
Location: The IPA spans the western borders of Norfolk and Suffolk in the ...
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Brown Moss
Location: South of Whitchurch, Shropshire, east of the A41. Grid reference: ...
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Burnham Beeches
Location: South Buckinghamshire, 25 miles from London, near Farnham Common, ...
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Cadair Idris
Location: Snowdonia National Park. Near the junction of the B4405 and A487, ...
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Cairngorms
Location: East of the A9 Perth - Inverness road, south east of Aviemore. ...
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Caithness and Sutherland Peatlands
Location: At the most north easterly tip of Scotland, between the coast and ...
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Cambrian Mountains Orefield
Location: Scattered to the north and south of the A44 in west central Wales. ...
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Cambrian Mountains Woodlands
Location: Scattered in the Cambrian Mountains area of mid Wales, to the west ...
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Carmarthen Bay Dunes/ Twyni Bae Caerfyrddin
Location: To the east of Carmarthen Bay, around the estuary of the Afon ...
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Carsegowan Moss
Location: North of Wigtown in Dumfries & Galloway, west of Carsegowan on ...
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Ceredigian Bogs
Location: Around the River Teifi, north of Tregaron, and south of the Dovey ...
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Chesil Beach and The Fleet
Location: Eastern edge of Lyme Bay in Dorset, west of Weymouth, starting ...
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Chippenham Fen
Location: Cambridgeshire, 6km north of Newmarket between Chippenham and ...
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Chudleigh Rocks
Location: South of Chudleigh, Devon, just east of the A38. Grid Reference: ...
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Clearburn Loch
Location: East of Ettrick in the Scottish borders, on the northern side of ...
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Cliffs of the Brecon Beacons National Park
Location: Spans 519 square miles of mid-Wales to the north of Merthyr ...
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Clones-Roslea Area
location: On the Irish border between Monaghan and Fermanagh, west of ...
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Coll and Tiree
Location: Off the west coast of Scotland, in the Inner Hebrides, north west ...
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Colonsay
Location: In the Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland, 15 miles to the ...
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Cranborne Chase Downs & Woodlands
Location: Around the village of Tollard Royal on the B3081, l7 miles ...
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Crieff Woods (Comrie Woods and Drummond Wood)
Location: Northwest of Comrie on the A85, and to the north and east of ...
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Culbin Sands and Bar
Location: In north east Scotland, on the Moray Firth, east of Nairn off the ...
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Dartmoor
Location: Between Plymouth and Exeter, bordered by the A38 to the south and ...
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Den of Airlie
Location: In Angus, north of the A926 between Alyth & Kirriemuir. Grid ...
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Dinefwr Deer Park
Location: On the western outskirts of Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, south of ...
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Dornoch Firth and Morrich More
Location: On the north east coast of Scotland. Grid Reference: NH 831 850The ...
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Dorset Heath and Studland Dunes
Location: Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, either side of the A351 between Wareham ...
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Duddon Dunes
Location: On the Cumbrian coastline, the dunes lie round the Duddon Estuary, ...
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Dungeness and Rye Coastal Plain
Location: Between Rye, East Sussex and the coast. The headland of Dungeness ...
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Dunkeld-Blairgowrie Lochs
Location: Perthshire, to the west and south of the A923 , running through ...
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Dunsland Park
Location: North Devon, off the A3072 between Hatherleigh and Holdsworthy. ...
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East Hampshire Hangers North Downs and South Downs
Location: Two very different landscapes typify this richly farmed and ...
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Eigg
Hebridean Island, 10 miles offshore from Mallaig in the West Highlands of ...
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Epping Forest
Location: The IPA stretches 12 miles west of the M11 from Manor Park in East ...
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Exmoor
Location: Devon/Somerset border, south of the Bristol Channel and the A39, ...
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Fal and Helford
Location: Flow into the sea at Falmouth Bay. Extend inland to Truro in the ...
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Filleigh Park
Location: Near Stag’s Head, Devon. Grid Reference: SS 670 285The ...
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Fivehead Fields
Location: East of Taunton, and 1.5 km south west of the village of Fivehead, ...
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Flanders Moss
Location: Flanders Moss lies in the Carse of Stirling, 15km west of ...
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Garron Plateau
Location: County Antrim, Northern Ireland, stretching north-east of ...
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Glen Coe and Mamores
Location:This is a mountainous area comprising a former super volcano ...
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Godrevy Point to Cligga Head
Location: Coastline to the north west of the A3075/A30 , south of Newquay. ...
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Gower
Location: West from Swansea on the south coast of Wales. Grid reference: SS ...
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Great Orme’s Head / Pen y Gogarth
Location: Dominates the town of Llandudno on the North Wales coast. Reached ...
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Harris and Lewis
Location: North west corner of the Outer Hebrides, or Western Isles. Grid ...
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Holme and Woodwalton Fens
Location: Between Huntingdon & Peterborough, either side of the B660, ...
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Isle of Arran
Location: One of the most southerly Scottish islands, The Isle of Arran sits ...
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Isle of Cumbrae
Location: Lies in the lower Firth of Clyde. It can be reached by a 10 minute ...
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Isle of Lismore
Location: Situated in Loch Linnhe in Argyll, western Scotland. It can be ...
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Isle of Wight Downs
Location: Above Freshwater Bay, to the west of Freshwater, at the far west ...
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Isles of Scilly
Location: Off the Cornish coast, 25 miles south west of Land’s End. ...
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Kenfig
Location: Near Porthcawl in south west Wales. The dunes can be reached from ...
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Lake District
Location: North west corner of England in the county of Cumbria. Grid ...
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Land’s End
Location: The south westerly tip of the UK, 9 miles west of Penzance. ...
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Lanhydrock Park
Location: 2½ miles south east of Bodmin, Cornwall. To get there follow ...
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Lewes Downs
Location: North of the A27(T), 3 km south east of the town of Lewes, and 1 ...
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Lindisfarne
Location: Off the coast of the extreme north east corner of England. ...
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Lleyn Sea Cliffs
Location: The coast of the Lleyn Peninsula in north west Wales, to the north ...
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Loch Lomond Woods
Location: The woods surround Loch Lomond, which runs 24 miles from the north ...
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Longleat Woods and Parks
Location: Longleat House, near Warminster in Wiltshire, just off the A36 ...
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Longparish
Location: North-west Hampshire, south-east of the village of Longparish, ...
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Lordenshaw, Forest Burn
Location: At the eastern edge of Northumberland National Park, west of the ...
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Lundy
Location: In the Bristol Channel, 11 miles north of Hartland Point, 25 miles ...
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Mainland Orkney
Location: The largest island of the Orkney group which lie off the far north ...
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Meirionnydd Oakwoods
Location: East of the Snowdonia National Park, with Blaenau Fffestiniog to ...
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Melbury park
Location: About a mile north of Evershot in Dorset, west of the A37 between ...
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Merrick Kells
Location: In the Galloway Forest Park, to the north of Glen Trool. The IPA ...
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Mid Cornwall Moors
Location: Mid Cornwall, to the north and south of the A30, east of Indian ...
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Midland Meres and Mosses
Location: The meres and mosses of the north-west Midlands extend from ...
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Milton Wood
Location: By the River Ericht, south east of Netherton, east of the A93 ...
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Moniack Gorge
Location: South from Easter Moniack on the A862 about 6 miles west of ...
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Moor House to Upper Teesdale
Location: In the North Pennines, east of the M6, with the A69 to its north ...
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Mull Oakwoods
Location: Off the west coast of Scotland about one hundred miles north-west ...
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Mwnt Arable Fields
Location: On the Ceredigion coast 4 miles NE of Cardigan, 3 miles north from ...
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North Coast of Scotland
Location: North-west Scotland, this area of coast lies to the north of the ...
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North Cornwall and Devon Coastal Woods
Location: Begins at Start Point, west of the A39 at Camelford and runs north ...
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North Downs: Hackhurst Downs to Reigate Escarpment
Location: Hackhurst Downs to Reigate Escarpment stretches for 8 miles ...
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North Norfolk Coast and the Wash
Location: The Wash, north coast of Norfolk and south east of ...
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NW Anglesey Heaths and Seacliffs
Location: Holy Island, off the north Wales coast. The cliffs run from west ...
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Ouse Washes
Location: The IPA spans the Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border, between Earith ...