View source for Thurstaston Common

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox SSSI
|image=[[Image:Direction Marker, Thurstaston Hill (geograph 2990383).jpg|250px]]
|name=Thurstaston Common
|aos=Merseyside
|interest=Biological and Geological
|gridref={{gbmappingsmall|SJ245851}}
|coordinates = {{coord|53.355|-3.135|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
|area= 70.8 [[hectare]]s, {{convert|174.9|acre|m2}}
|notifydate= 1954 / 1983
|enref=1003730
}}

'''Thurstaston Common''' is an area of almost {{convert|250|acre|ha|abbr=on}} of parklands, wood and heath between [[Frankby]] and [[Thurstaston]], on the [[Wirral Peninsula]] in [[North West England]]. The common is jointly owned by the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] and the [[Metropolitan Borough of Wirral]]. [[Royden Country Park]] is nearby and offers additional facilities.

The Common is a [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] (SSSI)<ref name=citation>{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1003730.pdf|title=Thurstaston Common citation|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|accessdate=26 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271003730%27|title=Map of Thurstaston Common|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|accessdate=26 July 2013}}</ref> and a [[local nature reserve]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.lnr.naturalengland.org.uk/special/lnr/lnr_details.asp?C=0&N=Thurstaston&ID=468|title= Thurstaston Common|series=Local Nature Reserves|publisher=Natural England|accessdate=26 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=lnrIndex&query=REF_CODE%3D%271009203%27|title=Map of Thurstaston Common|series=Local Nature Reserves|publisher=Natural England|accessdate=26 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.wirral.gov.uk/my-services/leisure-and-culture/parks-beaches-and-countryside/parks-greenspaces-and-countryside/local-nature-reserves/thurstasto| title = Thurstaston Common Nature Reserve| publisher= Wirral Council| accessdate = 28 January 2011}}</ref>  From the top of the {{convert|298|ft|m|abbr=on|adj=on}} Thurstaston Hill there are views of the [[Dee Estuary]] (itself an SSSI) and across to the [[Clwydian Range|Clwydian Hills]] of [[North Wales]].  The area is popular with walkers and families.

==SSSI==
The common is underlain by [[Triassic]] sandstone and the varied habitats include wet and dry heaths, acidic marshy grassland and deciduous woodland with birch and oak. The heath is dominated by [[Calluna|heather]], with [[bilberry]], [[Deschampsia flexuosa |wavy  hair-grass]], [[Ulex europaeus|gorse]], [[Danthonia decumbens|heath  grass]], [[tormentil]], [[Carex hirta|hairy sedge]], [[Carex pilulifera|pill sedge]] and [[Galium saxatile|heath bedstraw]], with [[cross-leaved heath]] and [[Molinia caerulea|purple moor-grass]]; in the  wet, peaty hollows are [[Juncus squarrosus|heath rush]], [[Eriophorum angustifolium|common cottongrass]] and [[Eriophorum vaginatum|hare's-tail cottongrass]], [[Trichophorum  cespitosum|deer grass]], ''[[Sphagnum compactum]]'', [[Narthecium ossifragum|bog asphodel]] and [[juncus bulbosus|bulbous rush]]. Also present in wet patches are [[Drosera intermedia|oblong-leaved sundew]] and [[Drosera rotundifolia|round-leaved sundew]]. Birds that breed here include [[sparrowhawk]], [[tawny owl]], [[great spotted woodpecker]], [[lesser spotted  woodpecker]], [[Eurasian jay]], [[redpoll]] and [[linnet]].<ref name=citation/>

=="Thor's Stone"==
[[Image:Thors Stone, Thurstaston Common (geograph 2990412).jpg|thumb|left|Thor's Stone.]]
Thurstaston Hill is the location of Thor's Stone, a large [[sandstone]] outcrop and a place of romantic legend. In the 19th century it was supposed that early [[Viking]] settlers may have held religious ceremonies here. A visit to the site by members of the [[British Archaeological Association]] in 1888 heard an account by Rev. A. E. P. Gray, rector of [[Wallasey]], that the 'Thor Stone' was also known in the locality as 'Fair Maiden's Hall' and that children were "in the habit of coming once a year to dance around the stone".<ref>[https://archive.org/details/journalofbritish44brit Journal of the British Archaeological Association, 1888]</ref>  This part of Wirral was certainly part of a Norse colony centred on [[Thingwall]] in the 10th and 11th centuries.  However, geologists and historians now think that the rock is a natural formation similar to a [[Tor (rock formation)|tor]], arising from [[periglacial]] weathering of the sandstone, which was later exploited by quarrymen in the 18th and 19th centuries.<ref>Stephen J. Roberts, ''A History of Wirral'', 2002, {{ISBN|978-1-86077-512-3}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center">
Image:Path into Thurstaston Common, School Lane (geograph 2990135).jpg|The path from School Lane
Image:Pathway, Thurstaston Hill (geograph 2990385).jpg|Pathway on Thurstaston Hill
Image:Towards Arrowe Park, Thurstaston Hill (geograph 2990341).jpg|Looking towards [[Arrowe Park]] and [[Liverpool]]
Image:Point of Ayr Lighthouse, from Thurstaston Hill (geograph 2990362).jpg|The view to [[Point of Ayr]]
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
It was a Viking place of sacrifice

==External links==
{{commons category|Thurstaston Common}}
* [http://www.wirral.gov.uk/my-services/leisure-and-culture/parks-beaches-and-countryside/parks-greenspaces-and-countryside/local-nature-reserves/thurstasto Metropolitan Borough of Wirral: Royden Park & Thurstaston Common LNR]
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/walk_through_time/05.shtml BBC: Thor's Stone]

{{Parks and Commons in Wirral Borough}}
{{SSSIs Merseyside}}

[[Category:Parks and commons in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral]]
[[Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Merseyside]]
[[Category:Local Nature Reserves in Merseyside]]