Sound Heath
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
Damp woodland is a common habitat at Sound Heath
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 Location within Cheshire
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| Area of Search | Cheshire |
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| Grid reference | SJ620479, SJ623481 |
| Coordinates | 53°01′37″N 2°34′01″W / 53.027°N 2.567°WCoordinates: 53°01′37″N 2°34′01″W / 53.027°N 2.567°W |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 4.8 ha (12 acres) |
| Notification | 1963 |
| Natural England website | |
Sound Heath, also known as Sound Common, is an area of common land in Sound, near Nantwich in Cheshire, England, which includes heathland, grassland, scrub, woodland and wetland habitats. The majority of the area is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Local Nature Reserve.
One of the very few lowland heaths in Cheshire, Sound Heath is a valuable habitat for heathland plants and animals, although its heathland character is currently under threat from the spread of trees and scrub. The common's ponds form one of the most important sites in the county for freshwater invertebrates. Three nationally rare or endangered species have been found within the area: the mud snail (which is now one of the UK's most endangered freshwater creatures, having been recently recategorised as near threatened across Europe in the new IUCN European Red List of Non-marine Molluscs), great raft spider and the Enochrus isotae species of water scavenger beetle, as well as the nationally scarce beautiful snout moth. The first sightings of the migrant hawker dragonfly in Cheshire were at Sound Heath, and many other locally rare species have been recorded here. The site is also an important breeding site for birds.
Sound Heath lies on the Cheshire Plain, 3 miles southwest of Nantwich, at an average elevation of around 65 metres. The underlying geology is Keuper marl (Mercia Mudstone Group), a red sandstone laid down during the Triassic period. Glacial sand deposition has generated a light, sandy soil which is nutrient poor. Localised sand extraction has resulted in numerous pools.
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