This dataset comprises linear and areal habitat information and vegetation species recorded during an ecological survey of stratified random 1km square sites across England in 1992 and 1993. The survey was carried out by the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (which later became part of the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH)) and was commissioned in order to carry out survey work into habitats which were perceived to be under threat or which represented areas of concern to the Department for the Environment (named as 'Key Habitats'). The habitats (or landscape types) in question were: Lowland heaths, chalk and limestone grasslands, coasts and uplands. The survey was designed to complement CEH's national ecological survey, the 'Countryside Survey'.