Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire
Godmanchester Nature Reserve | |
Abbreviation | WTBCN |
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Predecessor |
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Formation | 1994 |
Founded at | England |
GB287907546 | |
Legal status | Charity |
Purpose | Nature conservation |
Headquarters | Cambridge, England |
Region served | Bedfordshire Cambridgeshire Northamptonshire Peterborough |
Membership | 35,000+ (in 2017) |
Revenue | £5.1 million (in 2016) |
Staff | 105 (in 2016) |
Website | www |
Formerly called | Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire and Peterborough |
The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (WTBCN) is a registered charity which manages 126 nature reserves covering 3,945 hectares (15.23 square miles). It has over 35,000 members, and 95% of people in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire live within five miles of a reserve. As of 31 March 2016 it employed 105 people and had an income of £5.1 million.[1][2] It aims to conserve wildlife, inspire people to take action for wildlife, offer advice and share knowledge.[3] The WTBCN is one of 36 wildlife trusts covering England, and 46 covering the whole of the United Kingdom.[4] In 1912 Charles Rothschild formed the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves to protect sites considered "worthy of preservation". The society worked to secure statutory protection, and this began with the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. In 1959 the society took on a coordinating role for local wildlife trusts, which covered the whole of Britain and Northern Ireland by 1978. The society changed its name to the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts in 2004, and it operates as The Wildlife Trusts.[4] In 1956 the Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Naturalists’ Trust was founded, and it was followed by the Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire Wildlife Trust in 1961, the Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust in 1963, and the Peterborough Wildlife Group in 1987. The Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire trusts merged in 1990, and a further merger produced the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire and Peterborough in 1994. Peterborough was dropped from the name (but still covered by the trust) in 2011.[5] Fifty-two reserves are Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), six are Ramsar wetland sites of international importance, six are Special Protection Areas under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds, two are national nature reserves, four are Nature Conservation Review sites, one is a Special Area of Conservation, two are in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, one is a Geological Conservation Review site and eighteen are local nature reserves. The largest site is Ouse Washes at 186 hectares (460 acres), which is internationally significant for wintering and breeding wildfowl and waders.[6] The smallest, at 0.7 hectares (1.7 acres), are Chettisham Meadow and Stoke Wood End Quarter, both of which are SSSIs.[7][8]
Nature reserves
Key
Designations |
Public access
|
Bedfordshire reserves
Site | Photograph | Area[lower-alpha 1] | Location[lower-alpha 1] | Public access | Designations | Description |
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Arlesey Old Moat and Glebe Meadows[9] | Arlesey Old Moat | 4.3 hectares (11 acres) | Arlesey 52°01′16″N 0°16′08″W / 52.021°N 0.269°W TL189373 |
YES | Frogs, toads and newts spawn in the moat, and dragonflies lay their eggs in it. The meadows have a range of wild flowers, and woodland, which is managed by coppicing, provides a habitat for nesting warblers.[9] | |
Barton Gravel Pit[10] | Barton Gravel Pit | 1.1 hectares (2.7 acres) | Barton-le-Clay 51°57′25″N 0°24′11″W / 51.957°N 0.403°W TL098299 |
YES | This former gravel pit has been partially filled in to become flower-rich chalk grassland. Plants include knotted hedge-parsley, common poppy and great pignut. Mature beech trees provide a habitat for the white helleborine orchid.[10] | |
Begwary Brook[11] | Begwary Brook | 0.8 hectares (2.0 acres) | Begwary 52°11′38″N 0°17′24″W / 52.194°N 0.290°W TL169564 |
YES | Gravel extraction has created a small lake and several smaller pools and marshland. The pools are surrounded by willow trees, and plants include common fleabane and marsh woundwort. Dragonflies and damselflies are common over the marsh in the summer.[11] | |
Blow's Downs[12] | Blow's Downs | 62.3 hectares (154 acres) | Dunstable 51°53′13″N 0°29′24″W / 51.887°N 0.490°W TL040220 |
YES | SSSI[13] | The site has varied habitats with a large area of unimproved grassland, which cattle help to maintain. Features include a disused quarry and medieval cultivation terraces. It has a nationally rare plant, Bunium bulbocastanum, and a nationally rare beetle, Odonteus armiger.[13] |
Cooper's Hill[14] | Cooper's Hill | 12.5 hectares (31 acres) | Ampthill 52°01′37″N 0°30′11″W / 52.027°N 0.503°W TL028376 |
YES | SSSI[15] | The site is described by Natural England as the best surviving example in Bedfordshire of heathland on the thin acidic soils of the Lower Greensand Ridge. It also has areas of marsh and woodland.[15] |
Cople Pits[16] | Cople Pits | 2.0 hectares (4.9 acres) | Cople 52°07′48″N 0°23′24″W / 52.130°N 0.390°W TL103492 |
YES | The site has eleven long water-filled pits from gravel extraction in the 1930s, which are now surrounded by willow and hawthorn scrub. The pits have been colonised by aquatic plants. Fauna include dragonflies, kingfishers and woodpeckers, and there is also a wildflower meadow.[16] | |
Cut-throat Meadow[17] | Cut-throat Meadow | 1.5 hectares (3.7 acres) | Ampthill 52°01′55″N 0°29′06″W / 52.032°N 0.485°W TL039380 |
YES | The reserve is in three separate areas. There is a steeply sloping meadow where meadow saxifrage and field woodrush flower in the spring, a beech and scots pine wood, and a pond which has reedmace and celery-leaved buttercup, and water boatmen and pond skaters on the surface.[17] | |
Dropshort Marsh[18] | Dropshort Marsh | 2.0 hectares (4.9 acres) | Toddington 51°56′17″N 0°32′13″W / 51.938°N 0.537°W TL007276 |
YES | SSSI[19] | This marsh has a variety of habitats, including a scarce quaking bog. Many species are now uncommon due to changes in agricultural practices. it has several springs, with floating sweet-grass and brooklime and areas dominated by rushes.[19] |
Fancott Woods and Meadows[20] | Fancott Woods and Meadows | 12.9 hectares (32 acres) | Fancott 51°56′13″N 0°30′36″W / 51.937°N 0.510°W TL025275 |
YES | SSSI[21] | The meadows are mainly ancient ridge and furrow, and are unimproved neutral grassland traditionally managed for hay and grazing. The woodland is mainly ash, with other species including pedunculate oak and alder. There is also a small pond.[21] |
Felmersham Gravel Pits[22] | Felmersham Gravel Pits | 21.0 hectares (52 acres) | Felmersham 52°12′54″N 0°33′04″W / 52.215°N 0.551°W SP991584 |
YES | SSSI[23] | The site has flooded gravel pits, neutral grassland, scrub and broadleaved woodland.[23] It is described by the Wildlife Trust as one of the best sites in Bedfordshire for dragonflies and damselflies.[22] |
Flitwick Moor (& Folly Wood)[24] | Flitwick Moor | 66.6 hectares (165 acres) | Flitwick 52°00′25″N 0°28′37″W / 52.007°N 0.477°W TL046354 |
YES | SSSI[25] | This is a rich valley mire, and the largest area of wetland in Bedfordshire. Eight species of sphagnum bog moss have been recorded, including one which is nationally rare. There are areas of woodland as well as wet grassland.[25] |
King's Wood and Rammamere Heath[26] | King's Wood | 104.0 hectares (257 acres) | Heath and Reach 51°57′22″N 0°39′47″W / 51.956°N 0.663°W SP920294 |
YES | SSSI[27] NNR[27] | The site has the largest remaining area of woodland in Bedfordshire, together with lowland heath, acidic grassland and some small ponds. There are a number of rare plant species, including great woodrush, wood vetch and saw-wort.[27] |
Lancot Meadow[28] | Lancot Meadow | 2.0 hectares (4.9 acres) | Dunstable 51°53′06″N 0°32′38″W / 51.885°N 0.544°W TL003217 |
YES | The site is a grassland remnant on chalk soil, and a remnant of flower-rich meadows in the area. Flora include common spotted-orchids, ox-eye daisies and bird's foot trefoils. There are fauna such as song thrushes and marbled white butterflies.[28] | |
Landpark Wood[29] | Landpark Wood | 3.6 hectares (8.9 acres) | Whipsnade 51°51′18″N 0°31′34″W / 51.855°N 0.526°W TL016184 |
YES | This wood has mature beech trees, hornbeam, oak and ash. The understorey is hazel and hawthorn, with bluebells, yellow archangel and woodruff. Birds include woodpeckers and nuthatches.[29] | |
Old Warden Tunnel[30] | Old Warden Tunnel | 3.8 hectares (9.4 acres) | Old Warden 52°05′20″N 0°22′34″W / 52.089°N 0.376°W TL113446 |
YES | The site has oak and ash woodland with mature blackthorn and hawthorn bushes, and a steep cutting with grassland and scrub. Flowers include dwarf thistle and pyramidal orchid, and the scrub provides nesting sites for birds.[30] | |
Pavenham Osier Beds[31] | Pavenham Osier Beds | 1.3 hectares (3.2 acres) | Pavenham 52°11′06″N 0°33′11″W / 52.185°N 0.553°W SP990551 |
YES | This wet meadow next to the River Great Ouse has the uncommon flower meadow-rue. Osier is a type of willow which is continually cut, stimulating its growth and supplying material for basket weavers. The Trust is continuing the tradition by planting more osiers.[31] | |
Pegsdon Hills and Hoo Bit[32] | Pegsdon Hills | 79.0 hectares (195 acres) | Pegsdon 51°57′11″N 0°22′19″W / 51.953°N 0.372°W TL120295 |
YES | SSSI,[33] CAONB[32] | The site has wildflower meadows in chalk hills, including orchids and moschatels. There are butterflies such as dingy and grizzled skippers, Birds include wheatears and skylarks, and herbs such as marjoram and wild thyme. Hoo Bit is a flower meadow surrounded by woodland.[32] |
The Riddy[34] | The Riddy | 7.7 hectares (19 acres) | Sandy 52°07′30″N 0°17′46″W / 52.125°N 0.296°W TL165487 |
YES | LNR[35] | This is one of the few surviving water meadows in the flood plain of the River Ivel. Aquatic plants include celery leaved buttercup and water plantain, and there are birds such as lapwings, fieldfares and redwings. Water voles are found along the river.[35] |
Sallowsprings[36] | Sallowsprings | 1.3 hectares (3.2 acres) | Whipsnade 51°51′14″N 0°32′17″W / 51.854°N 0.538°W TL008183 |
YES | This site was formerly a caravan park, and it is now a traditional hay meadow. A rich variety of flowers includes common knapweed, bluebells and cowslips. An ancient hedgerow has diverse shrubs such as holly.[36] | |
Sewell Cutting[37] | Sewell Cutting | 3.6 hectares (8.9 acres) | Dunstable 51°53′38″N 0°32′49″W / 51.894°N 0.547°W TL005226 |
YES | The banks of this former railway cutting provide a rich habitat for chalk grassland flowers, such as common spotted orchids and cowslips. The south-facing slope has deep rooted plants such as hawkweed and scabious, while the sheltered north-facing slope has lush grasses. There are many species of butterflies.[37] | |
Sharnbrook Summit[38] | Sharnbrook Summit | 9.0 hectares (22 acres) | Sharnbrook 52°15′00″N 0°34′37″W / 52.250°N 0.577°W SP972622 |
YES | The site is a mile long narrow strip above a rail tunnel. The reserve is grassland, grazed by rabbits, on limestone deposited during the construction of the railway. The dominant plant is tor-grass, and flowers include dyer's greenweed and wild liquorice. Scattered scrub provides food and shelter from kestrels and buzzards for small mammals and nesting birds.[38] | |
Totternhoe[39] | Totternhoe Knolls | 31.0 hectares (77 acres) | Totternhoe 51°53′06″N 0°34′08″W / 51.885°N 0.569°W SP986217 |
YES | SSSI,[40] LNR,[41] CAONB,[42] | Part of the site was formerly quarry workings for Totternhoe Stone, a strong chalk that was used in Westminster Abbey. It is now grassland with a rich variety of plant species, including some that are now rare. There are a number of orchids and a wide variety of invertebrates, including butterflies such as the common blue, chalkhill blue, and the scarce small blue and Duke of Burgundy.[39][40][41] |
Wymington Meadow[38] | Wymington Meadow | 1.0 hectare (2.5 acres) | Wymington 52°15′32″N 0°35′46″W / 52.259°N 0.596°W SP958632 |
YES | The site is a triangular meadow in the corner where two railway lines merge. It was cut off when the railways were constructed in the 1850s, and at the northern end there are traces of the medieval ridge and furrow method of ploughing. The site has a wide range of flowers, such as cowslip, salad burnet and quaking grass. A small stream and hedgerows provide additional habitats for wildlife.[38] |
Cambridgeshire reserves
Site | Photograph | Area[lower-alpha 1] | Location[lower-alpha 1] | Public access | Designations | Description | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Arthur's Meadow[43] | Arthur's Meadow | 0.8 hectares (2.0 acres) | Hemingford Grey 52°18′22″N 0°06′29″W / 52.306°N 0.108°W TL292692 |
YES | SSSI[44] | The site is calcareous clay pasture with a wide variety of plant species, including the herbs oxeye daisy and yellow rattle. There are orchids such as common twayblades and common spotteds.[45] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Beechwoods[46] | Beechwoods | 10 hectares (25 acres) | Cambridge 52°10′16″N 0°10′12″E / 52.171°N 0.170°E TL485547 |
YES | LNR[47] | Beeches were planted on chalky farmland in the 1840s, and medieval plough terraces are still visible. Birds include green and great spotted woodpeckers, and nuthatches.[46] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brampton Wood[48] | Brampton Wood | 132 hectares (330 acres) | Brampton 52°18′58″N 0°16′12″W / 52.316°N 0.27°W TL184698 |
YES | SSSI[49] | This is one of the few surviving areas of ancient woodland in the county. It is wet ash and maple on heavy clay soil, with rides which have a varied grassland flora, such as yellow pimpernel, greater bird's-foot-trefoil and devil's-bit scabious.[49] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Buff Wood[50] | Buff Wood | 16 hectares (40 acres) | Hatley 52°08′10″N 0°07′48″W / 52.136°N 0.13°W TL281503 |
WTPR | SSSI[51] | This site is ecologically diverse boulder clay woodland, with a range of wildflowers, including oxlips and the uncommon green hellebore. There are butterflies such as brimstones, large whites, orange-tips and speckled woods.[50] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cambourne[52] | Cambourne Nature Reserve | 90 hectares (220 acres) | Cambourne 52°13′05″N 0°04′30″W / 52.218°N 0.075°W TL316595 |
YES | This site has woodland, lakes, ponds, grassland and an orchard. The lakes and ponds have water voles and great crested newts, and birds include skylarks and corn buntings.[52][53] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cherry Hinton Chalk Pits[54] | Cherry Hinton Chalk Pits | 11 hectares (27 acres) | Cambridge 52°10′48″N 0°10′05″E / 52.18°N 0.168°E TL483557 |
YES | LNR,[55] SSSI[56] | The two parts of the site are both former chalk quarries. East Pit is surrounded by steep walls of chalk, and the base is wildflower grassland with areas of scrub. Flowers include millkwort, harebell, kidney vetch and the rare moon carrot, which is on the British Red List of Threatened Species. Quarrying ceased 200 years ago in Limekiln Close, and it is now steeply sloping mature woodland with ash and cherry trees.[56][54] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chettisham Meadow[57] | Chettisham Meadow | 0.7 hectares (1.7 acres) | Chettisham 52°25′23″N 0°15′54″E / 52.423°N 0.265°E TL541830 |
YES | SSSI[7] | The site is grassland on calcareous clay, and evidence survives of ridge and furrow medieval farming. Flowering plants include adder's tongue, cowslip and the uncommon green-winged orchid.[7] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Doghouse Grove[58] | Doghouse Grove | 0.8 hectares (2.0 acres) | Wilburton 52°20′56″N 0°10′19″E / 52.349°N 0.172°E TL480745 |
YES | In the medieval period this was a series of monastic fishponds, which can still be seen in wetter periods. It is now an ash wood, with flowers including bluebells and lords-and-ladies.[58] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dogsthorpe Star Pit[59] | Dogsthorpe Star Pit | 37.2 hectares (92 acres) | Peterborough 52°36′29″N 0°12′36″W / 52.608°N 0.21°W TF213026 |
YES | LNR,[60] SSSI[61] | This former brick pit has been designated an SSSI mainly for its invertebrates, especially its water beetles, with 64 species, including four on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Graptodytes bilineatus, Dryops similaris, Gyrinus distinctus and Myopites inulaedyssentericae.[61] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fordham Woods[62] | Fordham Woods | 10 hectares (25 acres) | Fordham 52°18′14″N 0°23′31″E / 52.304°N 0.392°E TL632700 |
YES | SSSI[63] | This wet woodland site has semi-natural alder coppice, with ash, crack willow and silver birch. The ground flora has tall fens, together with herbs such as marsh marigold and yellow flag.[63] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fulbourn Fen[64] | Fulbourn Fen | 31 hectares (77 acres) | Fulbourn 52°10′41″N 0°13′48″E / 52.178°N 0.230°E TL526557 |
YES | SSSI[65] | These are ancient meadows on calcareous loam and peat which have never been farmed, so they have a rich diversity of flora and fauna. Herbs in drier areas include cowslip and salad burnet, while wetter areas have tall fen vegetation.[65] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3.4 hectares (8.4 acres) | YES | This site is on dry sandy soil, which is an unusual habitat in the county. Grazing by sheep helps to restore the acid grassland and prevent encroachment by woodland and scrub. flora include slender St John's wort, harebell and devil's bit scabious.[66] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gamlingay Wood[67] | Gamsey Wood[68] | Gamsey Wood | 4 hectares (9.9 acres) | Woodwalton 52°25′08″N 0°12′04″W / 52.419°N 0.201°W TL225 816 |
YES | The main trees in this wood are ash and field maple, but there are also several wild service trees. Spring flowers include bluebells, wood anemones and yellow archangels, and there are birds such as fieldfares and nightingales.[68] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Godmanchester[69] | Godmanchester Nature Reserve | 59 hectares (150 acres) | Godmanchester 52°19′44″N 0°09′14″W / 52.329°N 0.154°W TL258717 |
PP | The site has four former gravel pits which are now lakes, together with areas of grassland, willow woodland and reedbeds. Birds include wigeons, tufted ducks, Eurasian teals and great crested grebes, and there are insects such as dragonflies and butterflies.[69] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Grafham Water[70] | Great Fen[71] | Hardwick Wood[72] | Hayley Wood[73] | Houghton Meadows[74] | Lady's Wood[75] | Lady's Wood | 7.1 hectares (18 acres) | Upwood 52°25′37″N 0°10′23″W / 52.427°N 0.173°W TL243826 |
YES | This wood was a traditional coppice, but many of the trees were cut down in the 1950s. Birds include blackcaps, fieldfares and green woodpeckers and there are invertebrates such as orange-tip butterflies and azure damselflies.[75] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lattersey[76] | Lower Wood[77] | Lower Wood | 9 hectares (22 acres) | Weston Colville 52°09′00″N 0°22′26″E / 52.150°N 0.374°E TL625528 |
YES | This ancient woodland has a variety of flora such as oxlips and early-purple orchids in the spring and water avens and germander speedwells in the summer. Muntjac and roe deer use the site and birds include goldcrests, great spotted woodpeckers and tawny owls.[77] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Norwood Road[78] | Norwood Road | 2.6 hectares (6.4 acres) | March 52°33′40″N 0°05′20″E / 52.561°N 0.089°E TL417980 |
YES | This site has a deep pond, marshland and hawthorn scrub. There are wetland birds such as coots, moorhens and mallards, and other wildlife includes noctule bats and weasels.[78] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ouse Washes[79] | Overhall Grove[80] | Pingle Cutting[81] | Pingle Cutting | 1.0 hectare (2.5 acres) | Warboys 52°25′01″N 0°04′12″W / 52.417°N 0.070°W TL313816 |
YES | This former railway cutting has grassland with ox-eye daisy, salad burnet, wild carrot and hairy violet. There is also woodland with forest plants such as bluebells and dog's mercury. Over 50 bird and 300 moth species have been recorded.[81] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Raveley Wood[82] | Raveley Wood | 5.6 hectares (14 acres) | Upwood 52°25′08″N 0°10′19″W / 52.419°N 0.172°W TL244817 |
YES | Trees in this wood include oak, ash and field maple, together with some elms, although many were killed by Dutch elm disease. Invertebrates include the rare white-spotted pinion moth, which depends on elms for food for its larvae, and white-letter hairstreak butterflies. The dead elms provide a habitat for a wide variety of fungi.[82] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shepherd's Close[83] | Shepherd's Close | 1.2 hectares (3.0 acres) | Spaldwick 52°19′23″N 0°20′20″W / 52.323°N 0.339°W TL133707 |
YES | This small wood was planted in 1984 with ash, field maple and oak. Birds include blackcaps and chiffchaffs, and there are peacock, orange-tip and speckled wood butterflies.[36] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shepreth L Moor[84] | Skaters' Meadow[85] | Skaters' Meadow | 2 hectares (4.9 acres) | Cambridge 52°11′31″N 0°06′18″E / 52.192°N 0.105°E TL440569 |
NO | The meadow is flower-rich wet grassland. Flora include common spotted orchids, cuckooflowers, meadowsweets, marsh-marigolds and ragged-robins. There are also grass snakes and birds such as blackcaps.[85] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Soham Meadow[86] | Southorpe Meadow[87] | Southorpe Paddock[88] | Stanground Newt Ponds[89] | Stanground Newt Ponds | 0.8 hectares (2.0 acres) | Peterborough 52°32′56″N 0°13′44″W / 52.549°N 0.229°W TL202961 |
YES | This site has ponds and a wet meadow, with smooth and great crested newts. Other fauna include common frogs, damselflies and dragonflies.[89] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stanground Wash[90] | Stanground Wash | 26 hectares (64 acres) | Peterborough 52°33′43″N 0°13′08″W / 52.562°N 0.219°W TL208975 |
NO | The site is sandwiched between the East Coast Main Line railway line and Back River, a tributary of the River Nene. It is grassland which is flooded in winter, providing a refuge for waterbirds, and is grazed in the summer. It has a variety of birds such as lapwings, snipe, redshanks and skylarks, and ditches with rare beetles.[90] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thorpe Wood[91] | Thorpe Wood | 10 hectares (25 acres) | Peterborough 52°34′16″N 0°17′31″W / 52.571°N 0.292°W TL158983 |
YES | This is ancient woodland on heavy clay, with mature oak and ash trees, and an understorey of hazel and field maple. The ground flora is diverse, including wild garlic, wood anemones and bluebells.[91] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Trumpington Meadows[92] | Trumpington Meadows | 58 hectares (140 acres) | Trumpington 52°10′12″N 0°06′11″E / 52.170°N 0.103°E TL439545 |
YES | This site has flower meadows, woodland, ponds, and is adjacent to the River Cam and Byron's Pool, where Lord Byron once swam. Fauna include otters, brown hares, muntjac deer, skylarks, lapwings, yellowhammers and meadow pipits.[92] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Upwood Meadows[93] | Wansford Pasture & Standen's Pasture[94] | Waresley and Gransden Woods[95] | Wistow Wood[96] | Woodston Ponds[97] | Woodwalton Marsh[98]
Northamptonshire reserves
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