List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cambridgeshire

Wicken Fen SSSI in Cambridgeshire

This is a list of the Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in the county of Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom. In England the body responsible for designating SSSIs is Natural England, which chooses a site because of its fauna, flora, geological or physiographical features.^[1] Natural England uses Cambridgeshire's borders to mark one of its Areas of Search. As of 2012, there are 101 sites designated in this Area of Search.^[2] There are 10 sites with a purely geological interest, and 90 listed for biological interest. One site is designated for both reasons.

Natural England took over the role of designating and managing SSSIs from English Nature in October 2006 when it was formed from the amalgamation of English Nature, parts of the Countryside Agency and the Rural Development Service. Natural England, like its predecessor, uses the 1974–1996 county system^[3] and as such the same approach is followed here. The data in the table is taken from Natural England in the form of citation sheets for each SSSI, and the County Background Datasheet for Cambridgeshire.^[4]

Key

Sites

Site name	Photograph	B	G	Area	Public access	Location	Other classifications	Map[lower-alpha 1]	Citation[lower-alpha 2]	Description
Adventurers' Land			Y	7005101000000000000♠10.1 hectares (25 acres)[5]		March 52°35′53″N 0°00′29″E / 52.598°N 0.008°E / 52.598; 0.008 (Adventurers' Land) TF361019 [5]	GCR[6]	Map	Citation	The site is described by Natural England as important for the study of changes in Holocene sea levels. There are five peat levels dating to between 6,400 and 1,850 years BP, and the earliest level represents the oldest directly dated transgression of the sea into the Fens.[7]
Alder Carr		Y		7004670000000000000♠6.7 hectares (17 acres)[8]	NO	Hildersham 52°07′01″N 0°15′04″E / 52.117°N 0.251°E / 52.117; 0.251 (Alder Carr) TL542489 [8]		Map	Citation	The site is a wet valley which has alder on fen peat, a type of woodland which is now rare in East Anglia. Ground flora include angelica and meadowsweet. This habitat is very valuable to invertebrates.[9]
Aversley Wood		Y		7005623000000000000♠62.3 hectares (154 acres)[10]	YES	Sawtry 52°25′23″N 0°17′38″W / 52.423°N 0.294°W / 52.423; -0.294 (Aversley Wood) TL161819 [10]	WT[11]	Map	Citation	This wood is ash and maple on heavy clay soils, with much of it being ancient and having diverse flora and fauna as a result. Another area, which was probaby cultivated until around 1350, has medieval ridge and furrow. It has a number of wild service trees, which are uncommon and an indicator of ancient woodland.[12]
Balsham Wood		Y		7005350000000000000♠35.0 hectares (86 acres)[13]	NO	Balsham 52°07′19″N 0°19′05″E / 52.122°N 0.318°E / 52.122; 0.318 (Balsham Wood) TL588496 [13]		Map	Citation	This site has one of the last surviving areas of ash and maple woodland on chalky boulder clay. It has diverse flora, including the rare oxlip and a variety of shrubs, such as dogwood. Open grassy rides provide additional habitats.[14]
Barnack Hills & Holes		Y		7005235000000000000♠23.5 hectares (58 acres)[15]	YES	Barnack 52°37′44″N 0°24′43″W / 52.629°N 0.412°W / 52.629; -0.412 (Barnack Hills & Holes) TF076046 [15]	NCR,[16] NNR,[17] SAC[18]	Map	Citation	This site on a former mineral working is grassland on Jurassic limestone, and it is managed by sheep grazing and scrub control. it has a diverse flora including some species which are nationally scarce, such as pasque flowers.[19]
Barrington Chalk Pit			Y	7005971000000000000♠97.1 hectares (240 acres)[20]	FP	Barrington 52°08′31″N 0°01′59″E / 52.142°N 0.033°E / 52.142; 0.033 (Barrington Chalk Pit) TL392512[20]	GCR[21]	Map	Citation	This large quarry is the only surviving exposure of the Cretaceous Cambridge Greensand. Fossils include brachiopods and fish teeth. It is overlain by thick sequences of chalk and Totternhoe Stone.[22]
Barrington Pit			Y	7004380000000000000♠3.8 hectares (9.4 acres)[23]	NO	Barrington 52°07′23″N 0°01′08″E / 52.123°N 0.019°E / 52.123; 0.019 (Barrington Pit) TL383491 [23]	GCR[24]	Map	Citation	This site is described by Natural England as of national importance for its mammal fossils. Species include hippopotamuses, straight-tusked elephants, lions and aurochs. They probably date to the warm Eemian period, around 130,000 to 115,000 years ago.[25]
Bassenhally Pit		Y		7004860000000000000♠8.6 hectares (21 acres)[26]	NO	Whittlesey 52°34′08″N 0°06′14″W / 52.569°N 0.104°W / 52.569; -0.104 (Bassenhally Pit) TL286985 [26]		Map	Citation	This former gravel quarry has diverse habitats, such as a pond, marshes, grassland, scrub and woodland. The marsh is a nationally scarce habitat, and it has plants including jointed rush, creeping bent, lesser water-plantain, early marsh-orchid and water violet.[27]
Bedford Purlieus		Y		7006214300000000000♠214.3 hectares (530 acres)[28]	YES	Wansford 52°34′59″N 0°27′54″W / 52.583°N 0.465°W / 52.583; -0.465 (Bedford Purlieus) TL041995[28]	NCR,[29] NNR[17]	Map	Citation	This is ancient woodland with a variety of habitats of oak and ash coppices. It also has diverse flora including ramsons, lily-of-the-valleys, columbines, herb-paris and fly orchids.[30]
Berry Fen		Y		7005153000000000000♠15.3 hectares (38 acres)		Earith 52°21′04″N 0°01′19″E / 52.351°N 0.022°E / 52.351; 0.022 (Berry Fen) TL378745		Map	Citation
Bonemills Hollow		Y		7005175000000000000♠17.5 hectares (43 acres)[31]	NO	Wittering 52°35′56″N 0°28′23″W / 52.599°N 0.473°W / 52.599; -0.473 (Bonemills Hollow) TF035012 [31]		Map	Citation	The valley has marsh and Jurassic calcareous grassland areas. The marshland is on the valley floor, and dominant species are lesser pond-sedge and the rushes Juncus articulatus and Juncus inflexus.[32]
Brackland Rough		Y		7005107000000000000♠10.7 hectares (26 acres)[33]	YES	Fordham 52°18′07″N 0°23′38″E / 52.302°N 0.394°E / 52.302; 0.394 (Brackland Rough) TL633698 [33]	WTBCN[34]	Map	Citation	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.[35]
Brampton Meadow		Y		7004100000000000000♠1.0 hectare (2.5 acres)[36]	NO	Brampton 52°19′59″N 0°15′07″W / 52.333°N 0.252°W / 52.333; -0.252 (Brampton Meadow) TL192720 [36]		Map	Citation	The site has a rich variety of plant species on calcareous clay pasture, a declining habitat. Plants include quaking-grass, adder's tongue fern, cowslip and green-winged orchid.[37]
Brampton Racecourse		Y		7005211000000000000♠21.1 hectares (52 acres)[38]	NO	Brampton 52°20′06″N 0°14′10″W / 52.335°N 0.236°W / 52.335; -0.236 (Brampton Racecourse) TL203722 [38]		Map	Citation	The site is species-rich neutral grassland, a rare habitat in the county, in the flood plain of Alconbury Brook. Plants include salad burnet, pepper-saxifrage, and the largest population in of green-winged orchid in Cambridgeshire.[39]
Brampton Wood		Y		7006132100000000000♠132.1 hectares (326 acres)[40]	YES	Brampton 52°18′58″N 0°16′12″W / 52.316°N 0.27°W / 52.316; -0.27 (Brampton Wood) TL179701[40]	WTBCN[41]	Map	Citation	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.[42]
Buff Wood		Y		7005158000000000000♠15.8 hectares (39 acres)	WTPR	Hatley 52°08′10″N 0°07′41″W / 52.136°N 0.128°W / 52.136; -0.128 (Buff Wood) TL282503	WTBCN[43]	Map	Citation	This site is ecologically diverse boulder clay woodland, with a range of wildflowers, including oxlips and the uncommon green hellebore. There are butterlies such as brimstones, large whites, orange-tips and speckled woods.[43]
Caldecote Meadows		Y		7004910000000000000♠9.1 hectares (22 acres)[44]	NO	Caldecote 52°12′04″N 0°01′44″W / 52.201°N 0.029°W / 52.201; -0.029 (Caldecote Meadows) TL348577[44]		Map	Citation	The site is herb-rich calcareous grassland, which was formerly common in the county, but is now rare. It is traditionally managed by hay cutting and grazing, and plants include salad burnet and dropwort.[45]
Cam Washes		Y		7006166500000000000♠166.5 hectares (411 acres)[46]	YES	Wicken 52°19′01″N 0°15′07″E / 52.317°N 0.252°E / 52.317; 0.252 (Cam Washes) TL536712[46]		Map	Citation	This site on the banks of the River Cam is composed of pastures which are seasonally flooded. It is described by Natural England as an important site for wintering and breeding wildfowl and waders. Breeding birds include snipe, redshank, gadwall, teal and shovelers.[47]
Carlton Wood		Y		7005105000000000000♠10.5 hectares (26 acres)		Great Bradley 52°09′00″N 0°24′58″E / 52.15°N 0.416°E / 52.15; 0.416 (Carlton Wood) TL654529		Map	Citation
Castor Flood Meadows		Y		7005418000000000000♠41.8 hectares (103 acres)[48]	YES	Peterborough 52°33′43″N 0°20′42″W / 52.562°N 0.345°W / 52.562; -0.345 (Castor Flood Meadows) TL123972 [48]		Map	Citation	This site on the banks of the River Nene is a remnant of formerly extensive flood meadows. Flora include slender tufted-sedges, early marsh-orchids and the nationally restricted narrow-leaved water-dropwort.[49]
Castor Hanglands		Y		7005898000000000000♠89.8 hectares (222 acres)[50]	YES	Peterborough 52°36′04″N 0°21′07″W / 52.601°N 0.352°W / 52.601; -0.352 (Castor Hanglands) TF117016 [50]	NCR,[51] NNR[17]	Map	Citation	This site has ancient ash and maple woodland, unimproved grassland and scrub. The site is described by Natural England as valuable for invertebrates, including some nationally uncommon species. There are also ponds and ditches which have a variety of aquatic fauna including the warty newt.[52]
Cherry Hinton Pit		Y		7005128000000000000♠12.8 hectares (32 acres)[53]	YES	Cambridge 52°10′48″N 0°10′05″E / 52.18°N 0.168°E / 52.18; 0.168 (Cherry Hinton Pit) TL483557 [53]	LNR,[54] WTBCN[55]	Map	Citation	These former chalk quarries have a variety of habitats, including grassland and woodland. The site was designated an SSSI because it has four rare plants, three of which are listed in the British Red List of Threatened Species. These are great pignut, moon carrot and grape hyacinth.[56]
Chettisham Meadow		Y		7003700000000000000♠0.7 hectares (1.7 acres)[57]	YES	Chettisham 52°25′23″N 0°15′54″E / 52.423°N 0.265°E / 52.423; 0.265 (Chettisham Meadow) TL541830[57]	WTBCN[58]	Map	Citation	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.[59]
Chippenham Fen and Snailwell Poor's Fen		Y		7006155600000000000♠155.6 hectares (384 acres)[60]	NO	Fordham 52°17′53″N 0°24′54″E / 52.298°N 0.415°E / 52.298; 0.415 (Chippenham Fen and Snailwell Poor's Fen) TL648694 [60]	NCR,[61] NNR,[17] Ramsar,[62] SAC[63]	Map	Citation	The site is described by Natural England as "of national importance for its wide range of wetland habitats and associated birds and insects". It has diverse habitats and flora, with several uncommon species in damp meadows. It also has many species of breeding birds, and rare spiders and moths.[64]
Delph Bridge Drain		Y		7003100000000000000♠0.1 hectares (0.25 acres)[65]	YES	Soham 52°22′01″N 0°18′00″E / 52.367°N 0.3°E / 52.367; 0.3 (Delph Bridge Drain) TL567768 [65]		Map	Citation	This site has the only known British population of fen ragwort, which was previously believed to have become extinct in the UK in 1857, due to habitat destruction. It was re-discovered in 1971 when dormant seeds probably germinated following excavation of the drain.[66]
Dernford Fen		Y		7005103000000000000♠10.3 hectares (25 acres)[67]	NO	Sawston 52°07′52″N 0°08′56″E / 52.131°N 0.149°E / 52.131; 0.149 (Dernford Fen) TL472503 [67]		Map	Citation	The site is a rare surviving example of rough fen and carr. Other habitats are dry grassland and scrub, together with ditches and a chalk stream. The diverse habitats are valuable for amphibians and reptiles.[68]
Devil's Dyke		Y		7005398000000000000♠39.8 hectares (98 acres)[69]	YES	Newmarket 52°13′55″N 0°21′32″E / 52.232°N 0.359°E / 52.232; 0.359 (Devil's Dyke) TL612619 [69]	SAC,[70] SM[71][72]	Map	Citation	It is not known when the dyke was built but a date in the Anglo-Saxon period is thought most likely.[71] There is extensive chalk grassland with diverse species, and areas of woodland and chalk scrub. The site has unusual plants such as purple milk-vetch, bastard toadflax and pasque flowers.[73]
Dogsthorpe Star Pit		Y		7005364000000000000♠36.4 hectares (90 acres)[74]	YES	Peterborough 52°36′29″N 0°12′43″W / 52.608°N 0.212°W / 52.608; -0.212 (Dogsthorpe Star Pit) TF212026 [74]	LNR,[75] WTBCN[76]	Map	Citation	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.[77]
Elsworth Wood		Y		7004690000000000000♠6.9 hectares (17 acres)[78]	NO	Elsworth 52°14′20″N 0°04′48″W / 52.239°N 0.080°W / 52.239; -0.080 (Elsworth Wood) TL312618 [78]		Map	Citation	This site has three different uncommon types of woodland. The dominant tree is coppiced field maple, with a varied shrub layer and a considerable population of oxlips. There are several nationally uncommon beetles, such as the rove beetle Stichoglossa semirufa.[79]
Ely Pits and Meadows		Y	Y	7005858000000000000♠85.8 hectares (212 acres)[80]	PP	Ely 52°24′11″N 0°16′59″E / 52.403°N 0.283°E / 52.403; 0.283 (Ely Pits and Meadows) TL554808[80]	GCR,[81] WTBCN[82]	Map	Citation	This site has yielded an extensive assemblage of fossils reptiles dating to the Kimmeridgian, around 155 million years ago in the late Jurassic. Its biological interest lies mainly in its breeding birds, especially nationally rare wintering and breeding bitterns.[83]
Eversden and Wimpole Woods		Y		7005666000000000000♠66.6 hectares (165 acres)		Great Eversden 52°09′36″N 0°02′06″W / 52.16°N 0.035°W / 52.16; -0.035 (Eversden and Wimpole Woods) TL345531	SAC[84]	Map	Citation
Eye Gravel Pit			Y	7003300000000000000♠0.3 hectares (0.74 acres)[85]	NO	Eye Green 52°36′58″N 0°11′06″W / 52.616°N 0.185°W / 52.616; -0.185 (Eye Gravel Pit) TF230036 [85]	GCR[86]	Map	Citation	This former gravel quarry has marine and a few non-marine shells laid down when the area was under the North Sea, probably during the warm Eemian period, 130,000 to 115,000 years ago.[87]
Fleam Dyke		Y		7005118000000000000♠11.8 hectares (29 acres)		Fulbourn 52°09′36″N 0°15′58″E / 52.16°N 0.266°E / 52.16; 0.266 (Fleam Dyke) TL551539	SM[88]	Map	Citation
Fowlmere Watercress Beds		Y		7005399000000000000♠39.9 hectares (99 acres)		Melbourn 52°05′20″N 0°02′56″E / 52.089°N 0.049°E / 52.089; 0.049 (Fowlmere Watercress Beds) TL405454	RSPB[89]	Map	Citation
Fulbourn Fen		Y		7005273000000000000♠27.3 hectares (67 acres)		Fulbourn 52°10′52″N 0°14′10″E / 52.181°N 0.236°E / 52.181; 0.236 (Fulbourn Fen) TL530560	WTBCN[90]	Map	Citation
Furze Hill		Y		7004580000000000000♠5.8 hectares (14 acres)[91]	NO	Hildersham 52°06′50″N 0°16′01″E / 52.114°N 0.267°E / 52.114; 0.267 (Furze Hill) TL553486 [91]		Map	Citation	The site has steep banks of glacial deep sandy gravel, and is one of the few examples of a sandy habitat in the county. There are several rare plants, such as hoary cinquefoils, pasque flowers and maiden pinks.[92]
Gamlingay Wood		Y		7005484000000000000♠48.4 hectares (120 acres)		Gamlingay 52°09′54″N 0°11′10″W / 52.165°N 0.186°W / 52.165; -0.186 (Gamlingay Wood) TL242534		Map	Citation
Godmanchester Eastside Common		Y		7005297000000000000♠29.7 hectares (73 acres)[93]	YES	Godmanchester 52°19′30″N 0°08′20″W / 52.325°N 0.139°W / 52.325; -0.139 (Godmanchester Eastside Common) TL269713 [93]		Map	Citation	There are two fields, with a disused railway line separating them. The habitats are calcareous loam and calcareous clay, both of which are unusual. The southern field has lines of medieval ridge and furrow.[94]
Gog Magog Golf Course		Y		7005881000000000000♠88.1 hectares (218 acres)		Fulbourn 52°09′54″N 0°10′26″E / 52.165°N 0.174°E / 52.165; 0.174 (Gog Magog Golf Course) TL488541		Map	Citation
Grafham Water		Y		7006806300000000000♠806.3 hectares (1,992 acres)		Grafham 52°17′49″N 0°19′08″W / 52.297°N 0.319°W / 52.297; -0.319 (Grafham Water) TL147679	WTBCN[95]	Map	Citation
Great Stukeley Railway Cutting		Y		7005347000000000000♠34.7 hectares (86 acres)[96]	NO	Huntingdon 52°21′29″N 0°11′17″W / 52.358°N 0.188°W / 52.358; -0.188 (Great Stukeley Railway Cutting) TL235748 [96]		Map	Citation	The site is calcareous clay grassland which has plants which were formerly common on the Huntingdonshire claylands, but are now scarce due to agricultural use. Rabbit grazing and occasional burning maintain the habitat.[97]
Great Wilbraham Common		Y		7005235000000000000♠23.5 hectares (58 acres)		Great Wilbraham 52°11′42″N 0°14′35″E / 52.195°N 0.243°E / 52.195; 0.243 (Great Wilbraham Common) TL534576		Map	Citation
Hardwick Wood		Y		7005155000000000000♠15.5 hectares (38 acres)[98]	YES	Caldecote 52°11′56″N 0°01′19″W / 52.199°N 0.022°W / 52.199; -0.022 (Hardwick Wood) TL354576[98]	WTBCN[99]	Map	Citation	This medieval wood is now managed by coppicing. It is mainly ash and field maple, while the oldest parts have pedunculate oak with an understorey of hazel and hawthorn, while ground flora include early-purple orchid and yellow archangel.[99][100]
Hayley Wood		Y		7005517000000000000♠51.7 hectares (128 acres)		Great Gransden 52°09′32″N 0°06′50″W / 52.159°N 0.114°W / 52.159; -0.114 (Hayley Wood) TL291529	NCR, WTBCN[101]	Map	Citation
Hemingford Grey Meadow		Y		7003700000000000000♠0.7 hectares (1.7 acres)[102]	YES	Hemingford Grey 52°18′22″N 0°06′29″W / 52.306°N 0.108°W / 52.306; -0.108 (Hemingford Grey Meadow) TL291692 [102]	WTBCN[103]	Map	Citation	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.[104]
Hildersham Wood		Y		7004740000000000000♠7.4 hectares (18 acres)		Linton 52°05′13″N 0°14′17″E / 52.087°N 0.238°E / 52.087; 0.238 (Hildersham Wood) TL534456		Map	Citation
Histon Road			Y	7003600000000000000♠0.6 hectares (1.5 acres)[105]	NO	Cambridge 52°13′44″N 0°06′43″E / 52.229°N 0.112°E / 52.229; 0.112 (Histon Road) TL443611 [105]	GCR[106]	Map	Citation	This is described by Natural England as a "key Pleistocene stratigraphic site". It is one only two sites in East Anglia which has an almost complete sequence of the second half of the warm Eemian interglacial, around 120,000 years ago.[107]
Holland Hall (Melbourn) Railway Cutting		Y		7004330000000000000♠3.3 hectares (8.2 acres)[108]	NO	Melbourn 52°04′01″N 0°00′43″W / 52.067°N 0.012°W / 52.067; -0.012 (Holland Hall (Melbourn) Railway Cutting) TL364428 [108]		Map	Citation	The site is steeply sloping chalk grassland, which has many plants which are unique in the county, and some which are nationally uncommon, such as wild candytuft. Also present is the nationally rare great pignut.[109]
Holme Fen		Y		7006269400000000000♠269.4 hectares (666 acres)		Holme 52°29′10″N 0°13′26″W / 52.486°N 0.224°W / 52.486; -0.224 (Holme Fen) TL207890	NCR, NNR[17]	Map	Citation
Houghton Meadows		Y		7004470000000000000♠4.7 hectares (12 acres)		Houghton 52°19′37″N 0°06′14″W / 52.327°N 0.104°W / 52.327; -0.104 (Houghton Meadows) TL293716	WTBCN[110]	Map	Citation
Kingston Wood and Outliers		Y		7005474000000000000♠47.4 hectares (117 acres)		Kingston 52°10′12″N 0°03′50″W / 52.17°N 0.064°W / 52.17; -0.064 (Kingston Wood and Outliers) TL325542		Map	Citation
L-Moor, Shepreth		Y		7004660000000000000♠6.6 hectares (16 acres)[111]	YES	Shepreth 52°06′29″N 0°01′19″E / 52.108°N 0.022°E / 52.108; 0.022 (L-Moor, Shepreth) TL386474 [111]	WTBCN[112]	Map	Citation	This is unploughed calcareous grassland which has diverse flora such as horseshoe vetch and felwort in drier areas, and devil's bit scabious and fen bedstraw in wetter ones. The site is regarded by Natural England as valuable for its invertebrates.[112][113]
Langley Wood		Y		7005316000000000000♠31.6 hectares (78 acres)		Bartlow 52°03′25″N 0°20′31″E / 52.057°N 0.342°E / 52.057; 0.342 (Langley Wood) TL607424	NCR	Map	Citation
Little Catworth Meadow		Y		7004520000000000000♠5.2 hectares (13 acres)		Catworth 52°20′28″N 0°22′55″W / 52.341°N 0.382°W / 52.341; -0.382 (Little Catworth Meadow) TL103727		Map	Citation
Little Paxton Pits		Y		7006127400000000000♠127.4 hectares (315 acres)		Little Paxton 52°15′32″N 0°14′31″W / 52.259°N 0.242°W / 52.259; -0.242 (Little Paxton Pits) TL201638	LNR[114]	Map	Citation
Little Paxton Wood		Y		7005441000000000000♠44.1 hectares (109 acres)[115]	NO	Little Paxton 52°15′29″N 0°17′24″W / 52.258°N 0.290°W / 52.258; -0.290 (Little Paxton Wood) TL168636 [115]		Map	Citation	This ancient wood is wet ash and maple on heavy calcareous clay, with seaonally waterlogged soils, and it has an extremely diverse flora. A double bank and ditch has wood melick, sweet violet and the nationally restricted spiked star-of-Bethlehem.[116]
Madingley Wood		Y		7005152000000000000♠15.2 hectares (38 acres)[117]	NO	Cambridge 52°13′01″N 0°02′53″E / 52.217°N 0.048°E / 52.217; 0.048 (Madingley Wood) TL400596 [117]		Map	Citation	The western part of this wood is ancient pedunculate oak, with other trees including ash and field maple, with hazel and hawthorn in the shrub layer. The newer eastern woodland is elm and ash. There is a variety of mosses. The site has been extensively used by Cambridge University for research and teaching.[118]
Monk's Wood and The Odd Quarter		Y		7006169300000000000♠169.3 hectares (418 acres)		Wood Walton 52°24′18″N 0°14′24″W / 52.405°N 0.24°W / 52.405; -0.24 (Monk's Wood and The Odd Quarter) TL198800	NCR, NNR[17]	Map	Citation
Nene Washes		Y		7007152290000000000♠1,522.9 hectares (3,763 acres)		Peterborough 52°35′N 0°04′W / 52.58°N 0.07°W / 52.58; -0.07 (Nene Washes) TF307999	NCR, Ramsar, RSPB, SAC, SPA	Map	Citation
Orton Pit		Y		7006145800000000000♠145.8 hectares (360 acres)[119]	PP	Peterborough 52°31′55″N 0°17′20″W / 52.532°N 0.289°W / 52.532; -0.289 (Orton Pit)} TL162941[119]	SAC[120]	Map	Citation	This extensive area of disused brick clay workings has the largest known population in Britain of great crested newts. There are ten species of stonewort, including chara canescens, which was previously thought to be extinct in Britain, and four other nationally rare species.[121]
Orwell Clunch Pit		Y		7004190000000000000♠1.9 hectares (4.7 acres)		Orwell 52°08′13″N 0°00′36″W / 52.137°N 0.01°W / 52.137; -0.01 (Orwell Clunch Pit) TL363506		Map	Citation
Ouse Washes		Y		7007251360000000000♠2,513.6 hectares (6,211 acres)		Ely 52°28′N 0°11′E / 52.46°N 0.19°E / 52.46; 0.19 (Ouse Washes) TL490879	NCR, Ramsar, RSPB, SAC, SPA, WTBCN,[122] WWT	Map	Citation
Out and Plunder Woods		Y		7005386000000000000♠38.6 hectares (95 acres)		Great Bradley 52°09′58″N 0°25′23″E / 52.166°N 0.423°E / 52.166; 0.423 (Out and Plunder Woods) TL657547		Map	Citation
Overhall Grove		Y		7005174000000000000♠17.4 hectares (43 acres)[123]	YES	Knapwell 52°14′56″N 0°02′31″W / 52.249°N 0.042°W / 52.249; -0.042 (Overhall Grove) TL338630 [123]	NCR,[124] WTBCN[125]	Map	Citation	This site is the largest elm woodland in the county. It was seriously affected by Dutch elm disease, but many trees have regenerated from their bases, and the mixture of new growth and dead wood provides a very good habitat for insects and birds.[125]
Papworth Wood		Y		7004870000000000000♠8.7 hectares (21 acres)[126]	YES	Papworth Everard 52°14′56″N 0°06′36″W / 52.249°N 0.11°W / 52.249; -0.11 (Papworth Wood) TL291629 [126]		Map	Citation	This is one of the oldest secondary woods in the county. It has diverse ground flora including brambles, rough meadow grass, stinging nettles, ground ivy, bluebells and primroses.[127]
Park Wood		Y		7004810000000000000♠8.1 hectares (20 acres)		Brinkley 52°09′54″N 0°23′46″E / 52.165°N 0.396°E / 52.165; 0.396 (Park Wood) TL640546		Map	Citation
Perry Woods		Y		7005679000000000000♠67.9 hectares (168 acres)		Kimbolton 52°17′02″N 0°20′24″W / 52.284°N 0.34°W / 52.284; -0.34 (Perry Woods) TL133664		Map	Citation
Portholme		Y		7006106000000000000♠106.0 hectares (262 acres)[128]	YES	Huntingdon 52°19′16″N 0°11′17″W / 52.321°N 0.188°W / 52.321; -0.188 (Portholme) TL236708 [128]	NCR,[129] SAC[130]	Map	Citation	The site is an alluvial flood meadow, and one of the largest areas of grassland which is still traditionally managed as a Lammas meadow. Watercourses have some unusual invertebrates, including the nationally restricted dragonfly Libellula fulva.[129]
Roman Road		Y		7005124000000000000♠12.4 hectares (31 acres)		Cambridge 52°09′25″N 0°12′22″E / 52.157°N 0.206°E / 52.157; 0.206 (Roman Road) TL510532	SM	Map	Citation
Sawston Hall Meadows		Y		7004740000000000000♠7.4 hectares (18 acres)[131]	NO	Sawston 52°07′08″N 0°10′34″E / 52.119°N 0.176°E / 52.119; 0.176 (Sawston Hall Meadows) TL491490 [131]		Map	Citation	This site has spring fed peat meadows on chalk, a habitat formerly common but now rare. It has the nationally rare flower Selinum carvifolia, which is only found in Cambridgeshire. Drier grassland has a varied flora including spotted-orchid.[132]
Shippea Hill			Y	7005276000000000000♠27.6 hectares (68 acres)[133]	NO	Littleport 52°26′17″N 0°24′25″E / 52.438°N 0.407°E / 52.438; 0.407 (Shippea Hill) TL637850 [133]	GCR[134]	Map	Citation	The succession of sedimentary layers in the Fens in the Holocene epoch, the period since the last ice age, was determined on the basis of this site. It is particularly important for dating the "Fen Clay transgression" of the sea into the Fens in the Neolithic.[135][136]
Snailwell Meadows		Y		7005152000000000000♠15.2 hectares (38 acres)[137]	NO	Snailwell 52°17′02″N 0°24′00″E / 52.284°N 0.4°E / 52.284; 0.4 (Snailwell Meadows) TL638678 [137]		Map	Citation	The meadows are on peat overlying spring-fed chalk, with a variety of soil conditions. Some areas are dry calcareous pasture, and others are wet neutral and marshy acidic grassland. Flowering plants include the nationally rare umbellifer Cambridge milk-parsley.[138]
Soham Wet Horse Fen		Y		7005338000000000000♠33.8 hectares (84 acres)		Soham 52°19′48″N 0°21′50″E / 52.33°N 0.364°E / 52.33; 0.364 (Soham Wet Horse Fen) TL612728	WTBCN	Map	Citation
Southorpe Meadow		Y		7004200000000000000♠2.0 hectares (4.9 acres)[139]	YES	Southorpe 52°36′54″N 0°24′07″W / 52.615°N 0.402°W / 52.615; -0.402 (Southorpe Meadow) TF083031 [139]	WTBCN[140]	Map	Citation	This is one of the few surviving areas of neutral grassland in the county, where ridge and furrow from medieval ploughing can be seen. There is a rich variety of species, such as red fescue in drier areas, and salad burnet in damper ones.[141]
Southorpe Paddock		Y		7004160000000000000♠1.6 hectares (4.0 acres)[142]	YES	Southorpe 52°36′22″N 0°24′04″W / 52.606°N 0.401°W / 52.606; -0.401 (Southorpe Paddock) TF084021 [142]	WTBCN[143]	Map	Citation	This site is a rare example of unimproved grassland on the Jurassic limestone of eastern England. It has typical limestone plants such as purple milk-vetch and clustered bellflower. Mature hedgerows provide additional habitats for wildlife.[144]
Southorpe Roughs		Y		7004980000000000000♠9.8 hectares (24 acres)[145]	NO	Southorpe 52°36′54″N 0°25′01″W / 52.615°N 0.417°W / 52.615; -0.417 (Southorpe Roughs) TF073031 [145]		Map	Citation	This is a disused quarry which has grassland on Jurassic limestone. The main grasses are tor-grass and sheep's fescue, and there are the nationally rare plants spotted cat's ear and pasque flower.[146]
St Neots Common		Y		7005334000000000000♠33.4 hectares (83 acres)[147]	YES	St Neots 52°14′10″N 0°16′16″W / 52.236°N 0.271°W / 52.236; -0.271 (St Neot's Common) TL182612 [147]		Map	Citation	This site on the east bank of the River Great Ouse has grassland, willow carr, ditches and ponds, which support diverse wildlife species. The grassland is traditionally maintained by grazing, and herbs in wetter areas include marsh orchids and marsh arrow grass.[148]
Stow-Cum-Quy Fen		Y		7005299000000000000♠29.9 hectares (74 acres)		Lode 52°14′35″N 0°13′08″E / 52.243°N 0.219°E / 52.243; 0.219 (Stow-Cum-Quy Fen) TL516628		Map	Citation
Sutton Heath and Bog		Y		7005183000000000000♠18.3 hectares (45 acres)[149]	FP	Wansford 52°35′13″N 0°23′38″W / 52.587°N 0.394°W / 52.587; -0.394 (Sutton Heath and Bog) TF089000 [149]		Map	Citation	This site has calcareous grassland on Jurassic limestone and base-poor marshy neutral grassland. The base poor areas have a diverse variety of plant species, including some which are locally uncommon.[150]
Ten Wood		Y		7005177000000000000♠17.7 hectares (44 acres)		Burrough Green 52°10′34″N 0°25′55″E / 52.176°N 0.432°E / 52.176; 0.432 (Ten Wood) TL664559		Map	Citation
Thriplow Meadows		Y		7004350000000000000♠3.5 hectares (8.6 acres)[151]	YES	Thriplow 52°06′07″N 0°05′49″E / 52.102°N 0.097°E / 52.102; 0.097 (Thriplow Meadows) TL437469 [151]		Map	Citation	The site has two fields with neutral pastures which range from dry to marshy. These lowland habitats are now rare. Wetland herbs include ragged robin, fleabane and purple loosestrife.[152][153]
Thriplow Peat Holes		Y		7005122000000000000♠12.2 hectares (30 acres)[154]	NO	Thriplow 52°06′25″N 0°06′58″E / 52.107°N 0.116°E / 52.107; 0.116 (Thriplow Peat Holes) TL450475 [154]		Map	Citation	The site has rare alder carr and fen habitats, enhanced by ditches and ponds, with a wide variety of invertebrates. The main vegetation is alder, ash, willow and guelder rose.[155]
Traveller's Rest Pit			Y	7004230000000000000♠2.3 hectares (5.7 acres)[156]	NO	Cambridge 52°13′05″N 0°05′24″E / 52.218°N 0.09°E / 52.218; 0.09 (Traveller's Rest Pit) TL429598 [156]	GCR[157]	Map	Citation	This is described by Natural England as an important site dating to the Anglian ice age around 450,000 years ago. It also has the most extensive collection of paleolithic stone tools in the county, which are thought to date to the Cromerian Stage, which preceded the Anglian.[158][159]
Upware Bridge Pit North			Y	7004250000000000000♠2.5 hectares (6.2 acres)[160]	NO	Wicken 52°19′44″N 0°15′47″E / 52.329°N 0.263°E / 52.329; 0.263 (Upware Bridge Pit North) TL543725[160]	GCR[161]	Map	Citation	This site shows exposes rocks of Oxfordian age, around 160 million years ago. It was then a sea which was connected to the Tethys Ocean, and it has many Tethyan invertebrate fossils. It is described by Natural England as "an essential site for the study of Oxfordian palaeontology and palaeogeography in the English midlands".[162]
Upware North Pit		Y		7004110000000000000♠1.1 hectares (2.7 acres)[163]	YES	Wicken 52°19′52″N 0°15′50″E / 52.331°N 0.264°E / 52.331; 0.264 (Upware North Pit) TL544727 [163]		Map	Citation	This site has several flooded pits with areas of willow and hawthorn. It is one of only two Brtish sites which has water germander, a plant listed in the British Red Data Books of threatened species. Other unusual aquatic plants are great water dock and greater pond sedge.[164]
Upware South Pit			Y	7004110000000000000♠1.1 hectares (2.7 acres)[165]	YES	Upware 52°18′54″N 0°15′22″E / 52.315°N 0.256°E / 52.315; 0.256 (Upware South Pit) TL539709[165]	GCR[166]	Map	Citation	This site has rocks dating to the Oxfordian stage, around 160 million years ago. It was then a coral reef, and has fossils of bivalves and ammonites, as well as corals, which show affinities with the fauna of the Tethys Ocean. It is described by Natural England as a key site in study of the Oxfordian.[167]
Upwood Meadows		Y		7004600000000000000♠6.0 hectares (15 acres)[168]		Upwood 52°25′37″N 0°09′43″W / 52.427°N 0.162°W / 52.427; -0.162 (Upwood Meadows) TL251826[168]	NCR,[169] NNR,[17] WTBCN[170]	Map	Citation	The site has three fields on calcareous clay with poor drainage, a type of pasture now very rare, and was described by Derek Ratcliffe as having "an outstandingly rich and diverse flora".[169] One of the fields, which is agriculturally unimproved, has medieval ridge and furrow.[171]
Wansford Pasture		Y		7004310000000000000♠3.1 hectares (7.7 acres)[172]	YES	Wansford 52°34′55″N 0°25′26″W / 52.582°N 0.424°W / 52.582; -0.424 (Wansford Pasture) TL069994 [172]	WTBCN[173]	Map	Citation	This is a south-facing slope, with Jurassic limestone grassland and a flush lower down which has a wide variety of wet-loving plants, including some which are rare in the county. The ecology is maintained by avoiding the use of fertilisers and herbicides, and by grazing.[174]
Warboys and Wistow Woods		Y		7005445000000000000♠44.5 hectares (110 acres)[175]	PP	Warboys 52°25′08″N 0°05′24″W / 52.419°N 0.090°W / 52.419; -0.090 (Warboy's and Wistow Woods) TL300818 [175]	WTBCN[176]	Map	Citation	These woods have high conservation value because they are ancient ash and maple, and this habitat has sharply declined in extent since 1945. The woods have diverse flora and fauna, particularly invertebrates.[177]
Warboys Clay Pit			Y	7005126000000000000♠12.6 hectares (31 acres)[178]	NO	Warboys 52°25′08″N 0°04′48″W / 52.419°N 0.08°W / 52.419; -0.08 (Warboys Claypit) TL307818 [178]	GCR[179]	Map	Citation	According to Natural England this "unrivalled Oxfordian section shows more than 20 metres of Upper Oxford Clay". It has ammonite fossils dating to the Late Jurassic, around 160 million years ago.[180]
Waresley Wood		Y		7005542000000000000♠54.2 hectares (134 acres)		Waresley 52°10′37″N 0°09′22″W / 52.177°N 0.156°W / 52.177; -0.156 (Waresley Wood) TL262548	WTBCN	Map	Citation
Weaveley and Sand Woods		Y		7005620000000000000♠62.0 hectares (153 acres)		Gamlingay 52°10′16″N 0°12′43″W / 52.171°N 0.212°W / 52.171; -0.212 (Weaveley and Sand Woods) TL224540		Map	Citation
West, Abbot's and Lound Woods		Y		7005504000000000000♠50.4 hectares (125 acres)[181]	NO	Wittering 52°35′46″N 0°26′17″W / 52.596°N 0.438°W / 52.596; -0.438 (West Abbot's and Lound Woods) TF059010 [181]		Map	Citation	The site has a variety of woodland types, some of which are rare in Britain, including plateau alderwood. There are ancient woodland plants such as yellow archangel and toothwort.[182]
Whitewater Valley		Y		7004430000000000000♠4.3 hectares (11 acres)[183]	NO	Wittering 52°37′12″N 0°27′40″W / 52.620°N 0.461°W / 52.620; -0.461 (Whitewater Valley) TF043036 [183]		Map	Citation	Habitats in this site include a stream together with associated marsh, tall fen and willow carr. The carr has a varied flora, and the marsh has many plants rare in the county. There are also springs, which have mosses including the uncommon cratoneuron commutatum.[184]
Whittlesford - Thriplow Hummocky Fields		Y		7005556000000000000♠55.6 hectares (137 acres)[185]	NO	Whittlesford 52°06′54″N 0°06′43″E / 52.115°N 0.112°E / 52.115; 0.112 (Whittlesford - Thriplow Hummocky Fields) TL447484 [185]		Map	Citation	This site has the nationally rare grass-poly, and the nationally uncommon fairy shrimp chirocephalus diaphanus. They are found in shallow hollows in arable fields, which are the result of ice lenses melting at the end of the last ice age.[186]
Wicken Fen		Y		7006255000000000000♠255.0 hectares (630 acres)		Wicken 52°18′25″N 0°16′41″E / 52.307°N 0.278°E / 52.307; 0.278 (Wicken Fen) TL554701	NCR, NNR,[17] NT, Ramsar, SAC	Map	Citation
Wilbraham Fens		Y		7005620000000000000♠62.0 hectares (153 acres)		Cambridge 52°12′32″N 0°13′08″E / 52.209°N 0.219°E / 52.209; 0.219 (Wilbraham Fens) TL517591		Map	Citation
Woodwalton Fen		Y		7006208700000000000♠208.7 hectares (516 acres)		Ramsey 52°26′42″N 0°11′35″W / 52.445°N 0.193°W / 52.445; -0.193 (Woodwalton Fen) TL229845	NCR, NNR,[17] Ramsar, SAC	Map	Citation
Woodwalton Marsh		Y		7003800000000000000♠0.8 hectares (2.0 acres)		Ramsey 52°24′54″N 0°13′16″W / 52.415°N 0.221°W / 52.415; -0.221 (Woodwalton Marsh) TL211812	WTBCN	Map	Citation

See also

• List of Local Nature Reserves in Cambridgeshire
• National nature reserves in Cambridgeshire

Notes

• ^A Data rounded to one decimal place.
• ^B Grid reference is based on the British national grid reference system, also known as OSGB36, and is the system used by the Ordnance Survey.^[187]
• ^C Link to maps using the Nature on the Map service provided by English Nature.

References