Upwood Meadows

Upwood Meadows
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Area of Search Cambridgeshire
Grid reference TL 251 826 [1]
Interest Biological
Area 6.0 hectares[1]
Notification 1985[1]
Location map Magic Map

Upwood Meadows is a 6 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Upwood in Cambridgeshire.[1][2] It is also a National Nature Reserve[3][4] and a Grade I Nature Conservation Review site.[5] It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.[6]

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".[5] Other habitats are mature hedgerows, ponds and scrub. One of the fields is agriculturally unimproved, and the evidence of medieval ridge and furrow still survives. Flowering plants include pepper saxifrage and green-winged orchid.[7]

There is access by a footpath from Bentley Close in Upwood.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Designated Sites View: Upwood Meadows". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  2. "Map of Upwood Meadows". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  3. "Cambridgeshire's National Nature Reserves". Natural England. 31 October 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  4. "Designated Sites View: Upwood Meadows NNR". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  5. 1 2 Ratcliffe, Derek (1977). A Nature Conservation Review. 2. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 139. ISBN 0521 21403 3.
  6. "Upwood Meadows". Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  7. "Upwood Meadows citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
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Coordinates: 52°25′37″N 0°09′43″W / 52.427°N 0.162°W / 52.427; -0.162

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/30/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.