Browns Wood is a six hectare Local Nature Reserve north of Clapham in Bedfordshire. It is owned and managed by Bedford Borough Council. [1] [2]
Clapham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. It had a population of 3,643 as at the 2001 census, increasing to 4,560 at the 2011 Census.
Bedfordshire is a county in the East of England. It is a ceremonial county and a historic county, covered by three unitary authorities: Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, and Luton.
Bedford Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. The executive of the council is the directly elected mayor of Bedford. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association.
The wood was planted by the Duke of Bedford in the middle of the eighteenth century. It is ancient semi-natural woodland of beech, larch and poplar. Ground flora include wood anemone and nettle leaved bellflower, and there are birds such as great spotted woodpeckers and song thrushes. [3]
Duke of Bedford is a title that has been created six times in the Peerage of England. The first and second creations came in 1414 in favour of Henry IV's third son, John, who later served as regent of France. He was made Earl of Kendal at the same time and was made Earl of Richmond later the same year. The titles became extinct on his death in 1435. The third creation came in 1470 in favour of George Neville, nephew of Warwick the Kingmaker. He was deprived of the title by Act of Parliament in 1478. The fourth creation came 1478 in favour of George, the third son of Edward IV. He died the following year at the age of two. The fifth creation came in 1485 in favour of Jasper Tudor, half-brother of Henry VI and uncle of Henry VII. He had already been created Earl of Pembroke in 1452. However, as he was a Lancastrian, his title was forfeited between 1461 and 1485 during the predominance of the House of York. He regained the earldom in 1485 when his nephew Henry VII came to the throne and was elevated to the dukedom the same year. He had no legitimate children and the titles became extinct on his death in 1495.
Anemone nemorosa is an early-spring flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to Europe. Common names include wood anemone, windflower, thimbleweed, and smell fox, an allusion to the musky smell of the leaves. It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing 5–15 centimetres (2–6 in) tall.
The great spotted woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker with pied black and white plumage and a red patch on the lower belly. Males and young birds also have red markings on the neck or head. This species is found across Eurasia and parts of North Africa. Across most of its range it is resident, but in the north some will migrate if the conifer cone crop fails. Some individuals have a tendency to wander, leading to the recent recolonisation of Ireland and to vagrancy to North America. Great spotted woodpeckers chisel into trees to find food or excavate nest holes, and also drum for contact and territorial advertisement; they have anatomical adaptations to manage the physical stresses from the hammering action. This species is similar to the less common lesser spotted woodpecker.
There is access from Twinwood Road.
The Harrold-Odell Country Park is a 59.3 hectare Country park and Local Nature Reserve between the villages of Odell and Harrold in Bedfordshire. It is owned and managed by Bedford Borough Council, and it has a cafe, toilets and an information room.
Lings Wood is a 20.1 hectare Local Nature Reserve in eastern Northampton. It is owned by Northampton Borough Council and managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Kings Wood and Glebe Meadows is a 36.1 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest in Houghton Conquest in Bedfordshire. A local teenage boy, Peter Sollars, discovered many rich communities of plants there, including a number of rare species eg., Butcher's Broom, Small Teasel and Green Hellebore in the wood, and combinations of Lady's Bedstraw, Spiny Restharrow, Great Burnet, Adders Tongue Fern and Cowslips in the meadows. The County Botanist at the time, John Dony, was notified of his findings, and confirmed by a site visit with Peter. The site was notified in 1984 under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the planning authority is Central Bedfordshire. It is also a Local Nature Reserve.
Marston Thrift is a 37.4 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Marston Moretaine and Cranfield in Bedfordshire. It was notified in 1984 under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the local planning authority is Central Bedfordshire Council. It is also a Local Nature Reserve, which extends to a larger area of 55.8 hectares.
Flitwick Wood is a 14.2 hectares Local Nature Reserve in Flitwick in Bedfordshire. It is owned and managed by Central Bedfordshire Council.
Fenlake Meadows is a 19.2 hectare Local Nature Reserve located in the Kingsbrook area of Bedford. It is owned and managed by Bedford Borough Council.
Mowsbury Hill is a 2.8 hectare Local Nature Reserve and Scheduled Monument in north Bedford. It is owned and managed by Bedford Borough Council with the assistance of the Friends of Putnoe Wood and Mowsbury Hillfort.
Putnoe Wood is a 10.4 hectare Local Nature Reserve located in the Putnoe area of Bedford. It is owned by Bedford Borough Council and maintained by the council with the assistance of the Friends of Putnoe Wood and Mowsbury Hillfort.
Hill Rise is a 0.9 hectare Local Nature Reserve (LNR) located in the Harpur area of Bedford. It is owned and managed by Bedford Borough Council.
Park Wood is a 5.2 hectare Local Nature Reserve located in the Brickhill area of Bedford. It is owned by Bedford Borough Council and managed by the council with the assistance of the Friends of Park Wood.
Bromham Lake is a 10.9 hectare Local Nature Reserve east of Bromham in Bedfordshire. It is owned and managed by Bedford Borough Council.
Collyweston Great Wood and Easton Hornstocks is a 151.5 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of King's Cliffe in Northamptonshire. The site is a National Nature Reserve and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I.
Kingsthorpe Meadow is a 14.4 hectare Local Nature Reserve in Northampton. It is owned by Northampton Borough Council and managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Glamis Meadow and Wood is a 9.5 hectare Local Nature Reserve in Wellingborough in Northamptonshire. It is owned and managed by Borough of Wellingborough.
Barnes Meadow is a 29.4 hectare Local Nature Reserve in Northampton. An area of 20 hectares is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Kirby Frith is a 2.1-hectare (5.2-acre) Local Nature Reserve on the western outskirts of Leicester. It is owned and managed by Leicester City Council.
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Coordinates: 52°10′47″N0°30′06″W / 52.1797°N 0.5016°W
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.