Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
Location | Cambridgeshire |
---|---|
Grid reference | TL 293 716 [1] |
Interest | Biological |
Area | 4.7 hectares [1] |
Notification | 1984 [1] |
Location map | Magic Map |
Houghton Meadows is a 4.7-hectare (12-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) between Houghton and St Ives in Cambridgeshire. [1] [2] The SSSI covers three meadows south of Thicket Road; they are part of the 8-hectare (20-acre) Houghton Meadows nature reserve, which is owned and managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, and which also includes Browns Meadow to the south. [3] [4]
Some of these fields are pasture and others are hay meadows, and they display ridges and furrows from medieval ploughing. They are a type of neutral grassland which is declining nationally. Flowers include cowslips and yellow-rattles, and there are fauna such as green woodpeckers and great crested newts. [3] [5]
There is access from the Ouse Valley Way, which runs along Thicket Road.
The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (WTBCN) is a registered charity which manages 126 nature reserves covering 3,945 hectares. It has over 35,000 members, and 95% of people in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire live within five miles of a reserve. In the year to 31 March 2016 it employed 105 people and had an income of £5.1 million. It aims to conserve wildlife, inspire people to take action for wildlife, offer advice and share knowledge. The WTBCN is one of 36 wildlife trusts covering England, and 46 covering the whole of the United Kingdom.
Cooper's Hill is an 18.1-hectare (45-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Ampthill in Bedfordshire. It was notified under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in 1984, and the planning authority is Central Bedfordshire Council. A smaller area of 12.7 hectares is also a Local Nature Reserve, Part of the site is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Pegsdon Hills and Hoo Bit is a 79-hectare (200-acre) nature reserve in Pegsdon in Bedfordshire. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. The site is on the border between Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, and it covers Pegsdon Hills and part of the adjacent Deacon Hill in Bedfordshire, and Hoo Bit in Hertfordshire. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and part of the site is designated by Natural England as the Deacon Hill SSSI.
Chettisham Meadow is a 0.7-hectare (1.7-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Chettisham, 3 km (2 mi) north of Ely in Cambridgeshire. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Dogsthorpe Star Pit is a 36.4-hectare (90-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)) on the eastern outskirts of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire. It is also designated a Local Nature Reserve, and it is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Fulbourn Fen is a 27.3-hectare (67-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Fulbourn, Cambridgeshire. It is privately owned and managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Gamlingay Wood is a 48.4-hectare (120-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) north of Gamlingay in Cambridgeshire. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Soham Wet Horse Fen is a 33.8-hectare (84-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Soham in Cambridgeshire. A 3.6-hectare (8.9-acre) field in the north-west corner is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire as Soham Meadow.
Southorpe Meadow is a 2 hectares biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Southorpe in Cambridgeshire. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Hemingford Grey Meadow is a 0.7-hectare (1.7-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Hemingford Grey in Cambridgeshire. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire as Arthur's Meadow.
Ely Pits and Meadows is an 85.8-hectare (212-acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the eastern outskirts of Ely in Cambridgeshire. It is the only SSSI in the county which is designated both for its biological and geological interest. It is also a Geological Conservation Review site, and an area of 8 hectares is the Roswell Pits nature reserve, which is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Mill Crook is a 5.9-hectare (15-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Towcester in Northamptonshire. Mill Crook and Grafton Regis Meadow are a 7.9-hectare (20-acre) nature reserve managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Ditchford Lakes and Meadows is a 31.1-hectare (77-acre) nature reserve Northamptonshire. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. It is part of the Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits Site of Special Scientific Interest, Ramsar wetland site of international importance, and Special Protection Area under the European Communities Birds Directive.
River Ise and Meadows is a 13.5-hectare (33-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest along the River Ise in Northamptonshire between Geddington and the Kettering to Corby railway line east of Rushton.
High Wood and Meadow is a 16.5-hectare (41-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Farthingstone and Preston Capes in Northamptonshire. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Bugbrooke Meadows is a 10.1-hectare (25-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Nether Heyford in Northamptonshire. One of the fields with an area of 1.7 hectares is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.