Limekiln Close and East Pit | |
---|---|
Type | Local Nature Reserve |
Location | Cherry Hinton, Cambridgeshire |
OS grid | TL 485 560 |
Area | 10 hectares |
Managed by | Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire |
Limekiln Close and East Pit is a 10 hectare Local Nature Reserve (LNR) in Cherry Hinton, on the south-eastern outskirts of Cambridge. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire as Cherry Hinton Chalk Pits. [1] [2] East Pit is part of the Cherry Hinton Pit biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, which excludes Limekiln Close but includes the neighbouring West Pit. [3] [4]
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. [2] [3]
The site has been designated a Local Nature Reserve by Cambridge City Council, which shows it as one LNR [1] and West Pit as a separate LNR. [5] However, the LNRs are confusingly shown on the Natural England website. One is shown as Limekiln Close and West Pit on the details page, [6] but the map only covers Limekiln Close. [7] The other LNR is shown on the details page as East Pit, [8] whereas the map covers both East and West Pits. [9]
There is no access between the two parts of the site, but they have adjacent entrances on Limekiln 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.
Cherry Hinton is a suburban area of the city of Cambridge, in the Cambridge district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is around 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of the Cambridge city centre.
Totternhoe Stone is a relatively hard chalk outcropping in the middle of the Lower Chalk in the Chiltern Hills in Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire, England. Geologically, it is located in the upper part of the Cenomanian stage of the Cretaceous.
Blow's Down is a 33.1-hectare (82-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Dunstable in Bedfordshire. It was notified in 1989 under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the local planning authority is Central Bedfordshire Council. The site forms around half of the 62.3-hectare (154-acre) Blow's Downs nature reserve, which is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. It has a maximum elevation of 212 m.
Totternhoe Knolls is a 13.1-hectare (32-acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Totternhoe in Bedfordshire. It is also a local nature reserve, and part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The site is owned by Central Bedfordshire Council and leased to the National Trust. Most of the site is maintained jointly by the National Trust and the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (WTBCN), and is part of the WTBCN Totternhoe nature reserve, which also includes Totternhoe Chalk Quarry and Totternhoe Stone Pit. The SSSI also includes Totternhoe Castle, the earthworks of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle which is a Scheduled monument.
Totternhoe Chalk Quarry is a 13.4-hectare (33-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Totternhoe in Bedfordshire. Part of it lies in Totternhoe nature reserve, which is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. The site is part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Cherry Hinton Pit is a 12.8-hectare (32-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the south-eastern outskirts of Cambridge. The site consists of East Pit and most of the smaller West Pit. East Pit is part of the Limekiln Close and East Pit Local Nature Reserve, which is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire under the name Cherry Hinton Chalk Pits. West Pit is a separate Local Nature Reserve (LNR).
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.
Barton Hills are situated southeast of the village of Barton-le-Clay in the English county of Bedfordshire. They are part of the Chilterns and hiking routes are marked on maps at the entrance to the hills. From the foot of the hillside, a spring marks the start of a chalk stream river. During the summer, Dartmoor ponies roam the hills.
Totternhoe nature reserve is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (WTBCN). The 31-hectare (77-acre) site is in Totternhoe in Bedfordshire, and it includes parts of three Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Totternhoe Knolls is a biological SSSI owned by Central Bedfordshire Council and leased to the National Trust. Most of it is managed jointly by the National Trust and the WTBCN, excluding Totternhoe Castle, the earthworks of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle which is part of the SSSI but not of WTBCN's nature reserve. Totternhoe nature reserve also includes the geological SSSI, Totternhoe Stone Pit, which is not open to the public, and other areas owned by WTBCN, including part of Totternhoe Chalk Quarry, another biological SSSI.
Titchmarsh Nature Reserve is a 72.7 hectare Local Nature Reserve north of Thrapston in North Northamptonshire. It is owned and 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.
West Pit is a 4.3 hectare Local Nature Reserve in Cherry Hinton, on the south-eastern outskirts of Cambridge. It is part of the Cherry Hinton Pit biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which includes the neighbouring East Pit.
Bradlaugh Fields is a 60-hectare (150-acre) open space in Northampton. The site is a former golf course. In 1987 it was proposed to build housing on the site, but after a campaign by local residents it was acquired by Northampton Borough Council and opened as a wildlife park in 1998. It was named after Charles Bradlaugh, a leading nineteenth century radical and atheist who was MP for Northampton. Three fields with a total area of 17.5 hectares are managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire as a nature reserve also called Bradlaugh Fields. Hills and Holes is at the southern end and two adjoining meadows, Scrub Field and Quarry Field, are at the northern end. Hills and Holes is an 8.3 hectare Local Nature Reserve (LNR) and Scrub Field is a 5.1-hectare (13-acre) LNR.