Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
Location | Cambridgeshire |
---|---|
Grid reference | TL 229 844 [1] |
Interest | Biological |
Area | 209 hectares [1] |
Notification | 1985 [1] |
Location map | Magic Map |
Designations | |
---|---|
Official name | Woodwalton Fen |
Designated | 12 September 1995 |
Reference no. | 753 [2] |
Woodwalton Fen is a 209-hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in the parish of Woodwalton, west of Ramsey in Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire, England. [1] [3] It is a Ramsar wetland site of international importance, [4] a National Nature Reserve, [5] a Special Area of Conservation [6] [7] and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. [8] The site is managed by Natural England [9] and owned by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
One of the first nature reserves to be created in England, Woodwalton Fen was bought by the banker and entomologist Charles Rothschild in 1910. [10] Rothschild intended to present the site to the National Trust, but they declined it, and it was kept initially as a private nature reserve. In 1911 Rothschild built a bungalow on the fen for his own use. The bungalow was rethatched in 2011. [11]
In 2022, the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire launched a crowdfunding campaign, aiming to raise £400,000 to purchase the Speechly’s Farm to connect the Woodwalton Fen and the Holme Fen National Nature Reserves. [12] [13]
The site has one of the few remaining ranges of flora characteristic of the East Anglian Fens. There are rare fen plants such as fen wood-rush and fen violet, and ditches have uncommon aquatic plants including bladderwort and water violet. [14]
As well as being a nature reserve, Woodwalton Fen is used to store winter flood water. There are issues relating to water quality. The flood water entering Woodwalton Fen has high silt and nutrient loads.
It is part of a Special Area of Conservation, Fenland SAC, which includes two other fragments of wild fenland in Cambridgeshire: Wicken Fen (about 38 miles from Woodwalton) and Chippenham Fen.
As part of the Great Fen Project, Woodwalton Fen is being connected to Holme Fen via habitat restoration of land which has been under arable cultivation. The Great Fen Project started with the purchase of 82 hectares of land (Darlows Farm), to the north of Woodwalton Fen in 2002. [15] The Cambridge Geological Society designed the Fen Edge Trail that follows the five-metre contour, which 3,000 years ago was near the maritime coast of England. [16]
There is access to the reserve from Chapel Road in Ramsey Heights village. [9]
The Norfolk Wildlife Trust (NWT) is one of 46 wildlife trusts covering Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Alderney. Founded in 1926, it is the oldest of all the trusts. It has over 35,500 members and eight local groups and it manages more than fifty nature reserves and other protected sites. It also gives conservation advice to individuals and organisations, provides educational services to young people on field trips and organises entertainment and information events at nature reserves. The NWT reserves include twenty-six Sites of Special Scientific Interests, nine national nature reserves, twelve Nature Conservation Review sites, sixteen Special Areas of Conservation, twelve Special Protection Areas, eleven Ramsar sites, two local nature reserves, four Geological Conservation Review sites and five which are in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Redgrave and Lopham Fens is a 127 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Thelnetham in Suffolk and Diss in Norfolk. It is a national nature reserve, a Ramsar internationally important wetland site, a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and part of the Waveney and Little Ouse Valley Fens Special Area of Conservation. It is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.
Ouse Washes is a linear 2,513.6-hectare (6,211-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest stretching from near St Ives in Cambridgeshire to Downham Market in Norfolk. It is also a Ramsar internationally important wetland site, a Special Protection Area for birds, a Special Area of Conservation and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. An area of 186 hectares between March and Ely is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire and another area near Chatteris is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust manages another area near Welney.
Suffolk Wildlife Trust (SWT) describes itself as the county's "nature charity – the only organisation dedicated wholly to safeguarding Suffolk's wildlife and countryside." It is a registered charity, and its headquarters is at Brooke House in Ashbocking, near Ipswich. It was founded in 1961, and is one of 46 wildlife trusts covering the Great Britain and Northern Ireland. As of March 2017, it has 13,200 members, and it manages 3,120 hectares of land in 60 nature reserves, most of which are open to the public. It had an income of £3.9 million in the year to 31 March 2017.
Nathaniel Charles Rothschild was an English banker and entomologist and a member of the Rothschild family. He is remembered for The Rothschild List, a list he made in 1915 of 284 sites across Britain that he considered suitable for nature reserves.
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.
Wicken Fen is a 254.5-hectare (629-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Wicken in Cambridgeshire. It is also a National Nature Reserve, and a Nature Conservation Review site. It is protected by international designations as a Ramsar wetland site of international importance, and part of the Fenland Special Area of Conservation under the Habitats Directive.
The Great Fen is a habitat restoration project being undertaken on The Fens in the county of Cambridgeshire in England. It is one of the largest restoration projects in the country, and aims to create a 3,700 hectare wetland and aims to connect Woodwalton Fen National Nature Reserve (NNR), Holme Fen NNR and other nature reserves to create a larger site with conservation benefits for wildlife and socio-economic benefits for people.
Holme Fen is a 269.4-hectare (666-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Holme in Cambridgeshire. It is also a National Nature Reserve and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. It is part of the Great Fen project, which aims to create a 3,700-hectare wetland wildlife area including Holme Fen, Woodwalton Fen and other areas. It is home to a variety of birds, including the Eurasian siskin, Nightingale and Lesser redpoll, and around 450 species of fungi.
Upwood Meadows is a 6 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Upwood in Cambridgeshire. It is also a National Nature Reserve and a Grade I Nature Conservation Review site. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
National nature reserves in Cambridgeshire, England are established by Natural England and managed by them or by non-governmental organisations such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds or the National Trust.
Holme Dunes is a 192-hectare (470-acre) nature reserve near Holme-next-the-Sea in Norfolk. It is managed by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, and is a National Nature Reserve. It is part of the North Norfolk Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest, Geological Conservation Review site, Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, Ramsar site, Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Area. It is also in the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Meathop Moss is a raised bog located north of Meathop in Cumbria, England. Protected as a nature reserve by the Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Meathop Moss is notable for its insect life. In 1965 it was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. Along with two other raised bogs near the Kent estuary, it was included in the Witherslack Mosses Special Area of Conservation which was designated in 2005.
The Crouch and Roach Estuaries are a 1729 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) at the mouth of the Crouch and Roach rivers in Essex. The Crouch part of the SSSI stretches from near Battlesbridge to Foulness Island, and the Roach from Rochford to the junction with the Crouch. Part of the site is in the Mid-Essex Coast Special Protection Area under the EC Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds, and a Ramsar wetland site of international importance. It is also part of the Essex Estuaries Special Area of Conservation. An area of 65 hectares is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust as the Lion Creek and Lower Raypits nature reserve and 8 hectares at Woodham Fen, both of which are managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. A small area is also a geological SSSI, The Cliff, Burnham-on-Crouch.
Chippenham Fen and Snailwell Poor's Fen is a 155.9-hectare (385-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-east of Fordham in Cambridgeshire, England. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, a Ramsar wetland site and a Special Area of Conservation. It is managed by Natural England.
Fenland is a multi-site Special Area of Conservation in the Fens . It was designated in 2005 to protect three wetland sites in Cambridgeshire with an area of 619 ha:
Ant Broads and Marshes is a 745.3-hectare (1,842-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-east of Norwich in Norfolk. Most of it is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 1, and it is part of the Broadland Ramsar and Special Protection Area, and The Broads Special Area of Conservation. Part of it is the Barton Broad nature reserve, which is managed by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, and two areas are National Nature Reserves.