Great Fen

Great Fen
Holme Fen
Location	Ramsey, Cambridgeshire
Coordinates	52°28′N 0°12′W / 52.467°N 0.200°W / 52.467; -0.200
Area	1,184 ha (4.57 sq mi)
Operator	Natural England and the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire
Website	http://www.greatfen.org.uk/

The Great Fen is a habitat restoration project being undertaken on The Fens in the county of Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom. 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 very large site with conservation benefits for wildlife and socio-economic benefits for people.

This is a long-term project managed in partnership by the Environment Agency, Huntingdonshire District Council, Middle Level Commissioners, Natural England and the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (WTBCN).

Woodwalton Fen, Holme Fen and Darlows Farm are managed by Natural England, while the WTBCN manages the Countryside Centre for educational and community work, together with Corney's Farm, New Decoy Farm, Old Decoy Farm, Engine Farm, Rymes Reedbeds (which has a bird hide), and Kesters Docking.

Woodwalton Fen

Woodwalton Fen is one of Britain's oldest nature reserves and occupies a substantial site of 208 ha north-east of Huntingdon. Its international importance has been repeatedly recognised in its designations as a Ramsar site, a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a national nature reserve (NNR).

Woodwalton is a key component of the Great Fen Project and features a variety of fen habitats. The result is an attractive reserve with an impressive list of rare plants and animals. Habitats include Purple Moor Grass meadows, tall fen and scrub communities, woodland, and other assemblages of grasses, sedges, herbs and mosses.

Holme Fen

Holme Fen is situated south of Peterborough, around 5 km north-west of Woodwalton Fen and on the south-western shore of the former Whittlesey Mere. The Fen occupies a crescent-shaped site approximately 2.5 km long by 1.5 km wide and has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Geological Conservation Review Site (GCR).

Holme Fen is the largest Silver birch woodland in lowland Britain. More importantly it contains approximately 5 hectares of rare acid grassland and heath and a hectare of remnant raised bog, an echo of the habitat that would have dominated the area centuries ago. This is the most south-easterly bog of its type in Britain.

Holme is a key component of the Great Fen Project for it approximately marks the south-western limit of Stage 2 of the Project plan. The reserve is open to the public throughout the year.

Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire

The fields of New Decoy Farm are being made wildlife friendly with new ditches and scrapes, and grazing cattle. Rymes Reedbeds is also being restored with new reedbeds on open water. Kesters Docking is being sown as species-poor grassland, and it will also have areas of open water and reedbeds.^[1]

References

↑ "Great Fen". Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. Retrieved 18 November 2016.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Great Fen.

External links

Coordinates: 52°28′N 0°12′W / 52.467°N 0.200°W / 52.467; -0.200

Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire

Bedfordshire

Bedford	Begwary Brook Cople Pits Felmersham Gravel Pits Pavenham Osier Beds Sewell Cutting Sharnbrook Summit Wymington Meadow
Central Bedfordshire	Arlesey Old Moat and Glebe Meadows Barton Gravel Pit Blow's Downs Cooper's Hill Cut-throat Meadow Dropshort Marsh Fancott Woods and Meadows Flitwick Moor King's Wood and Rammamere Heath Lancot Meadow Landpark Wood Old Warden Tunnel Pegsdon Hills and Hoo Bit The Riddy Sallowsprings Totternhoe

Cambridgeshire

Cambridge	Cherry Hinton Chalk Pits Skaters' Meadow
East Cambridgeshire	Chettisham Meadow Doghouse Grove Fordham Woods Ouse Washes Roswell Pits Soham Meadow
Fenland	Lattersey Norwood Road
Huntingdonshire	Arthur's Meadow Brampton Wood Gamsey Wood Godmanchester Grafham Water Great Fen Houghton Meadows Lady's Wood Pingle Cutting Raveley Wood Shepherd's Close Upwood Meadows Waresley and Gransden Woods Wistow Wood Woodwalton Marsh
Peterborough	Dogsthorpe Star Pit Southorpe Meadow Southorpe Paddock Stanground Newt Ponds Stanground Wash Thorpe Wood Wansford Pasture & Standen's Pasture Woodston Ponds
South Cambridgeshire	Beechwoods Buff Wood Cambourne Fulbourn Fen Gamlingay Cinques Gamlingay Wood Hardwick Wood Hayley Wood Lower Wood Overhall Grove Shepreth L Moor Trumpington Meadows

Northamptonshire

Corby	Great Oakley Meadow King's Wood Stoke Wood End Quarter
Daventry	Byfield Pool Harlestone Heath High Wood and Meadow Pitsford Water Nature Reserve Ramsden Corner Woodford Halse
East Northamptonshire	Collyweston Quarries Ditchford Lakes and Meadows Glapthorn Cow Pastures Higham Ferrers Pits Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows Old Sulehay Short Wood and Southwick Wood Titchmarsh Twywell Hills and Dales Wilson's Pits
Kettering	Barford Wood and Meadows The Plens Rothwell Gullet Southfield Farm Marsh Tailby Meadow Wicksteed Park
Northampton	Abington Meadows Barnes Meadow Bradlaugh Fields Duston Mill Meadow Kingsthorpe Meadow Lings Storton's Pits
South Northamptonshire	Boddington Meadow Bugbrooke Meadow Farthinghoe Grafton Regis Meadow Mill Crook Stoke Bruerne Brick Pits
Wellingborough	Finedon Cally Banks Summer Leys

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