List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Bedfordshire facts for kids

Houghton Regis Marl Lakes

Bedfordshire is a county in the East of England. It is bounded by Hertfordshire to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, and Buckinghamshire to the west. It has an area of 1,235 square kilometres (477 sq mi), and population estimated in 2015 at 630,000, with an increase of 10% over the previous ten years. The county town is Bedford, and the name is first recorded in the treaty in about 879 between King Alfred the Great and Guthrum, which divided English and Danish territory by a line which went through Bedford.

Southern Bedfordshire is part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. North and mid Bedfordshire are undulating claylands with broad river valleys of the River Great Ouse and its tributaries, and the Bedfordshire Greensand Ridge. Jurassic and Cretaceous clays are overlaid by Quaternary glacial deposits of chalky boulder clay.

There are forty Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in Bedfordshire, designated by Natural England. Thirty-five are listed for their biological interest, and five for their geological interest. Three of the sites are also National nature reserves, twelve are in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and eleven are managed wholly or partly by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. In 2009 Bedfordshire was divided into three unitary local authorities: thirty-two sites are in Central Bedfordshire, eight in Bedford and none in Luton.

Key

Interest

• B = a site of biological interest
• G = a site of geological interest

Other classifications

• CAONB = Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
• GCR = Geological Conservation Review
• LNR = Local nature reserve
• NCR = A Nature Conservation Review
• NNR = National nature reserve
• NT = National Trust
• RHPG = Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England
• RSPB = Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
• SM = Scheduled Monument
• WT = Woodland Trust
• WTBCN = Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire

Sites

Site name	Photograph	B	G	Area	Public access	Location	Other classifications	Map	Citation	Description
Barton Hills		Y		47.9 hectares (118 acres)	YES	Barton-le-Clay	NNR NCR CAONB	Map	Citation	This is steeply sloping chalk pasture, which has a wide variety of grasses and flowers. A chalk stream along the valley floor adds wetland flora. Six orchid species have been recorded, including the fragrant orchid and bee orchid. Another notable plant is the pasque flower.
Biddenham Pit			Y	0.4 hectares (0.99 acres)	YES	Biddenham	GCR	Map	Citation	This site has interglacial mollusk and mammal fossils, but it is uncertain which warmer period is represented. The lowest level also has Paleolithic stone tools.
Blow's Down		Y		33.4 hectares (83 acres)	YES	Dunstable	WTBCN CAONB	Map	Citation	The site has varied habitats with a large area of unimproved grassland, which cattle help to maintain. Features include a disused quarry and medieval cultivation terraces. It has a rare plant, Bunium bulbocastanum, and beetle odontaeus armiger.
Cooper's Hill		Y		17.8 hectares (44 acres)	YES	Ampthill	LNR WTBCN	Map	Citation	The site is described by Natural England as the best surviving example in Bedfordshire of heathland on the thin acidic soils of the Lower Greensand Ridge. It also has areas of marsh and woodland.
Deacon Hill SSSI		Y		35.4 hectares (87 acres)	YES	Pegsdon	WTBCN CAONB	Map	Citation	The site is calcareous grassland which is rich in plant species, some of which are uncommon. Birds include lapwings and buzzards, and there are butterflies such as dingy and grizzled skippers. There are also the remains of ancient strip lynchet fields.
Double Arches Pit			Y	1.7 hectares (4.2 acres)	NO	Heath and Reach	GCR	Map	Citation	This site exposes the Lower Greensand geological layer, dating to the Lower Cretaceous around 146 to 100 million years ago.
Dropshort Marsh		Y		2.7 hectares (6.7 acres)	YES	Toddington	WTBCN	Map	Citation	This marsh has a variety of habitats, including a scarce quaking bog. Many species are now uncommon due to changes in agricultural practices. it has several springs, with floating sweet-grass and brooklime and areas dominated by rushes.
Dunstable and Whipsnade Downs		Y		73.3 hectares (181 acres)	YES	Dunstable	NT CAONB	Map	Citation	This is a 3 kilometre long steep escarpment between Dunstable and Whipsnade. The slopes have a typical chalk downland flora, and there are also habitats of scrub and tall herbs. The site is also important for butterflies.
Fancott Woods and Meadows		Y		13.2 hectares (33 acres)	YES	Toddington	WTBCN	Map	Citation	The meadows are mainly ancient ridge and furrow, and are unimproved neutral grassland traditionally managed for hay and grazing. Plants include cowslips, ragged-robin, great burnet, common spotted orchid, red fescue, meadow fescue and meadowsweet.
Felmersham Gravel Pits		Y		21.5 hectares (53 acres)	YES	Bedford	WTBCN	Map	Citation	The site has flooded gravel pits which were worked until about 1945. Other habitats are neutral grassland, scrub and broadleaved woodland. It is one of the best sites in Bedfordshire for dragonflies and damselflies.
Flitwick Moor		Y		58.9 hectares (146 acres)	YES	Flitwick	WTBCN	Map	Citation	This is a rich valley mire, and the largest area of wetland in Bedfordshire. Eight species of sphagnum bog moss have been recorded, including one which is nationally rare. The site has areas of woodland as well as wet grassland.
Galley and Warden Hills		Y		47.5 hectares (117 acres)	YES	Warden Hills	LNR CAONB	Map	Citation	The site is chalk grassland with areas of dense scrub, and it has many plants which are rare nationally and locally. It has a wide variety of wild flowers and more than twenty species of butterflies.
Hanger Wood		Y		24.0 hectares (59 acres)	NO	Stagsden		Map	Citation	This is described by Natural England as a Site of Special Scientific Interest having "one of the best remaining examples of wet ash-maple woodland in Bedfordshire". The ground flora is dominated by bluebell and dog's mercury, with bramble in drier areas.
Houghton Regis Marl Lakes		Y		21.0 hectares (52 acres)	YES	Houghton Regis	WTBCN CAONB	Map	Citation	This large disused chalk quarry is a rare example of standing water in chalk. It is important both ornithologically and for its range of dragonflies. There are two marl lakes, which have aquatic plants and molluscs, and there are fens in a waterlogged area between the lakes.
Kensworth Chalk Pit			Y	130.9 hectares (323 acres)	NO	Kensworth	GCR CAONB	Map	Citation	The site is a large working quarry which exposes fossiliferous chalk rocks with many rare fossils including ammonites. It is described by Natural England as "an unrivalled locality for stratigraphic studies in the Upper Cretaceous".
Kings and Bakers Woods and Heaths		Y		211.3 hectares (522 acres)	YES	Leighton Buzzard	NNR NCR WTBCN	Map	Citation	The site has the largest remaining area of woodland in Bedfordshire, together with lowland heath, acidic grassland and some small ponds. There are a number of rare plant species, including great woodrush, wood vetch and saw-wort.
Kings Wood and Glebe Meadows, Houghton Conquest		Y		36.1 hectares (89 acres)	YES	Houghton Conquest	LNR	Map	Citation	This site is ancient ash and maple woodland on heavy clay, a habitat which has become rare in lowland England. It is biologically diverse, with a number of rare species. Glebe Meadows has a rich variety of species due to its traditional management.
Knocking Hoe		Y		8.1 hectares (20 acres)	YES	Pegsdon	NNR NCR CAONB	Map	Citation	The site is a flat bottomed valley with steep sides. The unimproved chalk grassland has several nationally rare plants, including moon carrot, spotted catsear and pasque flower. The ancient strip lynchet field system is of archaeological interest.
Marston Thrift		Y		37.7 hectares (93 acres)	YES	Cranfield	LNR	Map	Citation	The site is ash and maple woodland on heavy clay, a habitat which has become scarce in lowland England. It also has areas of damp grassland, and a grassland valley. It is an important site for butterflies, including the rare black hairstreak.
Maulden Church Meadow		Y		4.2 hectares (10 acres)	YES	Maulden	LNR	Map	Citation	The site is unimproved pasture on the Lower Greensand Ridge. Most of it is neutral grassland with many grass and herb species, and there are small areas of acidic grassland. An open pond has aquatic plants, while two ponds which have been filled in have a varied marsh vegetation.
Maulden Heath		Y		7.6 hectares (19 acres)	YES	Maulden		Map	Citation	There are two separate meadows in the site. The eastern meadow has two ridges, which have short grass, a moss layer and many herbs. The western meadow is a steep-sided valley which has similar habitats.
Maulden Wood and Pennyfather's Hill		Y		148.4 hectares (367 acres)	YES	Maulden		Map	Citation	This is ancient mixed deciduous and coniferous woodland, with rides and ponds. It has a wide variety of invertebrates, including some which are nationally rare, such as the tiny moth, Dioryctria mutatella and three sawfly species.
Nares Gladley Marsh		Y		5.4 hectares (13 acres)	NO	Leighton Buzzard		Map	Citation	The site is on the Lower Greensand in the valley of the River Ouzel. It has marshland with a number of springs, and it has rich plant communities. On higher areas there is acidic grassland.
Nine Acres Pit			Y	20.4 hectares (50 acres)	NO	Leighton Buzzard	GCR	Map	Citation	This Lower Cretaceous site exposes layers dating to the Albian and Aptian, between 125 and 100 million years ago. It has one of the most diverse Albian fossils faunas in the world.
Odell Great Wood		Y		85.9 hectares (212 acres)	YES	Odell		Map	Citation	This site is wet ash and maple woodland which has an exceptional variety of flora, such as wild daffodil and herb paris. Extensive rides add to its value for invertebrates and flowering plants.
Potton Wood		Y		85.2 hectares (211 acres)	YES	Potton		Map	Citation	This wet wood is mainly ash and maple. It shrub layer has species indicative of ancient woodland, such as yellow archangel, wood millet and oxlip, a national rarity. The site also has species-rich rides, ponds and diverse bird species.
Pulloxhill Marsh		Y		5.1 hectares (13 acres)	NO	Pulloxhill		Map	Citation	This marsh in a small valley has a wide variety of plant species, including some rare in the country, such as sharpflowered rush and blunt-flowered rush. It also has springs, neutral grassland in higher areas and mature hedgerows.
Sandy Warren		Y		16.4 hectares (41 acres)	YES	Sandy	RSPB	Map	Citation	The site is heathland on the acidic soil of the Lower Greensand ridge, which is now comparatively rare. It also has areas of unimproved grassland and birch woodland. Additional habitats are damp areas and seasonal pools, which have some uncommon species such as distant sedge and carnation sedge.
Smithcombe, Sharpenhoe and Sundon Hills		Y		87.5 hectares (216 acres)	YES	Sharpenhoe	NT CAONB SM	Map	Citation	Much of the site is unimproved chalk grassland with many plants which are now rare. Orchids include Herminium monorchis and Aceras anthropophorum. There is also beech forest with a ground layer including primroses.
Southill Lake and Woods		Y		25.6 hectares (63 acres)	NO	Southill	RHPG	Map	Citation	The wood is a wet valley of alder, fed by springs, and a small stream runs down to the lake. There is fen vegetation in more open areas. The lake has a characteristic population of breeding birds, and an island has one of only two surviving heronries in the county.
Stevington Marsh		Y		7.6 hectares (19 acres)	YES	Pavenham		Map	Citation	The site is marshland along the banks of the River Great Ouse. The river, marshes and pastures form varied habitats. The marshes are floristically rich, with the largest one being dominated by great horsetail. The wetland communities and Jurassic limestone grassland are rare habitats in eastern England.
Sundon Chalk Quarry		Y		26.8 hectares (66 acres)	YES	Upper Sundon	CAONB	Map	Citation	This site's varied habitats are fen, lakes, chalk grassland, scrub and woodland. Invertebrates include sixteen species of dragonfly and damselfly and twenty-one of butterfly. The site has the largest English colony of the Chiltern gentian.
Swineshead Wood		Y		21.9 hectares (54 acres)	YES	Swineshead	WT	Map	Citation	The site is wet woodland which has structural and biological diversity. The most common trees are pedunculate oak and ash and on heavy clay, and bluebells and dog's mercury dominate the ground flora.
Tebworth Marsh		Y		5.7 hectares (14 acres)	YES	Toddington		Map	Citation	This site is a base-rich marsh which has diverse plant life. It has springs along the edge of glacial gravel, and this produces wet marsh which is dominated by meadowsweet. Other habitats are neutral grassland, swamp carr woodland, mature ash woodland, a stream and hedgerows.
Tilwick Meadow		Y		3.6 hectares (8.9 acres)	YES	Thurleigh		Map	Citation	The meadow is on the site of a medieval village abandoned during the Black Death. It is unimproved grassland on chalk boulder clay, and it has very rich flora on a habitat now rare nationally. Grass species include red fescue and sweet vernal-grass.
Totternhoe Chalk Quarry		Y		13.5 hectares (33 acres)	YES	Totternhoe	CAONB WTBCN	Map	Citation	This site is grass chalkland, which is a habitat under threat.There are a number of rare plant species, including great pignut, and butterflies such as the chalkhill blue and the nationally rare Duke of Burgundy.
Totternhoe Knolls		Y		13.4 hectares (33 acres)	YES	Totternhoe	LNR WTBCN CAONB	Map	Citation	This is grassland with a rich variety of plant species, including some that are now rare. There are a number of orchids and a wide variety of invertebrates, including butterflies such as the common blue, chalkhill blue, and the scarce small blue and Duke of Burgundy.
Totternhoe Stone Pit			Y	2.2 hectares (5.4 acres)	NO	Totternhoe	GCR CAONB	Map	Citation	The site displays the base of the Totternhoe Stone. It is a lime mud with an extensive deposit of late Cretaceous shark teeth, some of species which have not been fully described, so it will be an important resource for further research.
Wavendon Heath Ponds		Y		4.7 hectares (12 acres)	YES	Aspley Heath		Map	Citation	The site is acidic mire. It has three ponds which have unusual plant communities, two unimproved meadows, some damp birch woodland and a small stream.
Yelden Meadows		Y		2.8 hectares (6.9 acres)	NO	Yelden		Map	Citation	The site is a rare example of neutral grassland on clay which has not been improved agriculturally. It is a flood meadow which has been maintained to provide hay with grazing during the winter, and it has a rich variety of plant species.