Bedford Purlieus

Also within

Cambridgeshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Ancient woodland, Coppiced woodland

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Jurassic · Rock Type: Limestone

Description

Area, 523 hectares 211 ac Description This is an ancient woodland supporting a variety of woodland community types which are largely restricted nationally in their distribution to lowland England. Since 1945 ancient woodlands have declined in extent particularly in the more intensively farmed regions and the fraction which remain are therefore of high conservation value. In a national context, Bedford Purlieus is noted for its great diversity of herbaceous plants and associated fauna as well as for the wide range of coppice woodland types. Coppicing, the periodic recutting of underwood stems which then grow on again from the stool, was the traditional management of this woodland. In a Cambridge context the site is exceptionally rich in its variety of species which largely reflect the diversity of soil types arising from the Jurassic limestone covered in places by clay drift with patches of sand. Oak Quercus robur and ash Fraxinus excelsior are generally dominant throughout the wood but the coppice types represented include small leaved lime Tilia cordata, ash, hazel Corylus avellana, wych elm Ulmus glabra and maple Acer campestre on the calcareous clays and birch Betula sp. and sessile oak Quercus petraea hazel on acidic sands. The ground flora holds a number of species at the limits of their national distribution such as the grass mountain melick Melica nutans. Other notable species include ramsons Allium ursinum, lily of the valley Convallaria majalis, columbine Aquilegia vulgaris, herb paris Paris quadrifolia and fly orchid Ophrys insectifera.

Species mentioned

Insects to look out for

These moths, butterflies and beetles are known to feed on plants recorded at this site, and carry a notable UK conservation status — but a host-plant being present doesn't mean the insect has actually been recorded here. Treat this as "worth watching for," not a confirmed sighting.

Host-plant data: Cook et al. (2025), Traits data for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, 2024, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology / Butterfly Conservation; and Padovani et al. (2020), Database of Insects and their Food Plants (DBIF), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (both Open Government Licence). Contains data supplied by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.