Gamlingay Wood

Also within

Cambridgeshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Habitats

Bracken scrub, Coppiced woodland

Geology & landscape

Rock Type: Glacial Till, Greensand

Landscape processes: Glacial

Description

Area, 46 hectares 114 ac Description This is a woodland of ancient origin which consequently holds well developed plant and animal communities. It is of the ash maple woodland type and represents a habitat which has now become relatively scarce throughout its natural range over lowland England. In a Cambridgeshire context the site is additionally noted for its part location on a sandy loam soil type, unusual for this county, which is reflected in the vegetation. The majority of the wood is mixed coppice of oak Quercus robur, ash Fraxinus excelsior, hazel Corylus avellana and field maple Acer campestre. Where the soil is of the calcareous marl type overlying Boulder Clay on Gault, the nationally restricted oxlip Primula elatior is a key component of the ground flora, together with dog’s mercury Mercurialis perennis, bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta, yellow archangel Lamiastrum galeobdolon and wood anemone Anemone nemorosa. On the sandy loam which overlays Boulder Clay on Greensand, oak is more abundant with ash being replaced by birch. The ground flora here holds bracken Pteridium aquilinum, together with creeping soft grass Holcus mollis. This type of vegetation is characteristic of dry oak woods on acid soils and extremely rare in the county. Parts of the wood have been modified by plantation, but elements of the natural vegetation still persist and retain potential for enhancement through sympathetic management.

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.

Plant communities