• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

25/04/2012 23:13:05 25/04/2012 1 Rev07.indd Leaflet Wood Hayley Northamptonshire. Registered charity no: 1000412 no: charity Registered Northamptonshire. The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, for Trust Wildlife The close to home to close Protecting Wildlife Cover photographbyDuncanMackay.IllustrationsMikeLangman www.wildlifebcn.org . Cambridge to Longstowe and then walking 1½ miles 1½ walking then and Longstowe to Cambridge You can also reach Hayley Wood by taking a bus from from bus a taking by Wood Hayley reach also can You up Hayley Lane to reach the reserve. the reach to Lane Hayley up on your right. Park on the verge opposite and walk 300m 300m walk and opposite verge the on Park right. your on B1046. A mile beyond the village look for a water tower tower water a for look village the beyond mile A B1046. Royston. After 3 miles turn right to Longstowe on the the on Longstowe to right turn miles 3 After Royston. After around 6 miles turn right onto the A1198 towards towards A1198 the onto right turn miles 6 around After Take the A428 from St Neots towards Cambridge. Cambridge. towards Neots St from A428 the Take St Neots 8 miles, Cambridge 17 miles. 17 Cambridge miles, 8 Neots St OS sheet 153, Grid reference TL 292 530 292 TL reference Grid 153, sheet OS How to find the reserve the find to How This leaflet has been made possible thanks to the support of : of support the to thanks possible made been has leaflet This such as willowherb. willowherb. as such encroachment of scrub and dominance of tall species species tall of dominance and scrub of encroachment Email: [email protected] Email: of wildflowers. The railway line is mown to prevent prevent to mown is line railway The wildflowers. of Telephone: 01954 713 500 500 713 01954 Telephone: regime to reduce nutrient levels and enhance the diversity diversity the enhance and levels nutrient reduce to regime Great Cambourne, CB23 6DH. CB23 Cambourne, Great The grassy rides and glade are mown on a bi-annual bi-annual a on mown are glade and rides grassy The The Wildlife Trust, The Manor House, Broad Street, Street, Broad House, Manor The Trust, Wildlife The allowed to dominate. dominate. to allowed us or get involved, please contact: please involved, get or us non-intervention woodland where natural processes are are processes natural where woodland non-intervention reserves in the area or to find out how you can support support can you how out find to or area the in reserves though much of the reserve is now managed as as managed now is reserve the of much though would like more information about this reserve, other other reserve, this about information more like would Coppice plots have been established along the main ride ride main the along established been have plots Coppice charity dependent on voluntary contributions. If you you If contributions. voluntary on dependent charity wildlife, something that is now much more widespread. widespread. more much now is that something wildlife, Hayley Wood Hayley Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. We are a a are We Northamptonshire. and Cambridgeshire first sites to reintroduce the practice for the benefit of of benefit the for practice the reintroduce to sites first countryside for people to enjoy in Bedfordshire, Bedfordshire, in enjoy to people for countryside centuries but was revived here in 1963. It was one of the the of one was It 1963. in here revived was but centuries Your local Wildlife Trust protects wildlife and the the and wildlife protects Trust Wildlife local Your Coppicing declined throughout the 19th and early 20th 20th early and 19th the throughout declined Coppicing Welcome to Welcome the whole wood would have been managed in this way. way. this in managed been have would wood whole the More information More materials for fencing and construction. Historically nearly nearly Historically construction. and fencing for materials This produced a renewable supply of firewood as well as as well as firewood of supply renewable a produced This down and allowed to grow again from the stump. stump. the from again grow to allowed and down been coppiced; areas of ash, hazel and maple were cut cut were maple and hazel ash, of areas coppiced; been For over 750 years Hayley, like most English woods, has has woods, English most like Hayley, years 750 over For We hope you enjoy your visit your enjoy you hope We Management Welcome to Hayley Wood Trees At least 540 species of fungi have been found in the wood, most of which appear in early autumn. See if you Oak, ash, elm, maple, hazel, aspen and sallow are the can spot the thin white columns of the candle snuff Hayley Wood is one of the largest ancient woodlands in most common tree species found in the reserve. The fungus or the large brackets of dryad’s saddle. Cambridgeshire. The mosaic of dense woodland, coppice oldest trees are ash and maple coppice stools with plots and open rides and glades provides perfect multiple stems arising from gnarled bases The railway line has become home to many interesting conditions for many different plants, animals and fungi. that have been cut down and grown plant species, including hairy violet, clustered bell-flower, again many times. Most of the large woolly thistle, tall purple stalks of great burnet and tiny oak and ash trees are around 160 to white flowered fairy flax as well as more common History 220 years old. Some, mainly ash, are species such as knapweed, St John’s wort and becoming ‘veteran’ trees, developing wild strawberry. Hayley Wood has been managed by man over many the hollow insides and dead boughs centuries. It is documented back to the Domesday Book that make them a valuable habitat Fauna (1086) and once belonged to the Bishops of Ely. The for hole-nesting birds and insects. boundaries of the wood have hardly changed in the past Old trees are also a habitat for 800 years. rare lichens. These were Many species of butterfly can be badly damaged in the found feeding on the nectar The wood is reached via an ancient track called Hayley middle of last century by rich flowers that grow in the Lane. The hedgerow on the left is 800 years old and fumes from the Bedfordshire wood and on the railway line. In 2010, the silver-washed contains a large variety of trees and shrubs which bbrickworks but are now recovering. provide a rich habitat for many birds. At the end of the Oxlip fritillary, a large butterfly that lane is the former Cambridge to Bedford railway line. has recently recolonised Built in 1863 and abandoned in 1969, it has been Cambridgeshire, was recorded in colonised by a variety of wildflowers and grasses making Flora the wood. It gets its name from the beautiful streaks of silver found this an important area for butterflies and insects. Speckled wood on the underside of the wings. Hayley is well known for its fantastic display of oxlips Butterflies that are easier to spot include green-veined Next you reach The Triangle, a small area of woodland each spring. This delicate pale yellow flower is confined white, comma, speckled wood, peacock, common blue that is younger than the rest of the wood having to East Anglia and prefers poorly drained ancient and gatekeeper. developed from an abandoned field since the early 1900s. woodland sites. The wood also has spectacular displays of bluebell, low growing white-flowered In summer up to 40 species of bird can be found in the You then cross a bank and ditch which marks the edge of wood anemone and yellow lesser wood. Look and listen out for woodpeckers, nuthatches the ancient woodland. This area has been wooded since celandine. In summer the open rides and chiffchaffs. If you are lucky you may catch a glimpse prehistoric times and was once a source of firewood, are scattered with purple clumps of of a treecreeper or a timber and building materials for the Bishop and local betony and purple loosestrife, frothy spotted flycatcher. villagers. white heads of meadowsweet and In winter large flocks of the delicate mauve flowers of devils redwing and fieldfare can Hayley Wood was designated as a Site of Special bit scabious. There are five species of be seen feeding on the Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1955 in recognition of its orchid: bird’s nest, early purple, profusion of berries in the national importance as a boulder clay woodland. common spotted, greater butterfly wood and surrounding In 1962 it was the first nature reserve to be purchased and twayblade. by the recently formed Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely hedgerows. Naturalists’ Trust (now the Wildlife Trust BCN). Muntjac and fallow deer live in the wood along with badgers and foxes. Clustered bellflower The wood is also home Fieldfare to smaller animals such as wood mice and field voles which provide prey for birds like tawny owls. Deer Deciduous woodland Coppice As in most woods Hayley has suffered from the 20th century increase in deer numbers. When the Trust Dry grassland purchased the reserve in 1962 fallow deer, originally introduced to Britain by the Normans, were already Pond present. Since then numbers have increased and they have been joined by much smaller muntjac deer, an early Reserve path Hayley Lane 20th century introduction from China. Too many deer Road put extreme pressure on the wood by eating young tree Reserve boundary saplings, coppice regrowth and wildflowers such as oxlips as well as removing valuable low cover for birds.

Load more

  2

Copy Link