s r e g d a B s r e g d a B

spruce. spruce. The Ministry of Defence bought the wood in wood the bought Defence of Ministry The

John’s wort. John’s

plantations of Scots pine, Corsican pine and Norway and pine Corsican pine, Scots of plantations

creeping buttercup and both hairy and trailing St trailing and hairy both and buttercup creeping

Brampton Wood. About a fifth was replaced with replaced was fifth a About Wood. Brampton

scabious, water-purslane, wood spurge, false oxlip, false spurge, wood water-purslane, scabious,

In the 1 the In 950s the Forestry Commission purchased Commission Forestry the 950s

plants such as meadow grasses, cowslip, devil’s-bit cowslip, grasses, meadow as such plants

two miles and along them you’ll find important find you’ll them along and miles two

Interest (SSSI). (SSSI). Interest

beginning of Main Ride. The rides stretch for nearly for stretch rides The Ride. Main of beginning

w hen it was declared a Site of Special Scientific Special of Site a declared was it hen

oak trees, including the iconic ‘Major Oaks’ at the at Oaks’ ‘Major iconic the including trees, oak

site’s national importance was recognised in 1954 in recognised was importance national site’s

Cambridgeshire. The wood has a good number of old of number good a has wood The .

naturally by growth from old stumps and seeds. The seeds. and stumps old from growth by naturally

wood are two of the best specimens in specimens best the of two are wood

Since then most of the woodland has regenerated has woodland the of most then Since

magnificent wild pears on the western edge of the of edge western the on pears wild magnificent

World War, virtually the entire wood was clear felled. clear was wood entire the virtually War, World

were artificially planted. The planted. artificially were

t anning industry. After 1900, probably during the First the during probably 1900, After industry. anning

trees along the Main Ride Main the along trees

the wood from invading cattle and to keep pasture keep to and cattle invading from wood the e n o m e n a d o o W e n o m e n a d o o W large oaks became an important product in the in product important an became oaks large

and the wild service wild the and

ditch barrier was built in the Middle Ages to protect to Ages Middle the in built was barrier ditch livestock. During the 1860s bark stripped from the from stripped bark 1860s the During livestock.

The yews, wild cherries wild yews, The

marks the wood’s ancient boundary. The bank and bank The boundary. ancient wood’s the marks underwood, such as hazel poles, and grazing for grazing and poles, hazel as such underwood,

w ood sedge and violets. and sedge ood

Domesday Book of 1086 AD. A large earth bank earth large A AD. 1086 of Book Domesday Before 1832 the wood provided timber, hay and hay timber, provided wood the 1832 Before

arc hangel, primrose, hangel,

The first records of Brampton Wood date back to the to back date Wood Brampton of records first The

r e-grow and harvested again on a rotational cycle. rotational a on again harvested and e-grow

anemone, yellow anemone,

History were coppiced – cut down at the base, allowed to to allowed base, the at down cut – coppiced were

bluebell, wood bluebell,

For centuries many of the trees, especially hazel, especially trees, the of many centuries For

i nclude dog’s mercury, dog’s nclude

can find the greatest variety of fauna and flora. flora. and fauna of variety greatest the find can

with ancient woodland ancient with

drainage ditches on either side. side. either on ditches drainage

one of the most important features. It is here that you that here is It features. important most the of one

the wood. Plants associated Plants wood. the

Brampton Wood are unusually wide, as shown by the by shown as wide, unusually are Wood Brampton

wide, grassy rides, whic rides, grassy wide, h run through the wood, are wood, the through run h

tree have been recorded in recorded been have tree

and charcoal were removed from the wood. Those in Those wood. the from removed were charcoal and

Bluebells abound in the wood’s north-east corner. The corner. north-east wood’s the in abound Bluebells

conifer, flowering plant and plant flowering conifer,

indicates. Rides are the roads on which timber, wood timber, which on roads the are Rides indicates.

honeysuckle that twines through the trees and scrub. and trees the through twines that honeysuckle

About 280 species of fern, of species 280 About

these rides are probably much older than the map the than older much probably are rides these

grassy glades and under the dense tangle of tangle dense the under and glades grassy

a r o l F a r o l F

Main Ride, Cross Ride and West Ride; West and Ride Cross Ride, Main

Early spring sees primroses bloom on the rides, in rides, the on bloom primroses sees spring Early

principal rides are illustrated – illustrated are rides principal

and streams. and

same as it today. Three today. it as same

ha wthorn and blackthorn. and wthorn

conifer plantations and wide, grassy rides to ponds to rides grassy wide, and plantations conifer

shape then was much the much was then shape

ash and field maple with an understorey of hazel, of understorey an with maple field and ash

Brampton Wood, ranging from ancient woodland, ancient from ranging Wood, Brampton

shows that the wood’s the that shows

in a south-eastly direction. The trees are mainly oak, mainly are trees The direction. south-eastly a in

T here is an exceptional variety of habitats in habitats of variety exceptional an is here

Earl of Sandwich in 1757, in Sandwich of Earl

bisect ed by a stream, which runs through the wood the through runs which stream, a by ed

Wildlife

wood, drawn for the for drawn wood,

in places it is acid enough for bracken. The wood is wood The bracken. for enough acid is it places in

The first map of the of map first The

ole ly–ti ut ielvn lns however plants, lime-loving suits this – clay boulder

woodland and the rides for wildlife. for rides the and woodland of its great variety of habitats. The soil is chalky is soil The habitats. of variety great its of

systems.

successful and the Wildlife Trust began to manage the manage to began Trust Wildlife the and successful and unusual plants grow in Brampton Wood because Wood Brampton in grow plants unusual and

the prehistoric field prehistoric the

e e r t magnificent area. Fortunately the appeal was appeal the Fortunately area. magnificent e e r t second largest wood in Cambridgeshire. Many rare Many Cambridgeshire. in wood largest second

e c i v r e s e c i v r e s which probably drained probably which

Trust launched a public appeal to conserve this conserve to appeal public a launched Trust

a ncient woodland in the area. At 327 acres, it is the is it acres, 327 At area. the in woodland ncient

d l i W d l i W

and ditches in the wood, the in ditches and

MOD decided to sell the wood. In 1992 the Wildlife the 1992 In wood. the sell to decided MOD

Brampton Wood is one of the best examples of examples best the of one is Wood Brampton

several other minor banks minor other several

Grafham firing range. After the range’s closure, the closure, range’s the After range. firing Grafham

Welcome to Brampton Wood Wood Brampton to Welcome

animals inside. There are There inside. animals the 1960s, primarily as a safety zone for their for zone safety a as primarily 1960s, the

We are returning the deciduous woodland alongside the ride We hope you enjoy your visit. edges to a coppice cycle to improve the area for invertebrates and How to find the reserve birds. Coppicing has Purple hairstreak OS Sheet 153 Grid Reference TL 184 698 many advantages for WWelcomeelcome to wildflowers, such as the bluebell, and produces a Leave the A14 at exit 22 (Brampton), one-mile east of greater age range of trees and shrubs. the A14/A1 junction. Take the Brampton exit (B1514) Brampton WWoodood at the first roundabout. At next mini-roundabout turn Muntjac deer radically change the ground flora by right into Grove Lane, then after 100 m turn right overgrazing. They can also severely damage again at the T junction. Follow this road through the coppice plots that are not securely fenced. village, over the A1, towards Grafham village. The Therefore it is crucial that we monitor and control reserve is on the north side of the road 1.5 miles out muntjac numbers. of Brampton. A brown sign shows the entrance. Park in the small car park. It is important to keep the ponds open so that light can penetrate and allow the water plants to grow. We mow the area around the ponds and remove More information

encroaching scrub. We monitor the newt Your local Wildlife Trust protects wildlife and n a populations regularly. countryside for people to enjoy in , m g n a

Cambridgeshire, and L e k

The Wildlife Trust reserves team, . We are a charity dependent on i M

aided by a volunteer warden voluntary contributions. y b and local volunteers, carry out s n o i t

all these management tasks If you would like more information about this a r t s

and maintain the paths, reserve, other reserves in Cambridgeshire or about u l l bridges, fences, hedges how you can support us, please contact: I and car park, and collect The Wildlife Trust, The Manor House, Broad Street, litter. We always welcome Great Cambourne, CB23 6DH or extra help. If you are telephone 01954 713500. interested in helping E-mail: [email protected] y d to conserve the o o D

wildlife in Brampton t a Wood, please do not P y b

hesitate to contact the Trust h p a Devil’s bit scabious r or volunteer warden. g o t

www.wildlifebcnp.org o h P

The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Peterborough. Registered charity no: 1000412 Printed 75% recycled paper Over 500 species of fungi exist in the wood. Autumn is Look out for great spotted the best time to find many of them, but there are some woodpeckers, green Map key fungi fruiting at all times of the year. Do not eat any woodpeckers, sparrowhawks mushrooms or toadstools you find – some are and buzzards. Goldcrests nest poisonous and many inedible, despite attractive names in the conifer plantations. 1 Two magnificent oak trees such as ‘plums and custard’. Look out for false death (see front cover) cap, trooping funnel, common bonnet, sulphur tuft, There are a number of small Luckily these two oaks survived the 20th century birch polypore and King Alfred’s cakes. ponds in the wood where wartime tree clearances – probably because frogs and toads, smooth and they are near the wood’s entrance. They have Fauna great-crested newt live. The several fitting names: ‘The Master Oaks’, ‘The The black hairstreak, one of Britain’s rarest butterflies, ponds are also habitats for Major Oaks’ and ‘The Sentinel Oaks’. has several colonies in the wood; this makes Brampton dragonflies and water insects. Wood one of the best UK sites to see this attractive 2 Cherries and chequers insect. Black hairstreaks rely on blackthorn for food and The larvae of several beetle A previous owner planted this group of wild shelter and we carefully manage areas of this shrub to species rely on dead wood, Bluebells cherry and wild service trees. Normally the wild provide ideal habitat. Purple and white letter including the rare Anaglyptus service tree is rare and found only in ancient hairstreaks, brown argus and mysticus – a longhorn beetle and woodland. The bark of the mature tree has a white admirals join the Red Data Book species. The adult beetles feed on chequered pattern, hence its alternative name list of unusual wildflowers along the rides. In early summer female of chequer tree. The brown berries, which you butterflies that you glow worms light up after dark. can see in autumn, were once used to make a find regularly. The fermented drink – maybe that’s why so many conifers provide Badgers and foxes live in the wood, as well as other pubs are called ‘The Chequers’? habitat for the pine animal species (which can often cause damage) such beauty and the pine as grey squirrels, rabbits and muntjac deer. 3 hawk moth. Over 700 Yew trees different moth species have Management Yews are native trees, but the ones you see been recorded in the wood. here were planted many years ago. More often Black hairstreak We manage the rides by cutting annually alternate seen in churchyards to ward off witches, these In 1992 English Nature re-introduced sides to encourage the diversity of wildflowers. We trees are among the oldest in the wood. dormice to Brampton Wood. The population is thriving regularly cut back encroaching trees at the ride edges and has expanded to most areas of the wood. This to prevent too much shade. Our aim is to restore the 4 Ponds rides’ grassland flora to its original extent of 1757. mainly nocturnal, canopy-loving creature is incredibly The smaller pond was probably dug as a Left unmanaged the rides would become overgrown difficult to see. Brampton Wood is watering hole for animals. The larger pond was and lose their wealth of diversity. ideal for dormice because it is a dug when a nearby butt was created for a firing large wood; the dormice are able range at the beginning of the 20th century. Look Some moths and fungi are found only where to increase their numbers and out for amphibians and a variety of water plants the conifers grow. We will leave some of still live at low population and insects. densities. The wood also contains the conifer plantations, but will thin out other areas to allow a wider variety of ample food sources for these 5 The cross animals, such as hazel, wildlife to thrive. We have removed conifer trees in this area and bramble, and a good variety of are restoring the clearing to become wide, flowers and insects. sunny, grassy rides. This will encourage Dormouse wildflowers and insects.

6 The wild pears Two old, but still magnificent, wild pear trees grow here along the edge of the wood. They still fruit occasionally, although the pears are small and hard. These are two of the best examples of this rare tree in Cambridgeshire.

7 The crossroads This is the main crossroads in the wood – at the N junction of Main and Cross Rides. From here you have an excellent view of the rides and can see the land rising to the north and east. A crab 8 apple tree is nearby; one of several good examples of Britain’s only native apple tree. P 8 Bluebells In spring this is the best place to see a wonderful display of our most popular native woodland flower. They make a beautiful blue carpet beneath the old coppice hazel.

7 M W a i e n s t R i R d id e e

e 3 Information id R 5 s 4 2 os 1 Cr P 6 To Brampton

Disused railway

0 500

Metres To Grafham Green woodpeckers

Coppice Reserve path RRoadoad Scrub RReeserve boundary Coniferous woodland Public Bridleway N Deciduous woodland

DryDry grassland

OpenOpen water

P Car park

Information centre

YOU ARE HERE

P

DisusedDisused railway

0 500

Metres