Monks Wood

Monks Wood is a 157-hectare (390-acre) National Nature Reserve north-west of Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire,[2] and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I.[3] A slightly more extensive area of 169.3 hectares (418 acres) is the Monks Wood and The Odd Quarter biological Site of Special Scientific Interest.[4]

Monks Wood and The Odd Quarter
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Monks Wood is located in Cambridgeshire
Monks Wood
Location within Cambridgeshire
LocationCambridgeshire
Grid referenceTL 196 801[1]
Coordinates52.406°N 0.243°W / 52.406; -0.243
InterestBiological
Area169.3 hectares (418 acres)[1]
Notification1986[1]
Location mapMagic Map

The site is described by Natural England as one of Britain's most essential lowland woods. It is mainly of the wet ash-maple type, with a creamy shrub layer that was formerly coppiced. Trees include the rare wild service tree, particularly in The Odd Quarter. There is ground flora typical of ancient woodland, together with woodland rides, ponds, streams, and herb-rich grassland.[5]

Monks Wood was the site of an experimental biological research station of The Nature Conservancy from 1961 to 2009.[6] The marsh tits in the wood have been the subject of several studies.[7] Beginning in 1961, a 4-hectare (9.9-acre) former barley field next to the station was allowed to naturally regenerate as a rewilding experiment.[8]

There is access to Monks Wood from the road, which runs along its southern boundary. The Odd Quarter is private property with no public access.

See also

References
  1. "Designated Sites View: Monks Wood and The Odd Quarter". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  2. "Cambridgeshire's National Nature Reserves". Natural England. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  3. Ratcliffe, Derek, ed. (1977). A Nature Conservation Review. Vol. 2. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 56–57. ISBN 0521-21403-3.
  4. "Designated Sites View: Monks Wood and The Odd Quarter". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  5. "Monks Wood and The Odd Quarter citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  6. "Monks Wood Experimental Station". monks-wood.org.uk. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  7. Broughton, R. K., Hinsley, S. A., Bellamy, P. E., Hill, R. A. & Rothery, P (2006). Marsh Tit Poecile palustris territories in a British broad-leaved wood. Ibis, 148. 744-752. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.2006.00583.x Retrieved 25 January 2009
  8. Broughton, Richard K. (22 July 2021). "Monks Wood Wilderness: 60 years ago, scientists let a farm field rewild – here's what happened". The Conversation. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
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