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Kingston Wood and Outliers is a 49-hectare (121 acres) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-west of Kingston in Cambridgeshire. The site comprises Kingston Wood itself, Pincote Wood, Hawk’s Wood and Lady Pastures Spinney.[1][2]

The site is one of the largest and most intact medieval coppice woodlands in the county, and exemplifies the ash-maple ancient woodland type characteristic of the chalky Boulder Clay of Eastern England. The main habitat is broadleaved mixed and yew woodland.[1]

Kingston Wood is privately owned, with no public access, and survives today largely because its 19th and 20th-century owners valued it for its pheasant shooting.[3]

Flora and fauna

Flora

The woodland consists mainly of coppiced ash (Fraxinus excelsior) and field maple (Acer campestre); standard oaks (Quercus robur) are also present. Ground flora include dog’s mercury (Mercurialis perennis) and the nationally restricted oxlip (Primula elatior).[1]

Fauna

The wood is home to a small herd of fallow deer (Dama dama), and muntjacs (Muntiacus reevesii) have also become established.[4]

References

  1.  
  2. p. 2
  3. pp. 7, 16
  4. p. 16

Works cited

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