Hertfordshire is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

eastern England The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. This region was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire ...

. It is bordered by

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

to the north,

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

to the north-east,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

to the east,

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

to the west and

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

to the south. The

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a ford on the River Lea, ne ...

. As of June 2014, the county has a population of 1,154,800 in an area of . Local nature reserves (LNRs) are designated by local authorities under the

National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the National Parks Commission which later became the Countryside Commission and then the Countryside Agency, which became ...

. The local authority must have legal control over the site, by owning or leasing it or having an agreement with the owner. LNRs are sites which have a special local interest either biologically or geologically, and local authorities have a duty to care for them. They can apply local bye-laws to manage and protect LNRs. As of July 2015, forty-two LNRs in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

have been notified to Natural England. The largest site is

Therfield Heath Therfield Heath is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest and Local Nature Reserve on the chalk escarpment just north of Therfield, Hertfordshire; since it lies south-west of the town of Royston it is also known locally as Royston He ...

with . It has some of the richest

chalk grassland Calcareous grassland (or alkaline grassland) is an ecosystem associated with thin basic soil, such as that on chalk and limestone downland. Plants on calcareous grassland are typically short and hardy, and include grasses and herbs such as clove ...

in England, and it is also a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

(SSSI). The smallest is

Oxleys Wood Oxleys Wood is a 1.2 hectare Local Nature Reserve in Hatfield in Hertfordshire. The declaring authority is Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council Welwyn is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. The parish also includes the vi ...

in Hatfield, which has an area of only . This wood often floods, and it provides a habitat for a wide range of insects and birds. Several other sites are also SSSIs, such as Croxley Common Moor and

Sherrardspark Wood Sherrardspark Wood () is a 74.9 hectare (185.1 acre) biological site of Special Scientific Interest in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. The site was notified in 1986 under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. There are a number of walks th ...

. The oldest LNR in Hertfordshire listed by Natural England is

Hilfield Park Reservoir Hilfield Park Reservoir is a 76.3 ha (189 acres) construction built in 1953 between Bushey and Elstree in Hertfordshire, and owned by Affinity Water. Declared a Local Nature Reserve (LNR) in 1969, it is managed by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlif ...

, declared in 1969, and the newest Weston Hills in 2012.

Key

Other classifications

* CAONB = Chilterns

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of thei ...

* HMWT =

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust manages over 40 nature reserves covering nearly north of London, in Hertfordshire and the historic county of Middlesex, part of which is divided between the London boroughs of Barnet, Enfield, Harrow and Hill ...

* SSSI =

Sites

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Local Nature Reserves in Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire-related lists

Key

Other classifications

Sites

See also

Notes

References