Potton Wood covers an area of 85ha (211 acres) and is two miles east of the small town of

Potton Potton is a town and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England, about east of the county town Bedford. Its population in 2011 was 4,870. In 1783 the Great Fire of Potton destroyed a large part of the town. The ...

in the county of

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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is part of Ampthill Forest and is managed by Forest Enterprise and owned by the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respon ...

. Potton Wood has been designated 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 ...

for its significance as an

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

/ field maple ancient woodland; its structure and flora are typical of the West Cambridgeshire Boulder Clay woodland group. Unusual plants in the wood include

oxlip ''Primula elatior'', the oxlip (or true oxlip), is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, native to nutrient-poor and calcium-rich damp woods and meadows throughout Europe, with northern borders in Denmark and southern parts of ...

(a national rarity at the edge of its European range here),

herb paris ''Paris quadrifolia'', the herb Paris or true lover's knot, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It occurs in temperate and cool areas throughout Eurasia, from Spain to Yakutia, and from Iceland to Mongolia. It prefers ...

bird's nest orchid ''Neottia nidus-avis'', the bird's-nest orchid, is a non-photosynthetic orchid, native to Europe, Russia and some parts of the Middle East. Description ''Neottia nidus-avis'' grows to tall and each shoot can carry up to 60 flowers. Plants ar ...

and nettle-leaved bellflower. There are plants typical of ancient woodland: common bluebell,

dog's mercury ''Mercurialis perennis'', commonly known as dog's mercury, is a poisonous woodland plant found in much of Europe as well as in Algeria, Iran, Turkey, and the Caucasus, but almost absent from Ireland, Orkney and Shetland.yellow archangel ''Lamium galeobdolon'', commonly known as yellow archangel, artillery plant, aluminium plant, or yellow weasel-snout, is a widespread wildflower in Europe, and has been introduced elsewhere as a garden plant. It displays the zygomorphic flower mo ...

wood millet ''Milium effusum'', the American milletgrass or wood millet, is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae, native to damp forests of the Holarctic Kingdom. The Latin specific epithet ''effusum'' means "spreading loosely". Habit ...

and

wood anemone The phrase wood anemone is used in common names for several closely related species of flowering plants in genus ''Anemonoides'', including: * ''Anemonoides nemorosa ''Anemonoides nemorosa'' (syn. ''Anemone nemorosa''), the wood anemone, is an e ...

. Potton Wood has large areas of broadleaved woodland, some dating back to at least 1601, but also had commercially planted, non-native

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

s which were removed in 2004 as part of a long-term project to restore the

coppiced Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeated ...

ancient woodland. Mammals found in the wood include fallow deer, grey squirrel,

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

, European hare and European mole; there are birds such as

common nightingale The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (''Luscinia megarhynchos''), is a small passerine bird best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is no ...

common chiffchaff The common chiffchaff (''Phylloscopus collybita''), or simply the chiffchaff, is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds in open woodlands throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic. It is a migratory passerine which ...

, blackcap, common whitethroat and

European turtle dove The European turtle dove (''Streptopelia turtur'') is a member of the bird family Columbidae, the doves and pigeons. It breeds over a wide area of the south western Palearctic including north Africa but migrates to northern sub-Saharan Africa t ...

, and white admiral and

purple hairstreak The purple hairstreak (''Favonius quercus'') is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae distributed throughout much of Europe, North Africa, Anatolia, Caucasia, and Transcaucasia. The larva feeds on ''Quercus robur'', ''Quercus petraea'', ''Querc ...

butterflies. On 18 September 1945, a

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

bomber based at

No. 466 Squadron RAAF No. 466 Squadron RAAF was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) bomber squadron during World War II. Formed in the United Kingdom in late 1942, the squadron undertook combat operations in Europe until the end of the war, flying heavy bomber aircra ...

at Bassingbourn,

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 ...

, crashed on the southern edge of Potton Wood. Four men were killed. The place where it fell can still be seen. There is access by footpaths from Hatley Road.

References

Forests and woodlands of Bedfordshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Bedfordshire Ancient woods in England Aviation accidents and incidents locations in England Potton {{Bedfordshire-geo-stub

See also

References