Southorpe Paddock is 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 ...

south of

Southorpe Southorpe is a settlement and civil parish in the Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. For electoral purposes it forms part of Barnack Barnack is a village and civil parish, now in the Peterborough unit ...

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 ...

. It is managed by the

Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (WTBCN) is a registered charity which manages 126 nature reserves covering . It has over 35,000 members, and 95% of people in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshi ...

. This site is a rare example of unimproved grassland on the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

limestone of eastern England. It has typical limestone plants such as

purple milk-vetch Purple milkvetch or purple milk-vetch is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *'' Astragalus agrestis'', native to North America *''Astragalus danicus ''Astragalus danicus'', known as purple milk-vetch, is a species of flowering p ...

and

clustered bellflower ''Campanula glomerata'', known by the common names clustered bellflower or Dane's blood, is a species of flowering plant in the genus '' Campanula'', belonging to the family Campanulaceae. It is the county flower of Rutland, England. Etymology ...

. Mature hedgerows provide additional habitats for wildlife. There is access from the road south from Southorpe.

References

{{Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cambridgeshire Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire reserves