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The Riddy is an 8.4 hectare
The Riddy is an 8.4 hectare flood meadow
A flood-meadow (or floodmeadow) is an area of grassland or pasture beside a river, subject to seasonal flooding.Huhta, Ari‐Pekka, Rautio, Pasi (2014). Flood meadows in Finland - their development during the past century. ''Nordic Journal of B ...
and Local Nature Reserve located in Sandy, Bedfordshire
Sandy is a market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire, England. It lies to the east of Bedford, to the south west of Cambridge and north of Central London. The town has a population of around 13,400 based on 2015 estimates.
The ...
, United Kingdom, bordering the River Ivel. Owned by Sandy Town Council but managed by both the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity, the site gains its name from a small stream which flows through the eastern end of the reserve. The different habitats in the Riddy support a diverse range of species, including a multiplicity of grass
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...
es and flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
s in the meadows, aquatic plant
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments (saltwater or freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that ...
s and water voles which inhabit the ditches, ponds and stream, and birds which feed and hunt across the reserve.
The Riddy is currently open to the general public; although some of the paths are reasonably rough, the site is most accessible via the riverside path: a disabled access gate is provided as well. The River Ivel may be fished from the reserve border, but a permit from the town council and national rod licence are required.
History
The River Ivel used to be bordered by a number of flood meadows, many of which have now been lost: The Riddy is a remnant of this previous network. In the thirteenth century CE, the area now known as The Riddy was referred to as "Parkesriding". In the north-eastern corner of the reserve, a mill pool can be found; whilst the last mill was built here in 1857, evidence shows that mills have been built on the Riddy since at leastNorman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
times.
Local Nature Reserve
Declared a Local Nature Reserve in 2006 by Sandy Town Council and designated an 'Urban Fringe' site, The Riddy is a species rich habitat, being described by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire as "an oasis of wild flowers, bird song and a wonderful view among a sea of arable fields". In the meadows many different grasses and other plants grow, such as cuckoo flower (''Cardamine pratensis
''Cardamine pratensis'', the cuckoo flower, lady's smock, mayflower, or milkmaids, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is a perennial herb native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia. The specific name ''pratensis'' is Latin ...
''). The pond, stream and ditches support aquatic plants, such as arrowhead (''Sagittaria sagittifolia
''Sagittaria sagittifolia'' (also called arrowhead due to the shape of its leaves) is a flowering plant in the family Alismataceae, native to wetlands most of Europe from Ireland and Portugal to Finland and Bulgaria, and in Russia, Ukraine, Siber ...
''), celery-leaved buttercup (''Ranunculus sceleratus
''Ranunculus sceleratus'' known by the common names celery-leaved buttercup, celery-leaf buttercup, and cursed buttercup is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It has a circumpolar distribution in the northern hem ...
''), purple-loosestrife ('' Lythrum salicaria''), water-plantain ('' Alisma plantago-aquatica'') and duckweed
Lemnoideae is a subfamily of flowering aquatic plants, known as duckweeds, water lentils, or water lenses. They float on or just beneath the surface of still or slow-moving bodies of fresh water and wetlands. Also known as bayroot, they arose ...
. Chub (''Squalius cephalus
''Squalius cephalus'' is a European species of freshwater fish in the carp family Cyprinidae. It frequents both slow and moderate rivers, as well as canals and still waters of various kinds. This species is referred to as the common chub, Europe ...
'') and carp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...
can both be found in the stream, along with the nationally protected water vole ('' Arvicola amphibius''). Numerous birds frequent The Riddy, some which feed in the meadows including redwing ('' Turdus iliacus''), fieldfare (''Turdus pilaris
The fieldfare (''Turdus pilaris'') is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It breeds in woodland and scrub in northern Europe and across the Palearctic. It is strongly migratory, with many northern birds moving south during the winter. It ...
'') and northern lapwing (''Vanellus vanellus
The northern lapwing (''Vanellus vanellus''), also known as the peewit or pewit, tuit or tew-it, green plover, or (in Ireland and Britain) pyewipe or just lapwing, is a bird in the lapwing subfamily. It is common through temperate Eurosiberia. ...
''), whilst sparrowhawks (''Accipiter nisus
The Eurasian sparrowhawk (''Accipiter nisus''), also known as the northern sparrowhawk or simply the sparrowhawk, is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Adult male Eurasian sparrowhawks have bluish grey upperparts and orange-barred ...
'') have been observed "patrolling" the mature hedgerows. Grey herons (''Ardea cinerea
The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Palearctic, Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the m ...
'') and common terns (''Sterna hirundo
The common tern (''Sterna hirundo'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory ...
'') hunt fish, and in the autumn, song thrushes ('' Turdus philomelos'') can be seen at the reserve. Grey wagtail (''Motacilla cinerea
The grey wagtail (''Motacilla cinerea'') is a member of the wagtail family, Motacillidae, measuring around 18–19 cm overall length. The species looks somewhat similar to the yellow wagtail but has the yellow on its underside restricted to ...
'') and kingfisher (''Alcedo atthis
The common kingfisher (''Alcedo atthis''), also known as the Eurasian kingfisher and river kingfisher, is a small kingfisher with seven subspecies recognized within its wide distribution across Eurasia and North Africa. It is resident in much of ...
'') have also been recorded on the reserve.
The reserve is managed by both the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity through its volunteer group 'Ivel Valley Conservation Volunteers'. Management tasks performed on The Riddy include the coppicing of the willows in the small osier bed
An osier bed is where historically willows were planted and coppiced to produce withies, which were used for basket making, fish-traps, and other purposes. The willow species ''salix viminalis
''Salix viminalis'', the basket willow, common os ...
which stimulates new growth, grazing with cattle to remove each season's growth and to maintain the grassland habitats, along with the removal ('pulling') of ragwort (''Jacobaea vulgaris
''Jacobaea vulgaris'', syn. ''Senecio jacobaea'', is a very common wild flower in the family Asteraceae that is native to northern Eurasia, usually in dry, open places, and has also been widely distributed as a weed elsewhere.
Common names inc ...
'') which is poisonous to certain animals, notably the grazing cattle, when ingested.
References