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Maulden Wood is a woodland situated in
The northern end of the wood is also an SSSI because of its importance as one of Bedfordshire's largest remnants of ancient woodland in addition to the nearby King's Wood. Maulden wood is green most of the year round due to the large percentage of pine and other evergreen trees. Hedgerows around the perimeter contain bindweed, sticky willy, honeysuckle, and trumpet flowers (Bindweed). Snowdrops and cowslips grow prolifically in the early spring. In the mid to late spring, bluebells can be found in the middle of the wood and on the waysides. The southern end of the wood is sometimes called Pennyfather's wood. It is situated on greensand, whereas the rest of Maulden Wood is situated on a cap of glacial boulder clay.
There also some rare species of sawfly (
Maulden Wood web page
/ref> and from Maulden Church Meadow.
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...
, England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, near the village of Maulden
Maulden is a village and civil parish located in the county of Bedfordshire. The village is located 1.5 miles east of Ampthill and about south of Bedford. It has about 1,250 homes and 3130 residents.
Maulden is referred to in the Domesday Bo ...
, on the greensand ridge that stretches from Leighton Buzzard
Leighton Buzzard ( ) is a market town in Bedfordshire, England, in the southwest of the county and close to the Buckinghamshire border. It lies between Aylesbury, Tring, Luton/ Dunstable and Milton Keynes, near the Chiltern Hills.
It is nor ...
to Gamlingay
Gamlingay is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district of Cambridgeshire, England, about west southwest of Cambridge.
The 2011 census gives the village's population as 3,247 and the civil parish's as 3,568.
In addition ...
. It includes Maulden Wood and Pennyfather's Hill, a 148.8 hectare, biological 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 ...
(SSSI).
Overview
Maulden Wood is classed as a semi-natural broadleaf woodland, on acidic grassland and includes some conifer plantations. Paths through the lead can be reached from Maulden Church, through Church Field, and from theA6 road
This is a list of roads designated A6.
* A006 road (Argentina), a road connecting Las Cuevas with the Christ the Redeemer monument in the border between Argentina and Chile
* ''A6 highway (Australia)'' may refer to :
** A6 (Sydney), a road conn ...
layby through the wood. There are grasslands in the centre of the wood. They are managed by the Greensand Trust and Forestry England.
Scientific interest
Much of Maulden Wood is designated as an (SSSI) for the acidic grassland and heathland interest, and wildlife includes badger sets, foxes, and barn owls. The site is important for invertebrates and plants which are indicative of the varied clay and sandy gravel soil. One notable invertebrate islimax cinereoniger
''Limax cinereoniger'', the ash-black slug is a large species of air-breathing land slug in the terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc family Limacidae, the keelback slugs. This is the largest land slug species in the world.< ...
, a mollusc that is also indicative of unmanaged ancient woodlands. The rare Wild Service Tree Sorbus torminalis
''Torminalis'' is a genus of plants in the rose family, Rosaceae. The genus was formerly included within the genus ''Sorbus'' as the Section (biology), section ''Torminaria'', but the simple-leafed species traditionally classified in ''Sorbus'' ...
also grows in the drier places deep in the wood.
The northern end of the wood is also an SSSI because of its importance as one of Bedfordshire's largest remnants of ancient woodland in addition to the nearby King's Wood. Maulden wood is green most of the year round due to the large percentage of pine and other evergreen trees. Hedgerows around the perimeter contain bindweed, sticky willy, honeysuckle, and trumpet flowers (Bindweed). Snowdrops and cowslips grow prolifically in the early spring. In the mid to late spring, bluebells can be found in the middle of the wood and on the waysides. The southern end of the wood is sometimes called Pennyfather's wood. It is situated on greensand, whereas the rest of Maulden Wood is situated on a cap of glacial boulder clay.
There also some rare species of sawfly (Symphyta
Sawflies are wasp-like insects that are in the suborder Symphyta within the order Hymenoptera, alongside ants, bees, and wasps. The common name comes from the saw-like appearance of the ovipositor, which the females use to cut into the plants ...
, Pamphilius sylvarum and Caliroa cinxia, which feed on the resident oak
An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
(Quercus
An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
) trees. Another sawfly, Pamphilius gyllenhali, has been recorded in the wood, which feeds on willow Salix alba
''Salix alba'', the white willow, is a species of willow native to Europe and western and Central Asia.Meikle, R. D. (1984). ''Willows and Poplars of Great Britain and Ireland''. BSBI Handbook No. 4. .Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain an ...
. There are also notable species from several major invertebrate groups including the
beetles, dragonflies and butterflies.
History
The north of Maulden Wood includes severalRoman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
and Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
archaeological sites along Limbersey Lane and on the site of Limbersey Farm. There are also sites within the wood of medieval origin, especially on the north end of the wood, and on the west (Maulden) end of the wood.
The north end of the lay by on the A6 is the site of the 1961 A6 murder.
Access
Maulden Wood is open to the public all year round. It is accessed from the Deadman's Hill layby on the A6 adjacent to the wood./ref> and from Maulden Church Meadow.
References
{{SSSIs Bedfordshire Forests and woodlands of Bedfordshire Ancient woods in England