List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Peterborough, and the city of Cambridge is the county town. The county has an area of 3,389 km2 (1,309 sq mi) and a population of 852,523. Peterborough (179,349) and Cambridge (145,674), located in the north-west and south respectively, are by far the largest settlements. The remainder of the county is rural, and contains the city of Ely (20,112) and towns such as Wisbech and St Neots. Cambridgeshire contains six local government districts; five are part of a two-tier non-metropolitan county also called Cambridgeshire, and the district of Peterborough is a unitary area. The local authorities collaborate through Cambridgeshire and Peterbrough Combined Authority. The county did not historically include Huntingdonshire or the Soke of Peterborough, which was part of Northamptonshire. The north and east of the county are dominated by the Fens, an extremely flat, drained marsh maintained by drainage ditches and dykes. Holme Fen is the UK's lowest physical point, at 2.75 m (9 ft) below sea level. The flatness of the landscape makes the few areas of higher ground, such as that Ely is built on, very conspicuous. The landscape in the south and west is gently undulating. Cambridgeshire's principal rivers are the Nene, which flows through the north of the county and is canalised east of Peterborough; the Great Ouse, which flows from west to east past Huntingdon and Ely; and the Cam, a tributary of the Great Ouse which flows through Cambridge.

Cambridgeshire is a county in eastern England, with an area of 1,308 square miles (3,390 km2) and a population as of 2011 of 708,719. It is crossed by two major rivers, the Nene and the Great Ouse. The main manufacturing area is Peterborough, and the foundation of the University of Cambridge in the thirteenth century made the county one of the country's most important intellectual centres. A large part of the county is in The Fens, and drainage of this habitat, which was probably commenced in the Roman period and largely completed by the seventeenth century, considerably increased the area available for agriculture.The administrative county was formed in 1974, incorporating most of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Local government is divided between Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council, which is a separate unitary authority. Under the county council, there are five district councils, Cambridge City Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council, Huntingdonshire District Council and Fenland District Council.Local nature reserves (LNRs) are designated by local authorities, which must have legal control over the site, by owning it, leasing it or having an agreement with the owner. LNRs are sites which have a special local interest biologically, geologically or for education. Local authorities can either manage sites themselves or through other groups such as "friends of" and wildlife trusts, and can apply local bye-laws to manage and protect LNRs.There are twenty-seven LNRs in Cambridgeshire. Four are Sites of Special Scientific Interest, and five are managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. The largest is Little Paxton Pits at sixty hectares, which is of national importance for wintering wildfowl, and the smallest is St Denis Churchyard, East Hatley, which has grassland with diverse flowers. There is public access to all sites.

Bluntisham railway station was a station in Bluntisham, Cambridgeshire on the Ely and St Ives Railway. The station closed for regular passenger services in 1931 but was used for special excursion trains until 1958 The station had a single platform, a signal box, and a goods shed on a loop.

Needingworth is a village in Cambridgeshire, England. Needingworth lies approximately 7 miles (11 km) east of Huntingdon and just west of the Prime Meridian. Needingworth is in the civil parish of Holywell-cum-Needingworth. Needingworth is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England.The village is attached to Holywell by a single road, connecting the two villages.

Bluntisham is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 2,003. Bluntisham lies approximately 8 miles (13 km) east of Huntingdon. Bluntisham is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England. The villages of Earith, Colne, Woodhurst, and Somersham are all close by. The prime meridian passes through the western edge of Bluntisham.

Mare Fen is a 16.3 hectare Local Nature Reserve north of Swavesey in Cambridgeshire, England. It is owned by Cambridgeshire County Council, and was formerly managed by the Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Naturalists Trust (now part of the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire), but as of December 2016 it is not listed on the Trust's web site. In 2015 Swavesey Parish Council expressed concern at the failure of the Environment Agency to carry out flood prevention works at Mare Fen.This pasture in the floodplain of the River Great Ouse is used for grazing in the summer and allowed to flood in the winter. It has wildfowl such as mute swans, wigeons, teal and shovelers, mammals include badgers and muntjac deer. There are diverse aquatic plants.There is access from Station Road.

Over is a large village near the River Great Ouse in the English county of Cambridgeshire, just east of the prime meridian. The parish covers an area of approximately 2,535 acres (1,026 ha). It is ten miles (16 km) east of the town of Huntingdon and is also ten miles (16 km) northwest from the city of Cambridge. Over contains the basic village facilities, including a primary school, shop, one public house (the Admiral Vernon) and St. Mary's Church. In recent years, the village has expanded rapidly, with the inclusion of several housing estates, a community and conference centre and modern sporting facilities. An Over day centre was set up in 1989 by Pamela Cressey. The Over Community Centre was set up with National Lottery funding of almost £1 million in 1999. Over is mentioned in the poem "The Old Vicarage, Grantchester", by Rupert Brooke.

Earith is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Lying approximately 10 miles (16 km) east of Huntingdon, Earith is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England. At Earith, two artificial diversion channels of the River Great Ouse, the Old Bedford River and the New Bedford River, leave the river on a course to Denver Sluice near Downham Market, where they rejoin the Great Ouse in its tidal part. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,677, reducing to 1,606 at the 2011 Census.

Swavesey railway station was a station in Swavesey, Cambridgeshire on the line between Cambridge and St Ives which was closed for passenger services in 1970. The station remained derelict until it was demolished in 2007 for construction of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway service which utilises the trackbed of the old railway.

Swavesey Priory was a medieval monastic house in the village of Swavesey, Cambridgeshire, England. A church existed in Swavesey at the time of the Norman Conquest, when Alan, Count of Richmond, granted it to the Benedictine Abbey of St Sergius and St Bacchus in Angers, France. The Abbey founded an alien priory in Swavesey by 1086. It ceased to function in 1539, during the dissolution of the monasteries. The site is now a scheduled monument.

Berry Fen is a 15.3-hectare (38-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the western outskirts of Earith in Cambridgeshire.This neutral grassland periodically floods in the winter. It is used by wintering wildfowl, including Bewick's swans in nationally numbers, especially when the nearby Ouse Washes flood too deeply. There are wetland herbs such as marsh ragwort and the rare narrow-leaved water-dropwort.The site is private land with no public access.

Colne is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Colne lies about 9 miles (14 km) east of Huntingdon; the villages of Bluntisham, Woodhurst, and Somersham are close by. Colne is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England.