Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire is a county in eastern England, with an area of 339,746 hectares (1,312 sq mi) and a population as of mid-2015 of 841,218. It is crossed by the Nene and the Great Ouse rivers. The University of Cambridge, which was founded 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 probably commenced in the Roman period and was 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.In England, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) are designated by Natural England, which is responsible for protecting England's natural environment. Designation as an SSSI gives legal protection to the most important wildlife and geological sites. As of March 2017, there are 99 sites designated in the county. There are eighty-eight sites listed for their biological interest, ten for their geological interest, and one for both interests. The largest site is Ouse Washes at 2,513.6 hectares (6,211 acres), which is partly in Norfolk. It is internationally important for its wintering and breeding waterfowl and waders, such as teal, pintail and wigeon. The smallest is Delph Bridge Drain at 0.1 hectares (0.25 acres), a short stretch of ditch which was designated because it was found to have a population of fen ragwort, which was believed to have been extinct in Britain since 1857. The only site designated for both biological and geological interests is Ely Pits and Meadows, which has nationally important numbers of bitterns, and has yielded sauropod dinosaurs and pliosaur marine reptiles dating to the Jurassic period.

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.