Waresley & Gransden Woods

Welcome to waresleywood.co.uk, a website dedicated to providing information on all topics relating to the Waresley and Gransden Woods reserves of The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.

News - 24/03/2025

Finally, the wood's paths are drying out and becoming easier to walk along. Some path sections are still a bit churned up, so visitors should still take care, wear sturdy footwear and keep to the middle of paths.

One of the paths in the wood still remains temporarily closed until the ground dries enough for the removal of ruts along it. This closure means that the first section of the re-profiled "main ride" has become a cul de sac, without exit. The second, newly profiled ride section will remain closed for two years to allow the ground to resettle and re-vegetate.

Sunday work parties have now ended for the 2024-25 season and will resume in September. If you'd like to join us in September, contact me using the form on the About page. View the Conservation Work page to see what we have achieved in the past year.

23/03/2025 - in the woods bluebells are quietly growing. Their leaves are now becoming a thick, green carpet covering the woodland floor, in their favoured areas. Soon we'll see blue specks appear as they start to flower in readiness for the spectacle to come. To find out what we've seen throughout the year, visit my Sightings page.

23/03/2025 - the small, pinkish star-like flowers of the wood anemone are starting to appear in the woods. Along with the bluebell, they are another indicator species of ancient woodland.

20/03/2025 - today I had the good fortune to spot (and photograph!) a comma butterfly. My first comma sighting of the year.

14/03/2025 - first 2025 sighting today of one of our region's rarities, the oxlip. It is because of this plant that the woods were granted SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) status. Oxlips can be recognised by their smaller, drooping blooms that all fall in the same direction.