Flitwick Moor (& Folly Wood)
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Bedfordshire's most important wetland is a blend of fen, meadow, wet woodland and fragile peaty soil, supporting mosses, ferns and flowers |
In the heart of the Flit valley, this superb wetland was left behind when peat was cut from the site as recently as the 1960s. This peat was used in the purification of natural gas in the Midlands. Long before that, the naturally iron-rich groundwater bubbling up to the surface from springs was bottled and sold as a tonic for the blood.
Woodlands of oak and birch, over dense stands of bracken, reveal the acidic nature of the site. Acid-water springs rise in the reserve, complementing the more alkaline nature of the nearby river Flit. Alder woods have developed in the wetter areas, a rarity nowadays owing to land drainage and conversion to farmland.
The wet fen and truly boggy nature of the mire provide the real treasures of the site, including fluffy seed heads of cottongrass, nine species of Sphagnum moss and marsh pennywort - the round leaves of which creep around via slender underground stems. The attractive flowers of meadowsweet, purple-loosestrife and square-stalked St. John's-wort are real eye-catchers.
Tall reeds fringe open water where frogs and toads spawn in the spring. The dense vegetation provides ideal cover for the elusive water rail, only given away by its eerie squealing call. In summer, warblers voice their scratchy songs and nest in the reed and sedge beds.
In 2007, Folly Wood was added to the north-west corner of the reserve. It is a haven for mosses and ferns and in spring the flowers of opposite-leaved golden-saxifrage light up the woodland floor.
The meadows, untouched by peat extraction, are grazed by cattle to retain their variety of wild flowers. Meadow saxifrage and lady's bedstraw are highlights, while the summer sees a range of grasshoppers and bush crickets, including the intriguingly named short-winged conehead. Look out for the large anthills, produced by the yellow meadow ant, but which may also contain small nests of other ant species.
Birds: Siskin, water rail, great spotted woodpecker |
Plants: Opposite-leaved golden-saxifrage, meadow saxifrage, marsh-marigold, common cottongrass Birds: Lesser spotted woodpecker, willow warbler, blackcap |
Plants: Lady's bedstraw, black knapweed, purple-loosestrife, water figwort, meadowsweet, marsh pennywort Insects: Chimney sweeper moth, short-winged conehead bush-cricket Birds: Water rail, grasshopper and garden warbler, cuckoo Reptiles: Common lizard |
Fungi: Fly agaric, yellow brain fungus Birds: Siskin, brambling, chaffinch |