Long Herdon Meadow
Site of Special Scientific Interest
LocationBuckinghamshire
Grid referenceSP648202
InterestBiological
Area4.5 hectares
Notification1985
Location mapMagic Map

Long Herdon Meadow is a 4.5-hectare (11-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Marsh Gibbon in Buckinghamshire.[1][2] It is part of Upper Ray Meadows nature reserve, which is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.[3]

The site is an alluvial meadow next to the River Ray in the Vale of Aylesbury. It has clay soil and is liable to flooding. A regime of a hay cut followed by cattle grazing, without the use of artificial fertilisers, has resulted in a diverse grassland habitat now rare in England. Herbs include meadow buttercup, lesser knapweed and devil's bit scabious. Ditches and the riverbank provide a permanently wet habitat, encouraging wading birds such as snipe and curlew. Invertebrates include damselflies.[1]

There is access from the Bernwood Jubilee Way between Marsh Gibbon and the A41 road, adjacent to the River Ray.

References

  1. 1 2 "Long Herdon Meadow citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "Map of Long Herdon Meadow". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Upper Ray Meadows". Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
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51°52′36″N 1°03′36″W / 51.8766°N 1.0601°W / 51.8766; -1.0601

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