Vince Lea
An ancient woodland with an active coppice cycle and a fantastic display of oxlips in the spring
This ancient woodland is a treasure trove of spring flowers and archaeological clues to times past. It is still managed in a traditional way to this day. As well as the usual flowers, such as bluebell, wood anemone and dog's mercury, Hayley Wood is host to hundreds of species of fungi and thousands of insects and birds.
As you walk up Hayley Lane to approach the wood, the hedge on your left is at least 800 years old and in the winter groans with berries that sustain fieldfares and redwings.
In the wood you will find a fence erected by the Wildlife Trust to protect most of the wood from the ravages of deer browsing. Although not in keeping with the landscape, it has reversed 20 years of decline in the oxlip population for which the wood is so famous.
This site is part of the West Cambridgeshire Hundreds Living Landscape Scheme.
Species and habitats
- Habitats
- Woodland
- Species
- Bluebell, Lesser Celandine, Wood Anemone, Early Purple Orchid, Bird's-nest Orchid, Meadowsweet, Purple-loosestrife, Yellow Archangel, Herb-Paris, Silver-washed Fritillary, Fieldfare, Redwing, Lesser Redpoll, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Spotted Flycatcher, Woodcock, Fallow Deer, Muntjac Deer
Nearby nature reserves
- Waresley & Gransden Woods
- 2 miles - Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire
- Gamlingay Wood
- 3 miles - Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire
- Gamlingay Cinques
- 4 miles - Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire
Nature reserve map
Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2012