Gwen Hitchcock
Gwen Hitchcock
Cut throat meadow
Cut-throat Meadow
Location
Ampthill
Bedfordshire
MK45 2XE
Know before you go
Entry fee
NoParking information
Park on Ailesbury Road or Rushbrook CloseGrazing animals
NoWalking trails
Tarmac pavement around the pond, bare earth in woods and narrow rough paths in meadow
Access
Yes
Dogs
When to visit
Opening times
Open at all timesBest time to visit
April to JulyAbout the reserve
Nestled on the edge of Ampthill, this small remnant of a once much larger meadow can still attract the eye of wildlife watchers. Meadow saxifrage flowers in the spring together with field woodrush. The latter is easily mistaken for grass, and is nicknamed Good Friday grass, because its flowering time is around Easter.
Later in the year lady's bedstraw flowers and the meadow is alive with the sight and sound of grasshoppers and bush crickets.
The steep woodland slope overlooking the meadow is also rich in wildlife, with stately beech and Scot's pine towering over hawthorn, yew and hazel. The nearby pond has steep grassy banks, leading down to emergent vegetation of reedmace and celery-leaved buttercup, providing resting places for hunting dragonflies and damselflies. Water boatman and pond skater can be seen on the water's surface.
Additional information
- Scroll down to see the reserve boundary. Please note the boundary map is for indication purposes only and does not show the Wildlife Trusts definitive land boundary.
FOR ANY MEDIA ENQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM: communicationsteam@wildlifebcn.org or 01954 713500 and ask for comms team.