Gamsey Wood
Location
Ramsey
Cambridgeshire
OS Map Reference
TL 225 816
Know before you go
Entry fee
NoWalking trails
150m of grass track to entrance, can be very rutted. Paths in reserve can be muddy in wet weather.
Access
Not suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs
Dogs
When to visit
Opening times
Open at all timesBest time to visit
springAbout the reserve
Gamsey Wood, dominated by ash and field maple trees, is situated where the clay uplands adjoin the Fenland Basin. Along with nearby woods - Lady's Wood and Raveley Wood - Gamsey Wood is believed to be a fragment of the ancient forest that covered much of this area in Saxon times.
Gamsey Wood is renowned for its displays of spring flowers including bluebell, wood anemene and yellow archangel. There are several wild-service trees in the wood, whose speckled berries were once used to make an alcoholic drink called chequers.
The site is home to the white-letter hairstreak butterfly and white-spotted pinion moth, both elm dependent species. Fieldfare and redwing visit during the winter.