| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 | |
| Location | Cambridgeshire |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | TL 206 889[1] |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 269.4 hectares[1] |
| Notification | 1985[1] |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Holme Fen is a 269.4-hectare (666-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Holme in Cambridgeshire.[1][2] It is also a National Nature Reserve[3] and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I.[4] It is part of the Great Fen project, which aims to create a 3,700-hectare wetland wildlife area including Holme Fen, Woodwalton Fen and other areas.[5] It is home to a variety of birds, including the Eurasian siskin, Nightingale and Lesser redpoll, and around 450 species of fungi.[6]
Holme Fen is described by Natural England as the finest example of birch woodland in lowland Britain. Part of it was a mere which was drained in the nineteenth century, and some relict wetland plants survive such as saw sedge and fen wood-rush.[7] Two new lakes have been excavated.[5]
Holme Fen, specifically Holme Posts, is believed to be the lowest land point in the United Kingdom at 2.75 metres (9.0 ft) below sea level.[6][8]
- ^ a b c d "Designated Sites View: Holme Fen". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
- ^ "Map of Holme Fen". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
- ^ "Cambridgeshire's National Nature Reserves". Natural England. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
- ^ Ratcliffe, Derek, ed. (1977). A Nature Conservation Review. Vol. 2. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 56–57. ISBN 0521-21403-3.
- ^ a b "Great Fen". Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Holme Fen NNR". 2008.
- ^ "Holme Fen citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
- ^ "UK's lowest spot is getting lower". BBC. 2002-11-29. Retrieved 2010-01-05.