Holme Fen

Holme Fen
Site of Special Scientific Interest
LocationCambridgeshire
Grid referenceTL 206 889[1]
InterestBiological
Area269.4 hectares[1]
Notification1985[1]
Location mapMagic 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]

  1. ^ a b c d "Designated Sites View: Holme Fen". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Map of Holme Fen". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  3. ^ "Cambridgeshire's National Nature Reserves". Natural England. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  4. ^ Ratcliffe, Derek, ed. (1977). A Nature Conservation Review. Vol. 2. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 56–57. ISBN 0521-21403-3.
  5. ^ a b "Great Fen". Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Holme Fen NNR". 2008.
  7. ^ "Holme Fen citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  8. ^ "UK's lowest spot is getting lower". BBC. 2002-11-29. Retrieved 2010-01-05.