Northamptonshire is a county in the East Midlands of England.[1] It has an area of 236700ha[2] and a population estimated in mid-2015 at 723,000.[3] It is bordered by Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. It was governed by Northamptonshire County Council and seven district and borough councils, Corby, Daventry, East Northamptonshire, Kettering, Northampton, South Northamptonshire and Wellingborough[1] until April 2021 when North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire unitary authorities were formed. The county flower is the cowslip.[4]
A ridge of low Jurassic hills runs through the county, separating the basins of the Welland and Nene rivers. The county has good communications as it is crossed by two main railway lines and the M1 motorway, and it has many small industrial centres rather than large conurbations. The main architectural feature is its country houses and mansions.[5]
As of May 2017, there are 18 local nature reserves in Northamptonshire,[6] and there is public access to all sites. Twelve are managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, and two are also Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Ramsar internationally important wetland sites, and Special Protection Areas under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The largest site is Titchmarsh Nature Reserve at 72.7ha, which has nationally important numbers of goosanders, wigeons and gadwalls in winter.[7] The smallest is Great Oakley Meadow, which has prominent surviving ridge and furrow from the medieval ploughing system.[8]
| Site | Photograph | Area | Location | District | Other classifications | Map | Details | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnes Meadow | 29.4ha | Northampton 52.23°N -0.877°W | West Northamptonshire | WTBCN[9] | Map | Details | The site includes a stretch of the River Nene, meadows and a redundant arm of the river. There are many dragonflies including brown hawkers, and a large population of grass snakes. Birds include grey herons, kingfishers and great crested grebes.[10] | ||
| Crowfields Common | 8.7ha | Moulton 52.286°N -0.848°W | West Northamptonshire | Map | Details | The site is grassland which has surviving medieval ridge and furrow. There are also mature trees and hedgerows, and a flower meadow.[11] | |||
| Daventry Country Park | 66ha | Daventry 52.269°N -1.127°W | West Northamptonshire | Map | Details | The park centres on Daventry Reservoir, which feeds the Grand Union Canal, and there are also meadows and crack willow woodland. Birds include yellowhammers, lesser whitethroats, dunnocks and song thrushes.[12] | |||
| Farthinghoe | 3.7ha | Farthinghoe 52.059°N -1.249°W | West Northamptonshire | WTBCN[13] | Map | Details | This former landfill site has grassland, ponds and woodland. Flowers include lady's bedstraw and snake's-head fritillary. There are fauna such as marbled white and green-veined white butterflies, and pipistrelle and noctule bats.[14] | ||
| Glamis Meadow and Wood | 9.5ha | Wellingborough 52.308°N -0.708°W | North Northamptonshire | Map | Details | A stream runs through this site, which has woodland and grassland. Facilities include a cycle path, seating and information boards.[15] | |||
| Great Oakley Meadow | 1.9ha | Great Oakley 52.462°N -0.731°W | North Northamptonshire | WTBCN[16] | Map | Details | The prominent medieval ridge and furrow at the southern end of the site displays the ancient field system of Great Oakley. The dry ridges have diverse flora including cowslip, knapweed and quaking-grass. The furrows are poorer in species, while the northern end, which borders Harpers Brook, has plants characteristic of wet ground, such as cuckooflower and hairy sedge. | ||
| Greens Norton Pocket Park | 2ha | Greens Norton 52.137°N -1.031°W | West Northamptonshire | Map | Details | This former brick pit has a pond, wetland, grassland and woods. There are picnic tables and benches.[17] Fauna include barn owls, grass snakes, great crested newts and green woodpeckers.[18] | |||
| Hills and Holes | 8.3ha | Northampton 52.261°N -0.875°W | West Northamptonshire | WTBCN[19] | Map | Details | This is a disused quarry which was operated during an unknown period between the Middle Ages and the late eighteenth century. It has grassed ridges and hollows, some of them steeply sloping. There are a variety of habitats including limestone grassland.[20] | ||
| Kinewell Lake | 35.4ha | Ringstead 52.366°N -0.567°W | North Northamptonshire | Ramsar,[21] SPA,[22] SSSI[23] | Map | Details | The lake is a former gravel pit next to the River Nene.[24] Birds include shovellers, great crested grebes and kingfishers. There are also otters, bats and long-horned beetles.[25] | ||
| King's Wood | 31.7ha | Corby 52.475°N -0.728°W | North Northamptonshire | WTBCN[26] | Map | Details | More than 250 plant species have been recorded at this remnant of the Royal Forest of Rockingham, including ones characteristic of ancient woods such as yellow archangel and wood anemone. There are diverse invertebrates such as green-veined white butterflies and common blue damselflies.[27] | ||
| Kingsthorpe | 14.4ha | Northampton 52.257°N -0.91°W | West Northamptonshire | WTBCN[28] | Map | Details | This site on a tributary of the River Nene is often flooded in the winter. There are hedges and ponds, together with areas of scrub. Birds include green woodpeckers, kestrels and snipe. | ||
| Lings Wood | 20.1ha | Northampton 52.267°N -0.825°W | West Northamptonshire | WTBCN[29] | Map | Details | Frogs, newts, damselflies and dragonflies breed in this nature reserve, which has woodland, ponds, scrub and grassland. There are plantations of sweet chestnut and douglas fir, but in some areas native woodland is regenerating naturally. | ||
| Scrub Field | 5.1ha | Northampton 52.268°N -0.882°W | West Northamptonshire | WTBCN | Map | Details | This meadow has a diverse selection of wild flowers, including field scabious and knapweed in higher areas, and bird's-foot trefoil and yellow rattle lower down.[30] | ||
| Storton's Pit | 21.9ha | Northampton 52.233°N -0.93°W | West Northamptonshire | WTBCN[31] | Map | Details | This site on the bank of the River Nene has old gravel pits, meadow and fen ditch. Around 350 invertebrate species have been recorded, including some which are rare. Water birds include snipe, teal, tufted duck and the uncommon water rail.[32] | ||
| Summer Leys | 47.7ha | Wollaston 52.262°N -0.705°W | North Northamptonshire | Ramsar, SPA SSSI, WTBCN[33] | Map | Details | This wetland site has flooded gravel pits with bird hides, grassland, hedges and water meadows. Breeding birds include golden plovers, ringed plovers and common terns. There are butterflies such as common blues and the uncommon brown argus. | ||
| Tailby Meadow | 4.9ha | Desborough 52.436°N -0.803°W | North Northamptonshire | WTBCN[34] | Map | Details | Artificial fertilisers have never been used on this hay meadow, and it has not been ploughed for several hundred years. There are fifteen species of grass and diverse wild flowers, including black knapweed, lady's bedstraw and lady's smock, which is a food source for the orange tip butterfly.[35] | ||
| Tiffield Pocket Park | 2.6ha | Tiffield 52.164°N -0.981°W | West Northamptonshire | Map | Details | This 1km (01miles) long site is a footpath along a former railway line. The path is lined with trees and shrubs of blackthorn, hawthorn, crab-apple and ash, and a balancing pond next to the path has been restored, increasing biodiversity.[36] | |||
| Titchmarsh | 72.7ha | Thrapston 52.411°N -0.525°W | North Northamptonshire | WTBCN[37] | Map | Details | The River Nene runs through this site, which also has large areas of open water and grassland. There are nationally important numbers of goosanders, wigeons and gadwalls in winter, and banded demoiselle damselflies nest on nettles along the river bank.[38] |