Countryside Guide - Huntingdonshire District Council

Paxton Pits Nature Reserve
Wetland
Paxton Pits Nature Reserve is a beautiful site of
meadows, woodland and scrub, nestling on the
banks of the River Great Ouse. It is a Site of Special
Scientific Interest and is an important birdwatching
site, with large numbers of nightingales to be heard
in May each year. Other important birds at Paxton
Pits include cormorants, gadwall, wigeon, tufted
duck, pochard and mallard, with other wildfowl
appearing in the cold and wet weather, when the
Ouse Washes are frozen or flooded. The site is also
host to a wealth of insects, from 26 species of
butterfly to 148 species of spider. There are two
guided trails, the Meadow Trail and the Heron Trail,
as well as additional footpaths around the reserve
which could be used to plan your walk. The Ouse
Valley Way runs along the eastern edge of the
reserve, and gives great views of the winter
wildfowl on Washout Pit and Island Pit. The 10 acre
arable field system has been set up to encourage
farmland birds, wild flowers and mammals, such as
yellow hammer and harvest mice. Following gravel
extraction, Paxton Pits Nature Reserve will expand
from 192 acres to more than 700 acres over the
next decade.
LOCATION: Located in Little Paxton, at the end of
the High Street. Take the turn to Little Paxton off
the A1 and follow the nature reserve sign.
OS MAP REFERENCE: Sheet 153; TL 196 628
OUR MAP REFERENCE: C4 (see pages 26/27)
SIZE: 75 hectares
CONTACT: Managed by Countryside Services,
Huntingdonshire District Council, Paxton Pits Nature
Reserve, High Street, Little Paxton, St Neots, Cambs
PE19 6ET.
Tel: 01480 406795
Website: www.paxton-pits.org.uk
Email: paxtonpits@btconnect.com
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