Fancott Woods and Meadows are located near the hamlet of Fancott

Fancott

Fancott is a hamlet located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England.The settlement forms part of the Toddington civil parish, and is also close to Chalgrave and Chalton. "The Fancott" public house is situated in Fancott, and is the location of the Fancott Miniature Railway....

, Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....

. The site is currently a Site of Special Scientific Interest

Site of Special Scientific Interest

A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...

, and was made one in 1985. It has a recorded size of 13.26 hectares (32.76 acres).

Meadow

The meadows are mainly ancient ridge and furrow, and are unimproved neutral grassland

Grassland

Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...

 traditionally managed for hay

Hay

Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...

 and grazing

Grazing

Grazing generally describes a type of feeding, in which a herbivore feeds on plants , and also on other multicellular autotrophs...

. Species in the meadow include cowslips

Primula veris

Primula veris is a flowering plant in the genus Primula. The species is found throughout most of temperate Europe and Asia, and although absent from more northerly areas including much of northwest Scotland, it reappears in northernmost Sutherland and Orkney.-Names:The common name cowslip derives...

, ragged-robin, great burnet, common spotted orchid

Common spotted orchid

The Common Spotted-orchid is acommonly occurring species of European orchid. It is widely variable in colour and height, ranging from 15 to 60 cm in height. The flower colour can vary from white to pale purple with purple spots. The lip has three lobes...

, red fescue, meadow fescue, crested dog’s-tail, sweet vernalgrass, sedges and meadowsweet

Meadowsweet

Filipendula ulmaria, commonly known as Meadowsweet, is a perennial herb in the family Rosaceae that grows in damp meadows. It is native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia...

, the dominant plant. More importantly, a variety of herbs that were common in old meadows but now rare in the county grow there, such as pepper saxifrage, green-winged orchid

Green-winged Orchid

The Green-winged Orchid or Green-veined Orchid is a flowering plant of the orchid family, Orchidaceae....

, dropwort

Dropwort

Dropwort , also known as Fern-leaf Dropwort, is a perennial herb of the family Rosaceae closely related to Meadowsweet...

, saw-wort and adder's tongue

Ophioglossum

Ophioglossum is a genus of about 25-30 species of Ophioglossales in the family Ophioglossaceae, with a cosmopolitan but primarily tropical and subtropical distribution. The name Ophioglossum comes from the Greek, and means "snake-tongue".Adders-tongues are so-called because the spore-bearing stalk...

.

Woodland

The woodland (sometimes referred to as Chalton Spinney) is made up of oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

, ash and alder

Alder

Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...

 species. In the spring

Spring (season)

Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...

, a large number of bluebell

Common Bluebell

Hyacinthoides non-scripta, commonly known as the common bluebell, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial plant. -Taxonomy:...

s cover the woodland, along with primroses

Primula vulgaris

Primula vulgaris is a species of Primula native to western and southern Europe , northwest Africa , and southwest Asia...

 and field maple

Field Maple

Acer campestre, common name Field Maple, is a maple native to much of Europe, north to southern Scotland , Denmark, Poland and Belarus, and also southwest Asia from Turkey to the Caucasus, and north Africa in the Atlas Mountains...

. The wood is the only recorded site in the county for the hybrid sedge Carex pseudaxillaris. There is also a small pond.