National Nature Reserve
Bedford Purlieus was declared a National Nature Reserve (NNR) in 2000. Most of England's 224 NNRs are managed by Natural England, but 88 are wholly or partly managed by other approved bodies. Bedford Purlieus is managed by the Forestry Commission, and is open to the public during daylight hours. It is notable for having a wider variety of herbaceous woodland plants than almost any other English woodland. The 211 hectares (520 acres) of ancient woodland was declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1969, and was included as a Nature Conservation Review site in 1977. The abundance and variety of the woodland flora and fauna is outstanding. The range of woodland flowers are especially notable. There were 462 species of vascular plants listed as present in the woods in 1975, and the whole range of flora associated with ancient woodland is exceptionally rich. A principal reason for this is the variety of soil types, resulting from a geology that ranges from highly calcareous limestone and tufa through to highly acidic sands and silts. The variety of coppice woodland types, the management history, the wide grassland rides, and even the periodic disturbances caused by coppicing, felling and other interventions such as the wartime installations have all added habitats that maintain the diversity of species within the woods.
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