Portholme Meadow is a large, unenclosed river flood plain meadow, bordered on two sides by the River Great Ouse in the Parish of Brampton, in Cambridgeshire. It is mostly at or below the Ordnance Survey, ten metre contour and is regularly flooded in winter. It has a rich history of human use for hay, sheep and cattle grazing, as a racecourse and an airfield. With an area of 104 ha, it represents 7% of the total UK lowland unimproved hay meadows. It supports a rich flora and is a haven for a number of less common breeding birds in summer (e.g. corn bunting and skylark) now absence from much of the more intensively farmed Cambridgeshire landscape. It also supports large populations of ducks, waders and gulls when flooded in winter. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and recognised internationally as a Special Area of Conservation under the European Union ‘Habitats’ Directive.
This cache was placed with the kind permission & blessing of Natural England who have designated this water meadow as a site of significant scientific interest .