| Long Herdon Meadow | |
| Aos: | Buckinghamshire |
| Interest: | Biological |
| Area: | 4.5 hectares |
| Notifydate: | 1985 |
| Map: | Magic Map |
Long Herdon Meadow is a 4.5hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Marsh Gibbon in Buckinghamshire.[1] [2] It is part of Upper Ray Meadows nature reserve, which is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.[3]
The site is an alluvial meadow next to the River Ray in the Vale of Aylesbury. It has clay soil and is liable to flooding. A regime of a hay cut followed by cattle grazing, without the use of artificial fertilisers, has resulted in a diverse grassland habitat now rare in England. Herbs include meadow buttercup, lesser knapweed and devil's bit scabious. Ditches and the riverbank provide a permanently wet habitat, encouraging wading birds such as snipe and curlew. Invertebrates include damselflies.[1]
There is access from the Bernwood Jubilee Way between Marsh Gibbon and the A41 road, adjacent to the River Ray.