🌿 Wandlebury: Summer Hay Making & Cultural Meadow Care
In late summer at Wandlebury Country Park, our team and volunteers carry on a cherished seasonal tradition: hay making in the meadows. This isn’t just habitat work, it’s local heritage in action, powered by our community of supporters.
Heritage in the Hills
Wandlebury stands on the ancient Gog Magog Hills, at the centre of an Iron Age hillfort and historic landscape. Its chalk meadows once sustained traditional pastoral rhythms and continue to shape the look and feel of the region today.
This living landscape combines wildlife, heritage and public enjoyment.
What Happens in Summer
In late July and August:
Wardens cut, ted, row and bale hay in areas where cattle cannot graze. This timing lets wildflowers bloom and seed before nutrients are removed.
Volunteers rake by hand the parts machinery can’t reach—on slopes or around historic features—to keep soils nutrient-poor and meadows diverse.
Together, these efforts maintain a patchwork structure—a mix of short, medium and taller grass that support wildflower diversity and insect habitat.
How Support Makes It Happen
CPPF receives crucial funding from member subscriptions and supporter donations, which make this work possible. Funds go directly into:
Meadow management and habitat restoration
Volunteer coordination and tools
Public educational events and guided nature walks
Historic site upkeep and access improvements
More Than Conservation—It’s Community
This seasonal pattern – cutting hay, managing grazing, working alongside volunteers – is rooted in centuries of traditional agricultural practices. It brings people together and connects present-day visitors with Cambridge’s rural past.
Visiting Wandlebury, volunteering or joining as a member means supporting both nature and heritage. With every season, you help keep these meadows thriving and part of Cambridge’s shared story. For more information on how you can get involved as a volunteer, check our volunteer page here.
