Chalk grasslands are a rare habitat these days having been lost to agriculture, development and poor land management over the last 100 years. Cherry Hinton chalk pits, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) demonstrates how nature has reclaimed a former chalk quarry and is now home to some of the rarest plants in the county. Community Conservation Officer, Iain Webb explained the history of the three chalk pits and their place in today’s landscape.

Plants such as bird’s-foot trefoil, salad burnet, yellow wort and some robin’s pincushion wasp galls stood out vividly against the white chalk, which eventually blushed pink opposite glimpses of the setting sun.

And in the gathering dark, eventually a show of glow-worms: these amazing creatures naturally produce bioluminescence which we could see on the nature reserve, away from the light pollution of the city. Numbers of glow-worms are declining as a result of habitat loss, so the habitat conservation work being carried out by the Cambridgeshire team is critical for flora and fauna alike.