Northamptonshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. It has an area of and a population estimated in mid-2016 at 733,000. The county is bordered by Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Rutland and Lincolnshire. It was governed by Northamptonshire County Council and seven district and borough councils, Corby, Daventry, East Northamptonshire, Kettering, Northampton, South Northamptonshire and Wellingborough but since 1 April by the unitary authorities of North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. The county flower is the cowslip.
A ridge of low Jurassic hills runs through the county, separating the basins of the Welland and Nene rivers. The county has good transportation connections as it is crossed by two main railway lines and the M1 motorway, and it has many small industrial centres rather than large conurbations.
In England, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) are designated by Natural England, which is responsible for protecting England's natural environment. Designation as an SSSI gives legal protection to the most important wildlife and geological sites. , there are 57 sites designated in Northamptonshire, 48 for their biological interest and 9 for their geological interest. Eight are Geological Conservation Review sites, four are Nature Conservation Review sites, and fourteen are managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. The largest is Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits, which is a Ramsar internationally important wetland site and a Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The smallest is Irchester Old Lodge Pit, which is described in the Geological Conservation Review as a Middle Jurassic site of national importance.
Key
Interest B = a site of biological interest G = a site of geological interest
Public access FP = access to footpaths through the site only NO = no public access to site PP = public access to part of site YES = public access to site
Other classifications GCR = Geological Conservation Review LNR = Local nature reserve NCR = Nature Conservation Review NNR = National nature reserve Ramsar = Ramsar site, an internationally important wetland site RHPG = Register of Historic Parks and Gardens SPA = Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds WT = Woodland Trust WTBCN = Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire
Sites