You can easily see, here, the lumps and hollows left from medieval limestone quarrying. The stone used to build both Peterborough and Ely cathedrals came from here. It is now one of Britain's most important wildlife sites and its orchid rich grassland is home to a profusion of wild flowers.

The site is open all year and parking is available at several points close by, although probably the best car park to use is the one on Wittering Road. Cycle parking is also provided and buses from Stamford and Peterborough stop regularly in Barnack. It is also possible to walk the two miles from Stamford along public footpaths.

Germander Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys) is a fairly common plant throughout Britain but, nonetheless, is a very pretty flower.

Pasqueflower (Pulsatilla vulgaris) is entirely the opposite of the Speedwell mentioned above in that it is a rare flower.

We were lucky to see this as they are coming to the end of their flowering season at the time we were there. Most of the plants were displaying seed heads but some, as you can see, still had their flowers.

This is what Pasqueflower (Pulsatilla vulgaris) seed heads look like. Most of the plants at this time looked like this.

Quaking Grass (Briza media) is common in natural, limestone grassland, where it grows in loose tufts. The delicate flower stems, shown here, tremble in the breeze, giving the plant its many common names - Quaking Grass, Totter Grass, Shakky-Tremmles, Dithery Dock, and conversely, Dothery Dick, Silver Spoons, Golden Shekels and Wigwams.