Gamlingay is an ancient ash and maple wood. The wood grows on a mixture of soils and contains an unusual variety of woodland types. The poorly drained parts provide a habitat for plants such as Oxlip and Wood Anemone. Where the dry oak woodland has grown on the acidic soil, a type of woodland which is rare in Cambridgeshire. Also a special habitat for mosses, fungi and insects which only live in ancient woodlands.