Conservation Reserves

Many thanks to Gemma for typing up all this information about the reserves that we visit!

Berrow Dunes
Browns Folly
Cadbury Camp
Carymoor Environmental Trust
Cheddar Woods
Cycle Trails in Devon
Distillery Meadows
Dolebury Warren, Avon
Leigh Woods, Bristol
Lower Woods, Gloucestershire
Midger Wood
Ravenshill Woodland Reserve
Ravensroost Wood, Wilts
West Yatton Down, Wiltshire

Berrow Dunes

Is an SSSI in Somerset, just south of Bristol. It comprises of miles of golden sandy beaches, with a large dune system behind. It has been colonised by many alien, invader species, the most vigorous being Sea Buckthorn. This plant was introduced to the area in the 1950.s in the hope that it would stabilise the dune system, to prevent them migrating into the housing areas directly behind the dunes. The plan worked too well, and the Sea Buckthorn is now suffocating the dunes, and forcing out the native species such as Marram Grass. It is a never-ending task for volunteers and locals to clear the aliens, but hopefully one day, we will see the dunes recovered to their natural state.

Browns Folly

This reserve, is one of the most exciting, due to the near-vertical drive up to the work site. It is an area of mixed woodland, and limestone grassland. Invasive conifers are being controlled to allow more native hard-wood species such as ash to grow. Areas of the hillside are being reverted back to diverse grassland, by total obliteration of any plants . which causes some concerns for the friendly locals! Some progress has already been made, as orchids not seen for a long time have started to emerge from the seed bank in cleared areas. It is managed by the Avon Wildlife Trust, and has a small .Folly. (tower) on top of the hill, which has great views over Bath (on a nice day!). There is a network of old mines under the site, which used to be part of an underground RAF complex, but are now home to the threatened Horseshoe Bats. The famous .Bath Stone. was once quarried, out of the hillside here, but this has now been reverted to vegetation.

http://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/level1/reserves/browns_folly.htm

Cadbury Camp

In Clevedon, just outside Bristol. This site is owned by the National Trust, and is an ancient iron-age camp. The site was investigated by archaeologists in the 1960s, and was it was discovered that it was refortified with earth and timber during the sixth century, which was when King Arthur was supposed to be at his most successful. They also found the foundations of an extensive timbered hall, and what appears to be the beginnings of an unfurnished church. Its proximity to Glastonbury Tor also raises suspicion. A causeway, known as King Arthur's Hunting Track, links the two sites, and many local legends support the Arthurian connection. So who knows, maybe Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table are closer than we think...

Carymoor Environmental Trust

This is a relatively new reserve, which we hope will become one of our regular haunts. It is situated next to the village of Castle Cary in Somerset, which can be reached by train. The site is part of Wyvern Waste Services past landfill area, which has been given to the Trust for habitat regeneration. There are many different areas to the reserve, with parts being managed for Butterfly & Bumblebee conservation, grassland creation, and willow beds. There is also a huge picture of a Dragon (and its egg), made out of chalk by primary school children. They have dug a wildlife pond, and we built steps down to the boardwalk, created by another group of volunteers. The area is rich in diversity, and as we were there we saw Badger tracks, a toad, and a Field mouse. An environmentally friendly house has been built on the site, and is powered by a small wind turbine.

http://www.carymoor.org.uk/

Cheddar Woods

This woodland is situated on the side of a hill near the Cheddar Gorge, in Somerset. The view from the top of the hill is spectacular, you can see across the whole valley. The reserve is kept quiet, and is not publicised, as the warden wishes it to remain a wildlife haven, rather than a tourist resource. There are lots of bat and mouse boxes placed around on the trees, but our main job has been to rebuild the crumbling dry stone wall, along one side of the wood. This is a very pretty part of the country, with rolling hills, woodland and old pubs!

Cycle Trails in Devon

These are part of the National Cycle Network, built by the cycling charity Sustrans. Our work on this area in the past has involved connecting the Tarka Trail to a local campsite, by building a bridge over a very muddy stream. We have also been hedge-laying successfully, to create a natural screen of the houses/railway track from the trail.

http://www.beautiful-devon.co.uk/tarka-trail.htm

Distillery Meadows

These are wildflower meadows in the Braydon Forest area of north Wiltshire. The reserve contains a huge diversity of rare meadow flowers including Green-winged orchid, Adder's Tongue fern, Spiny Restharrow and heath spotted orchid. The meadow is sustainably grazed by cattle. Our job is to clear encroaching scrub vegetation, primarily Blackthorn which is removed and destroyed (unless it has minute moth eggs on it!).

http://www.wiltshirewildlife.org/

Dolebury Warren, Avon

This is an ancient site located close to Bristol, with unique wildlife. Its history is shown, as there are still the remains of the Iron-age Hill Fort, and a medieval rabbit warren. The views from the top of the hill are spectacular, and it becomes obvious why it was chosen for a fort. The habitat is varied, with both areas of acidic soils (formed from ice-age sand deposits) and alkaline soils (from the limestone bedrock). This allows lime-loving plants like the Rockrose, and acid-loving plants like Bell Heather to live in close proximity. The hill slopes are being invaded by hawthorn and blackthorn , after myxomatosis killed off most of the rabbits who naturally grazed the land. So our job is to eradicate these species, to allow the grassland and heathland to flourish, as these are rare habitats in Britain.

http://www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/avon/level1/reserves/dolebury.htm

Leigh Woods, Bristol

Managed by the National Trust, it is a fairly unknown haven on the .other. side of the Clifton Suspension Bridge. This wood covers a large area, and provides Bristol with some beautiful unspoilt wildlife. There are four types of wood contained in this reserve: 1- Ancient woodland, containing indicator species such as the small-leaved lime and wood anemones. 2- 19th Century Improvements, this area contains many exotic species such as the Giant Redwood and Weymouth Pine, both imported from America. 3- Remnants of Wood Pasture, these areas are where for many centuries, sheep and cattle used to graze, and trees were pollarded to create boundaries. 4- 20th Century Plantations, During the Second World War, the demand for wood was huge and many woods were felled and replaced by fast-growing species such as beech and some conifers. Now these areas are being thinned to encourage the natural species to grow back. Leigh Woods also contains three species which live nowhere else in the world: the Bristol Rock Cress (plant), Bristol Onion (plant) and Bristol Whitebeam (tree).

http://www.forestofavon.org.uk/leighwoods.html

Lower Woods, Gloucestershire

An extensive area of semi-natural woodland in the former county of Avon, with ancient boundaries. This reserve is managed by the Gloucestershire and Avon Wildlife Trust (aka the Avon ladies!) jointly. There are wide grassy tracks (known locally as trenches), and lots of mature trees and areas of coppice. It is managed as a .mosaic., which is beneficial for the maximum number of species, as there any different habitat types next to each other: grassland . woodland etc. It is noted for its wide diversity of invertebrates, birds and mammals. On our last visit to this site, we built an insect house (waterhouse pile) out of logs.

http://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/level1/reserves/lower_woods.htm

Midger Wood

Is a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) in Gloucestershire. The majority of the reserve is oak, ash and field maple woodland, interspersed with areas of limestone grassland (glades), creating a mosaic habitat. There is a variety of wildlife to be seen including sparrowhawks, kestrels, melanistic (black) pheasants, badgers, and butterflies. The natural limestone banks are slowly being overgrown by scrub species such as brambles, birch, hawthorn and other small trees. The aim is to revert these areas back into grassland to maintain and increase the diversity of butterflies and associated species.

Ravenshill Woodland Reserve

Covering 50 acres in the Malvern Hills, Worcestershire, this is one of our favourite areas. It comprises of Ancient semi-natural woodland, both coniferous and broad-leaved with a huge diversity of animal and plant species. It has residents that include Tawny Owls, Buzzards, Cross-bills, Woodpeckers, Slow-worms, Roe deer and a huge diversity of insects and invertebrates. It is maintained as an educational resource, so lots of our work is to enhance and maintain pathways for visitors, but also to help with the coppicing, bird-box making and general woodland maintenance.

http://www.ravenshillwood.org.uk/

Ravensroost Wood, Wilts

Is an SSSI, large area of ancient wodland in the Braydon Forest area of north Wiltshire, near to Distillery Meadows. Work is ongoing to maintain the coppice rotation management scheme, which is beneficial for the wild flowers, butterflies and birds. The display of bluebells are especially spectacular in the spring. The trees are mostly oak standards with a hazel understory, but small leaved lime and wild service tree can also be found, which are indicators of ancient woodland. The material from the coppicing is used in traditional crafts such as hedge-laying, and wattle fence weaving.

http://www.wiltshirewildlife.org/

West Yatton Down, Wiltshire

This is thought to be the finest surviving area of limestone downland in Wiltshire. It is a valley, with steep sides created by erosion by a tributary of the By Brook. It is next-door to Castle Coombe racing circuit, so is easy to find. The geology of the area allows many rare plants to grow including grasses, wild flowers and orchids. This makes it an important breeding and feeding area for wildlife such as butterflies, moths, shrews, voles, woodpeckers, buzzards and kestrels. Cattle and sheep graze the reserve in the winter to allow the summer flowers and insects that depend on them to thrive and reproduce. Our work there is mostly to weed out any invading scrub species such as gorse tree seedlings, so they do not succeed the grassland. To make sure of they do not re-grow chemicals are applied to the stumps.

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