About the reserve

Up from the ashes

This reserve's string of habitats owes some of its diversity to how the land was used in the past. While the East Coast Mainline still runs to the west, an older railway embankment runs across the site, with hides and vantage points overlooking the landscape, giving you a different perspective. This embankment also supports many plants, insects and breeding birds.

The land was previously owned by the power station that stood to the east and was purchased by the Central Electricity Generating Board in the 1960s for tipping fly ash, resulting in a great blend of flourishing plants. Ea Beck is to the south, and the island of land between these features was never intensively farmed - you can still see the pattern of ridge and furrow in the fields, dating back to the Middle Ages. These fields are home to adder's-tongue fern, pepper saxifrage, devil's-bit scabious, great burnet and common figwort. They are also a great place to watch moths, butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies, which can be spotted from the path.

Owl's about that then?

With a thriving population of voles, mice and shrews, there's a banquet for owls, including barn owls, tawny owls, and long-eared owls in the winter. Insects, birds, mammals and grass snakes all use the hedgerows, while great spotted woodpeckers, long-tailed and willow tits and treecreepers can be found in the woods. 

Thorpe Mere is the largest lake. Waders like oystercatchers, green sandpiper and redshank are regular visitors, and overwintering ducks include wigeon and goosander. Look for little grebe and water rail at the Mere Scrape, and keep an eye out for bitterns. In spring, listen for the familiar call of the cuckoo.