Black Bourn Valley | |
---|---|
Type | Nature reserve |
Location | Thurston, Suffolk |
OS grid | TL943650 |
Area | 88 hectares |
Managed by | Suffolk Wildlife Trust |
Black Bourn Valley, formerly called Grove Farm, is an 88 hectare nature reserve between Thurston and Elmswell in Suffolk. It is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. [1]
The River Black Bourn runs through this large nature reserve, which has many bird species, such as barn owls, yellowhammers, linnets, reed buntings and skylarks. Plants in wet meadows include marsh orchids and marsh marigolds. [1] The river has reportedly dried up during the 2022 European drought. [2]
There is access by going east out of Thurston along Barrell's Road, and turning south at the end. The entrance to the site, shown on the Ordnance Survey map and on the site as Grove Farm, is on the left just before the railway line.
Suffolk Wildlife Trust (SWT) describes itself as the county's "nature charity – the only organisation dedicated wholly to safeguarding Suffolk's wildlife and countryside." It is a registered charity, and its headquarters is at Brooke House in Ashbocking, near Ipswich. It was founded in 1961, and is one of 46 wildlife trusts covering the Great Britain and Northern Ireland. As of March 2017, it has 13,200 members, and it manages 3,120 hectares of land in 60 nature reserves, most of which are open to the public. It had an income of £3.9 million in the year to 31 March 2017.
Lackford Lakes is a 105.8-hectare (261-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) north and east of Lackford in Suffolk. The SSSI is part of the 131-hectare (320-acre) Lackford Lakes nature reserve, which is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.
Frays Farm Meadows is a 28.2-hectare (70-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Denham in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It was notified as an SSSI in 1981, and has been managed by the London Wildlife Trust on behalf of Hillingdon Council since 1999. It is part of the Colne Valley Regional Park.
Bradfield Woods is an 81.4-hectare (201-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket in Suffolk. The site is in three separate blocks, the adjoining Felsham Hall and Monkspark Woods, and the much smaller separate Hedge Wood and Chensil Grove. Felsham Hall and Monkspark Woods are designated a 63.3 National Nature Reserve, also called Bradfield Woods, and are managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.
Bull's Wood is a 12 hectare nature reserve east of Cockfield in Suffolk, England. It is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, and is part of the Thorpe Morieux Woods Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Sizewell Marshes form a 260-acre biological Site of Special Scientific Interest adjacent to Sizewell in Suffolk. It is in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is part of a 356-acre (144-ha) nature reserve managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust as Sizewell Belts.
Hen Reedbeds is a 55 hectare nature reserve near the North Sea coast of the English county of Suffolk. The reserve is located in the Blyth valley between Reydon and Blythburgh, approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west of Southwold. The marshes make up part of the Suffolk Coast National Nature Reserve along with reserves at Walberswick and Dingle Marshes.
Hazlewood Marshes is a 64 hectare nature reserve west of Aldeburgh in Suffolk. It is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. It is in the Alde-Ore Estuary biological Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Roydon Fen is a 17.2 hectare Local Nature Reserve south of Roydon, on the western outskirts of Diss in Norfolk. It is owned by South Norfolk District Council and managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.
Blo' Norton and Thelnetham Fens are a 21.3-hectare (53-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the Norfolk/Suffolk border. Blo' Norton Fen is in the parish of Blo' Norton in Norfolk and Thelnetham Fen is in Thelnetham parish in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2, and part of the Waveney and Little Ouse Valley Fens Special Area of Conservation, Thelnetham Fen is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust and Blo' Norton Fen by the Little Ouse Headwaters Project (LOHP).
Norah Hanbury-Kelk Meadows is an eight hectare nature reserve in Barton Mills in Suffolk. It is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.
Foxburrow Farm is a 67 hectare nature reserve north of Melton in Suffolk. It is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.
Roding Valley Meadows is an 18.9-hectare (47-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Buckhurst Hill in Essex. It is part of a 65.2 hectare Local Nature Reserve with the same name, which is owned by Epping Forest District Council and Grange Farm Trust, and managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.
Church Farm Marshes is a 56 hectare nature reserve in Thorington in Suffolk. It is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.
Thorpe Morieux Woods is a 45.2-hectare (112-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Thorpe Morieux in Suffolk. Part of it is Bull's Wood, a nature reserve managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.
Papermill Reedbed is a 6 hectare nature reserve in Bramford in Suffolk. It is owned by Blakenham Farms and managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.
Ant Broads and Marshes is a 745.3-hectare (1,842-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-east of Norwich in Norfolk. Most of it is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 1, and it is part of the Broadland Ramsar and Special Protection Area, and The Broads Special Area of Conservation. Part of it is the Barton Broad nature reserve, which is managed by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, and two areas are National Nature Reserves.