| Nunnery Mead | |
|---|---|
  Location in Dorset | |
| OS grid | SY 615 954 |
| Coordinates | 50°45′25″N2°32′50″W / 50.75694°N 2.54722°W Coordinates: 50°45′25″N2°32′50″W / 50.75694°N 2.54722°W |
| Area | 6 hectares (15 acres) |
| Operated by | Dorset Wildlife Trust |
| Website | www |
Nunnery Mead is a nature reserve of the Dorset Wildlife Trust, near Frampton and about 2 miles south-east of Maiden Newton, in Dorset, England. It is a former water-meadow, next to the River Frome. The reserve also contains the site of a Roman villa.
There is no allocated parking; visitors may walk here from nearby villages. [1]
The area of the site is 6 hectares (15 acres). Most of this is a former water meadow, that floods seasonally. Birds to be found here include the song thrush all year, and the snipe in winter. The River Frome is on the northern boundary of the reserve; alongside the river is a strip of woodland, containing several tree species including ash and alder. [1]
The Roman villa was discovered in 1796, and excavated by Samuel Lysons. The elaborately designed tesselated pavements revealed were inspected by George III in 1797. [2] [3] It was thought to have been destroyed in the mid-19th century, but was rediscovered in 2019 by archaeologists from Bournemouth University. Miles Russell, from the university, said: ".... the results, finding well-preserved walls and areas of surviving mosaic, were truly exceptional" – it was an "exciting and nationally important site." [4] The site of the villa is protected as a scheduled monument. [2]
The River Frome is a river in Dorset in the south of England. At 30 miles (48 km) long it is the major chalkstream in southwest England. It is navigable upstream from Poole Harbour as far as the town of Wareham.
The Isle of Purbeck is a peninsula in Dorset, England. It is bordered by water on three sides: the English Channel to the south and east, where steep cliffs fall to the sea; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome and Poole Harbour to the north. Its western boundary is less well defined, with some medieval sources placing it at Flower's Barrow above Worbarrow Bay. According to writer and broadcaster Ralph Wightman, Purbeck "is only an island if you accept the barren heaths between Arish Mell and Wareham as cutting off this corner of Dorset as effectively as the sea." The most southerly point is St Alban's Head.
West Dorset was a local government district in Dorset, England. Its council was based in Dorchester. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, and was a merger of the boroughs of Bridport, Dorchester and Lyme Regis, along with Sherborne urban district, and the rural districts of Beaminster, Bridport, Dorchester and Sherborne. In 2006 the district was named 10th best place to live in the UK.
The Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT) is one of 46 wildlife trusts across the United Kingdom. It manages nature reserves in Leicestershire and Rutland, and was founded in 1956 as the Leicestershire and Rutland Trust for Nature Conservation. As of January 2018, it has over 16,000 members, a staff of about 25 and more than 500 volunteers. It is based in Leicester, and is managed by a Council of Trustees which is elected by the members. It is a charity which covers all aspects of nature conservation, and works to protect wild places and wildlife.
Maiden Newton is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in south-west England. It lies within the Dorset Council administrative area, about 9 miles (14 km) north-west of the county town, Dorchester.
Bradford Peverell is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset, 2 miles (3.2 km) north-west of the county town Dorchester. It is sited by the south bank of the River Frome, among low chalk hills on the dip slope of the Dorset Downs. The A37 road between Dorchester and Yeovil passes to the north of the village on the other side of the river's water meadows. In the 2011 census the population of the parish was 370.
Stratton is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England, situated in the Frome valley about 3 miles (4.8 km) north-west of Dorchester. The parish includes the hamlets of Grimstone, Ash Hill and Wrackleford which, like the village, lie on or near the A37 trunk road. Ash Hill is a small estate east of the village near the railway. Wrackleford is a group of houses further east and centred about Wrackleford House and including Higher Wrackleford and Lower Wrackleford. In addition there are a number of isolated farms and houses including a few in an area called Langford near the Sydling Water in the north-west part of the parish.
The Cotswold Water Park is the United Kingdom's largest marl lake system, straddling the Wiltshire–Gloucestershire border, northwest of Cricklade and south of Cirencester. There are 180 lakes, spread over 42 square miles (110 km2).
Frampton is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England, situated approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) northwest of the county town Dorchester. It is sited in the Frome valley among chalk hills of the Dorset Downs. The village's name is a derivation from "Frome Town".
Babcary is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, about 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Somerton and 6 miles (9.7 km) southwest of Castle Cary, in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 248. It lies close to the River Cary and the A37. The parish includes the hamlet of Foddington.
Coombe Hill Canal lies in the Vale of Gloucester, south west England, north of Leigh and runs west 2.75 miles (4.43 km) from Coombe Hill Basin to the River Severn near Wainlode Hill. It opened in 1796 and closed 80 years later in 1876, after the only lock was damaged by flooding. The Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust purchased the Coombe Hill Canal nature reserve in 1985 and the area is managed by the trust. Adjacent to the Coombe Hill Canal is a large area of wet meadowland situated midway between Gloucester and Tewkesbury to the west of the A38, which was purchased by the trust in 1999. There is a north and a south meadow. This land and the Canal itself often flood in winter, which attracts hundreds of wildfowl.
Poundbury Hill is the site of a scheduled Prehistoric and Roman archaeological remains and includes evidence of a Neolithic settlement, a substantial Bronze Age occupation site and an Iron Age hillfort. Ther are also late Iron Age burials and a section of Roman aqueduct. On the eastern side is an earlier Romano-British farmstead; and an extensive later cemetery, belonging to the Roman town Durnovaria. Further buildings and enclosures of the 5th-8th centuries overlie the Roman cemetery. It is roughly rectangular and it is likely that it was designed to command views over the River Frome and the Frome valley to the north. The main entrance to the fort is on the eastern end. It overlooks the county town of Dorchester, Dorset, England.
The River Asker is a small river in Dorset, England. It rises on the chalk slopes of Eggardon Hill, approximately five miles (8 km) east of Bridport. It flows west-northwest through the villages of Askerswell to which it gives its name, Uploders, where many cottages have gardens backing onto the river, and Loders. Here it heads west towards Bradpole, where it is joined by the small Mangerton Brook flowing in from the north. It then flows southwest into Bridport, passing underneath the A3066 and B3162 roads in the town. In this section there are weirs and fish ladders. South of the B3162, between Bridport and Bothenhampton, the river also forms the western boundary of the Askers Meadow Nature Reserve, which was designated a Local Nature Reserve in 2004. The river then flows under the B3157 road and joins the River Brit beside Palmers Brewery in the south of the town.
Rye Meads is a 58.5 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Rye House, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire. It is one of series of wetlands and reservoirs situated along the River Lea, to the north-east of London. It is part of the Lea Valley Ramsar site and a Special Protection Area.
The Mells River flows through the eastern Mendip Hills in Somerset, England. It rises at Gurney Slade and flows east joining the River Frome at Frome.
Salmonsbury Meadows is an 18-hectare (44-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1985. The site is listed in the 'Cotswold District' Local Plan 2001-2011 as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).
Sapperton Valley is a 3.7-hectare (9.1-acre) nature reserve near Chalford in the Stroud district of Gloucestershire, England. The site is managed by the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust under leasing arrangements with the Bathurst Estate, in place since 1964.
King's Meads is a nature reserve between the towns of Hertford and Ware in Hertfordshire. It is managed by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, and with an area of 96 hectares it is the largest of the Trust's reserves. The site has been registered by the Trust as Common land, but the registration for some areas was disallowed due to objections.
Tadnoll and Winfrith Heath is a nature reserve of the Dorset Wildlife Trust, near the village of Winfrith Newburgh in Dorset, England. There is heathland and wetland in the reserve.
The Frome Valley Trail is a long-distance footpath in Dorset, England which follows the River Frome from Evershot to Dorchester.