Paices Wood Country Parkland is a country park on the edge of the village of Aldermaston in Berkshire, England. [1] The parkland is under the management of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. [2]
Aldermaston is a mostly rural, dispersed settlement, civil parish and electoral ward in Berkshire, England. In the United Kingdom Census 2011, the parish had a population of 1015. The village is in the mid-Kennet alluvial plain and bounds to Hampshire in the south. It is roughly equidistant from Newbury, Basingstoke and Reading, centred 46 miles (74 km) west-by-south-west of London.
Berkshire is a county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by the Queen as the Royal County of Berkshire in 1957 because of the presence of Windsor Castle, and letters patent were issued in 1974. Berkshire is a county of historic origin, a ceremonial county and a non-metropolitan county without a county council. The county town is Reading.
The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire in England.
The site covers 35 hectares (86 acres). [3] The parkland consists of woodland, grassland and several lakes located in a narrow valley. [1] A medieval road borders the site to the north-west edge, creating a natural boundary with the neighbouring Wasing Estate. [4]
Wasing is an agricultural and woodland village and parish in West Berkshire, England owned almost wholly by one family. In minor local administration such as footpaths and field sports facilities its few people convene their own civil parish occasionally but share many facilities with Brimpton which was its civil parish at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2011.
There are seven lakes which vary in size from 0.4 acres up to 3.3 acres. [5]
Young Estates & Land Ltd bought what is now Youngs Industrial Estate and Paices Wood Country Parkland in 1961 from Turner & Hunter, a timber company. [6] The land was purchased for the purpose of gravel extraction, with the lakes that are now on the site created for washing the gravel. [4]
When gravel extraction finished in the early 1980s, the land was restored and became the site of the industrial estate and the rest of the site was developed into country parkland. [4]
In 2014 the management of the parkland was transferred from West Berkshire Council to the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. [7]
West Berkshire Council is the local authority of West Berkshire in Berkshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. West Berkshire is divided into 30 wards, electing 52 councillors. The council was created by the Local Government Act 1972 as the Newbury District Council and replaced five local authorities: Bradfield Rural District Council, Hungerford Rural District Council, Newbury Borough Council, Newbury Rural District Council and Wantage Rural District Council. On 1 April 1998 it was renamed West Berkshire Council and since then has been a unitary authority, assuming the powers and functions of Berkshire County Council. In the 2015 election the Conservatives won 48 out of 52 seats. In 2019, they won 24 seats losing half of their councillors.
The site has the following fauna: [2] [5] [8] [9]
The site has the following flora: [2] [8] [3]
Dinton Pastures Country Park is a country park in the civil parish of St Nicholas Hurst, in the borough of Wokingham, near Reading in the English county of Berkshire.
Thatcham Reed Beds is a 67.4-hectare (167-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Newbury in Berkshire. It is part of Kennet & Lambourn Floodplain Special Area of Conservation and an area of 14 hectares is a Local Nature Reserve. An area of 35 hectares is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
Sulham and Tidmarsh Woods and Meadows is a 75.7-hectare (187-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Reading in Berkshire.
Snelsmore Common is a 104-hectare (260-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Newbury in Berkshire. It is owned by West Berkshire Council and managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
Sandhurst to Owlsmoor Bogs and Heaths is a 85.8-hectare (212-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the northern outskirts of Sandhurst in Berkshire. Part of the SSSI is Wildmoor Heath nature reserve, which is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. and the SSSI is part of Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area.
The Yateley Complex is a working gravel pit and a series of fishing lakes at Yateley, Hampshire, England, operated by CEMEX, the world's largest building materials supplier. The fishing side of the facility is under the management of CEMEX Angling, a subsidiary of the main company. CEMEX Angling operates 11 lakes at the site, which includes part of the River Blackwater and is stocked with a variety of fish. Around 5000 anglers a year visit the complex, which was also home to "Heather the Leather", described as "Britain's most famous fish". In addition to angling use, some of the gravel pits have been restored as sports pitches and some were nominated as potential allotment sites.
Bucklebury Common is an elevated common consisting of woodland with a few relatively small clearings in the English county of Berkshire, within the civil parish of Bucklebury centred 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of Thatcham and encircling the settled localities of Upper Bucklebury and Chapel Row. It is one of the largest commons in Southern England covering 350 hectares. Since Inclosure the area is privately owned by the Bucklebury Manor estate, but has public access on a network of public rights of way bolstered by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.
Hosehill Lake is a 23.6-hectare (58-acre) Local Nature Reserve west of Reading in Berkshire. It is owned by West Berkshire Council and managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
Padworth Common Local Nature Reserve is a 28-hectare (69-acre) Local Nature Reserve on the edge of the hamlet of Padworth Common, between Reading and Newbury in Berkshire. It is owned by West Berkshire Council and managed by Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
Loddon Nature Reserve is a 14-hectare (35-acre) nature reserve on the edge of the village of Twyford in Berkshire. It is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
Shepperlands Farm Nature Reserve is a nature reserve on the edge of the village of Finchampstead in Berkshire, England. The nature reserve is under the management of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
Rack Marsh is a nature reserve on the edge of the hamlet of Bagnor in Berkshire, England. The nature reserve is under the management of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. Part of the reserve is in the Kennet and Lambourn Floodplain, a Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Haymill Valley is a 7.8-hectare (19-acre) Local Nature Reserve in Slough in Berkshire. It is owned by Slough Borough Council and managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. The site is known locally as The Millie.
Sole Common Pond is a nature reserve on the edge of the hamlet of Hoe Benham in Berkshire, England. The nature reserve is under the management of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
Audrey's Meadow is public open space in between Greenham and Newbury Racecourse in Berkshire, England. The site is under the management of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.
Fen Drayton Lakes is a complex of lakes, lagoons, ponds and a river, situated close to Fen Drayton, Holywell and Swavesey in Cambridgeshire, England. The complex was formerly a gravel extraction site until 1992 when gravel production ceased and the pits were allowed to flood to provide a nature reserve and bird sanctuary.
Inkpen Common is a 12.8-hectare (32-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Inkpen in Berkshire. It is managed as a nature reserve by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.