Thank you. sake of wildlife please keep dogs on a lead. lower part of the reserve can be very wet. For blocking the gateway. Bring stout footwear, as the Headway. Please park considerately, and avoid Road at the north-east corner, or by stile from The corner of the site, by footpath and stile from Lewin Access is by stile from the A6104 at north-west Access the reserve is on left-hand side of road. signs for Great Oakley. Immediately after the fly-over From the roundabout on A6014, follow road How to find the reserve people, today as well for future generations. that the trust intends to manage for wildlife and reserve is an important visual amenity for the area associated animals to thrive on the reserve. Such a allowed a tremendous diversity of flowers and low input management by grazing and cutting has herbicides and fertilisers. At Great Oakley, traditional drainage and applications of ‘improved’ by reseeding, conversion to arable use or whole. Much was lost by throughout the Country as a in the County and grassland is now rare, both Tr by the Wildlife Trust. on behalf of the District Council Council. The site is now managed co-operation from Corby District Commission for New Towns and thanks to the generosity of saved from urban development, South of Corby District and was Great Oakley Meadow lies in the aditionally managed Salad burnet and . Registered charity no: 1000412 The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, We www.wildlifebcnp.org Through the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme This site is supported by: E-mail: [email protected] T NN3 8BE Billing Lings, Lings House, The Wildlife Trust Reserves Manager contact: or other reserves in Northamptonshire, please If you would like more information about this reserve voluntary contributions. Peterborough. We are a charity dependent on Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and countryside for people to enjoy in Bedfordshire, Y More Information el: 01604 405285 our local Wildlife Trust protects wildlife and

hope you enjoy your visit

Photograph by Nathalie Hueber, illustrations by Mike Langman W Nature Reserve Great Oakley Local W W Nature Reserve Barford Meadow Nature Reserve Barford Meadow elcome to elcome to elcome to History ’s Brook Harper This meadow is the best remaining fragment of the ancient field system of Great Oakley. The prominent ridge and furrow at the upper (southern) end of the reserve shows this area was in arable cultivation N prior to the Enclosure Act of 1784. Key Management Dry Grassland Wet grassland The natural course of events for any area of grassland Open water is to revert to scrub and eventually woodland. In A6014 order to maintain the site as a meadow a traditional Reserve boundary management of mowing and grazing is used. The Road meadow is grazed in early spring and is then left for Footpath about three or four months to grow. The resulting hay Fence Lewin Road crop is cut in late summer. Remaining stubble and Ridge and furrow Hedgerow any later re-growth is then grazed until winter.

What to look out for The Hea dway Birds The hedgerows and grassland are popular feeding grounds Skylark for birds. Finches, such as yellowhammer, goldfinch Cowslips and linnet, are attracted Wildflowers by the plentiful supply of seeds and invertebrates. The meadow is home to a wide dominating. The lower Starlings are frequent visitors, probing among the variety of plants, each with its own slopes carry the greatest short grass for grubs. Flocks of redwings and preferences. The drier tops of diversity of species, with fieldfares are regular winter visitors, foraging both on the ridges display a colourful most of those listed above, the grassland and along the hedges and in spring mosaic of species, including together with meadow foxtail, Skylarks are quite common. On summer evenings, cowslip, creeping cinquefoil, common sorrel, pepper-saxifrage and flocks of swallows, swifts and house martins feed on pignut, common knapweed, meadow vetchling, whilst the limiest patches are insects taken on the wing over the meadow. rough hawkbit and quaking- highlighted by glaucous sedge, salad burnet, hoary grass. The alternating damp plantain and dwarf thistle. The meadow closest to furrows are much poorer in the brook supports some characteristic plants of species with dandelion, meadow damp ground, such as lady’s smock, hairy sedge fescue and tufted hair-grass and great burnet. Black knapweed