This meadow is really pretty in the Summer. If you are out for a
bike ride you may wish to do it in conjunction with Bishops Meadow
Lock cache and Chemical Factory Blemish cache. It is also a nice
spot for a picnic!
Information from Wildlife Trust Website:-
'Location and access SK 538218 (Sheet 129). The reserve lies
alongside the River Soar and Meadow Lane between Loughborough and
Stanford on Soar. It consists of a number of unmarked plots in the
centre of the meadows and the hay is extremely susceptible to
trampling. There is parking for several cars on the roadside.
Public transport options - Train to Loughborough followed by a 2km
walk along a narrow, dangerous road. South Notts bus service 1 from
Loughborough to Stanford on Soar followed by a 0.5 km walk. We
encourage visitors to use environmentally friendly forms of
transport wherever possible. Most of our reserves are easily
accessible by bicycle, with many close to the National Cycle
Network.
Dogs are permitted on this nature reserve but must be kept on a
short lead at all times. The reserve, which covers 30.6 ha in
total, is owned by the Trust and is part of a Site of Special
Scientific Interest. The whole meadow is subject to complex
commoner's rights dating back to at least 1762 and is one of the
few Lammas meadows left in England. This site has been managed as
flood meadow for as long as records exist. The Trust purchased the
first portion of the reserve at auction in 1983 and there have been
other acquisitions since. The reserve consists of unimproved
herbrich hay meadow. Most of the meadow is mown for hay during June
or July each year. The meadow is then grazed during late summer and
autumn, and left during winter and spring for the next crop of hay
to grow.
Located on alluvium with a clayey loam soil subject to periodic
flooding, the reserve contains a flora including great burnet,
meadow saxifrage, yellow rattle, common birds-foot-trefoil and
peppersaxifrage, many of them growing in profusion. The meadows are
the only known site in the county today for the nationally scarce
narrow-leaved water-dropwort. Breeding birds of the river margins
include sedge warbler, whitethroat and reed bunting, while skylark
breeds on the meadow. Redshank have bred in the past and are
usually present in spring and autumn during migration periods.'