This geocache has been placed by Somerset Wildlife Trust at Silk Mills, a short walk from Longrun Meadow- 65 acres of green space within a short walking distance of Taunton’s city centre.
The green spaces beside Taunton’s waterways form an important wildlife corridor offering birds, minibeasts and animals all they need to live side by side with people . A wildlife corridor not only offers shelter , food, water and warmth but also connects areas so that wildlife can move from one green space to another and into the open countryside. In the fields, hedges and waterways at Silk Mills and Longrun meadow there is a huge amount of wildlife such as water voles, otter, king fishers, egret, moorhens, coots , mallards ducks, bats and much more living all within easy reach of Taunton city centre. Otters are amazing creatures – they can dive for up to 4 minutes underwater. Often we know there are otters in the area due to the presence of their poo called spraint. It smells like fishy hay and is normally full of fishbones which is one of the otter's favourite foods.
Points of interest
Until the 20th century, Silk Mills was a largely agricultural area but the Back Brook, ancient boundary between the parishes of Norton Fitzwarren west and Staplegrove east was an ideal source of power for mills. Flowing down from the Quantocks hills and fed by many tributaries it has a good flow of water, even in drought stricken 2010. The best known mill on the watercourse was the Back Brook Silk Mill later the Staplegrove factory, which despite many changes of use, was popularly known as the Silk Mills, and gave that name to the adjoining road and the area around. The name survives although the mill buildings were demolished and the site now lies under the embankment of the new line of the Silk Mills Road. Longrun Meadow has some lovely features including a living willow cathedral, an open sided barn for shelter, a pond, the river itself and new plantations of hazel and willow. The willow field has been harrowed and planted with wild flowers to be enjoyed by wildlife and people. The site is part of Taunton’s flood defence system and in winter can flood over completely -salmon have even been found in the ditches after a flood.
Please let us know in your log if you see any wildlife near this cache. For more information about the Somerset Wildlife Trust, please visit us here.
It would be very useful if you could record the wildlife you have seen here.
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This cache is placed with the kind permission of Taunton Deane Borough Council