Kingsway is a brownfield
site, situated in a residential area of Hereford
City, and immediately adjacent to the main railway
line on its western boundary. The eastern boundary
is formed by the back garden fences of the residents
of Kingsway. The reserve is what is left of a
much larger derelict area, which became developed
for housing.
The reserve was created in 1999 because of
its large population of Slow worms, a protected
species under the Wildlife & Countryside
Act 1981. The land was unsuitable for building
and passed into the care of HNT so that the
future of these attractive legless lizards
could be assured. The site may well contain
litter deposited by unwelcome visitors. Please
be aware that some of this material (particularly
flat stones, corrugated iron sheets and old
carpet sections) is there to provide sheltering
places for the Slow worm population, and should
not be disturbed unless you are a registered
monitor of these reptiles.
The Slow worms are dependent on the nearby
gardens for valuable hibernation sites in the
form of compost heaps. The reserve area, the
adjacent railway embankment, as well as the
gardens, all provide a varied feeding and sun-basking
habitat. When first acquired, the site contained large
amounts of domestic rubbish and builders' debris.
This has virtually all been cleared by Trust
work-parties, who have also given the site
a face-lift by cutting back a lot of the rank
vegetation and overgrown bramble thickets.
Much of the site is now clear and much more
open. A few trees remain: there is a small
grove of Wild Cherry, one third of the way
along the site and there is a mature berry-bearing
Hawthorn and an Elder in the upper section.
One area of Bramble thicket has been left to
provide more dense cover and a nectar source
for butterflies. | 
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