Parky Meadow

Parky Meadow

Parky Meadow

Unimproved, marshy floodplain grassland with a wealth of diverse flora.

Location

Parky Meadow Nature Reserve
Wigmore
Herefordshire
HR6 9UU

OS Map Reference

SO 417 695
A static map of Parky Meadow

Know before you go

Size
9 hectares
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Parking information

Park in Wigmore Village near the church and take the public footpath running north which joins a green lane running past the site.
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Walking trails

In winter, the site is mostly easily accessible although flooding and waterlogging may make parts of the reserve inaccessible. More tussocky areas make for uneven walking. In summer, the dense vegetation makes exploration of the interior difficult. In spring, please keep to the field margins to avoid disturbing breeding birds.

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Access

There are currently no surfaced paths and no wheelchair access at this reserve.

Dogs

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When to visit

Opening times

Dawn to dusk

Best time to visit

Spring and summer

About the reserve

Set in the flood-plain of the River Teme, just north of Wigmore village, Parky Meadow reserve is situated in the low-lying basin that now holds Wigmore and Leinthall Moors. The reserve consists of two fields. The smaller western field of four acres contains around 32 species of flowering plant. Though many interesting damp grassland plants are present, this field is comparatively less diverse than the larger, eastern field. This 17 acre field is largely unimproved and is a botanically rich grassland - a superb example of wetland habitat which has all but disappeared from Herefordshire. 

The drier parts of both fields are dominated by the grasses Yorkshire fog and tufted hair-grass, with the latter in places forming impressive tussocks over a metre in diameter from which golden arcing sprays of flowering stems emerge in mid-summer. Other plants found in these areas include devil’s bit scabious, bird’s foot trefoil, tormentil and ribwort plantain with some marsh thistle, meadow vetchling, greater bird’s foot trefoil and marsh bedstraw. Where the ground is slightly wetter, soft rush and sharp-flowered rush take over, with dense patches of marsh bedstraw, meadowsweet, wild angelica and great willowherb, as well as some of the more notable sedges like bladder sedge, fox sedge, oval sedge, brown sedge and hairy sedge.

This site is dedicated to Marek Mayer (1952-2005), an outstanding environmental journalist. The Marek Mayer appeal of 2005-6 enabled the nature reserve to be upgraded with stock-proof boundary fencing, new entrance gates and an interpretation panel.

Contact us

Lewis Goldwater
Parky Meadow site map

Parky Meadow site map

Wildflower meadow of yellow and white flowers with tall hedgerow in background and hills beyond

Davies Meadow Nature Reserve (Paul Lloyd)

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