Arthur's Meadow
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A beautiful flower-rich meadow passed by many on the busy A14 but noticed by few |
Adjacent to the A14 this reserve is a small meadow protected by hedgerows, new and old, and untouched by plough or fertilizer for many hundreds of years.
It is a nationally important Site of Special Scientific Interest because of its wild flowers. The wide range of species includes yellow rattle, creeping jenny, green-winged orchid, pepper-saxifrage and many grasses. If you look closely you will see adder’s-tongue fern, nestling beneath the taller species. In the wetter parts of the meadow you can see blunt-flowered rush, distant sedge, carnation sedge and marsh thistle.
The show of flowers begins in early spring with cowslips and culminates in a beautiful array of orchids before the hay is cut in late summer. Over 100 kinds of plants typical of ancient grassland are found in this tiny remnant of the meadows that were once common across England.
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Plants: Cowslip, green-winged orchid, adder’s-tongue fern, carnation sedge, quaking grass |
Plants: Plants: Black knapweed, common spotted-orchid, twayblade, pepper-saxifrage, marsh thistle |
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