Blakehill Farm Nature Reserve
Once a military base, this vast expanse of grassland reverberated to the drone of Dakotas taking off to fight in the battlefields of World War II Europe. Today Blakehill is the site for one of the UK's largest grassland restoration projects and the Trust's largest nature reserve. This 240-hectare site is a massive refuge for wildlife. Blakehill is one of the biggest expanses of neutral grassland (or “hay meadow”) in the UK. Once commonplace, today almost all of our hay meadows (up to 98 percent) are gone, because of the post-war intensification of farming.
Wildlife
Mammals include Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus) and Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus). Birds include Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), Skylark (Alauda arvensis), Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe), Winchat (Saxicola rubetra) and Stonechat (Saxicola torquata). Butterflies include Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) and Brown Hairstreak (Thecla betulae). Plants include Addder’s-tongue Fern (Ophioglossum vulgatum), Spiny Restharrow (Ononis spinosa), Great Burnet (Sanguisorba officinalis) and Dyer’s Greenweed (Genista tinctoria).
History and management
After the war Blakehill was used for many years as a listening station by the Ministry of Defence, and although some of the land was grazed this was not intensive. This meant that very little artificial fertiliser had been used, allowing a rich variety of wildflowers to survive without competition from more vigorous grasses. This means that Blakehill is a slice of living history, not just in terms of the war, but also as a reminder of what a hay meadow used to be. It is a beautiful example of what was once an everyday part of the farmed landscape but now almost vanished.
Bought by the Trust in 2000 Blakehill is now being carefully managed with the goal of restoring the entire site to wildflower-rich status within 15-20 years. The restoration of Blakehill means the Trust has met 45% of the government’s ten-year target for restoring hay meadow across the entire country - in one stroke.
To restore the grassland to its former glory, certain areas are being seeded with wildflowers and the grass is cut for hay in July and then grazed by cattle and sheep. Over 90% of Blakehill has now been grazed and the conservation herd continues to grow with Belted Galloways, Beef Shorthorns and Luings; flower-rich hay from Clattinger Farm has been added to the herd’s diet to increase the meadow flower species. Importantly, this specialised management means we have successfully secured the Countryside Stewardship Grant to help fund the restoration. As you can see our conservation herd is an invaluable resource, and it has clearly demonstrated the advantages of the Trust providing this type of specialist grassland management.
The complex of hay barn, livestock buildings with manure handling system, and machinery and workshop shed, provides the base from which we manage the herd. It includes a secure handling area and quarantine facilities for the livestock. It also enables us to store hay cut from the meadow to give the best quality forage to supplement the herd’s winter diet with the potential to sell the excess.
Establishing the conservation herd means we now undertake specialist grazing, not just at Blakehill, but at other grassland reserves in the north of the county. The importance of the Trust’s northern nature reserves cannot be underestimated - Clattinger Farm contains the best lowland hay meadows in the UK and Blakehill alone will contribute approximately 45% of the national target for restoring lowland meadows.
Other information
Dogs are not allowed on the Reserve.
The reserve is open daily to the public, opening times 9.00am - 5.30pm.
Best time to visit: Late spring and early summer, before the hay is cut, for wildflowers and insects. Winter for visiting birds, including Snipe, and Wheatears and Stonechats. The reserve is open daily to the public, opening times 9.00am - 5.30pm. Habitat: Wildflower meadows, neutral grassland.
Location: Near Cricklade. The reserve is signposted off the B4040, Malmesbury Road, between Minety and Cricklade, adjacent to the village of Leigh. Grid ref: SU073923 for the new vehicle access road. For the car park follow the signs from the access road.