Warwickshire Moor, Tamworth

Post

Subscribe

Warwickshire Moor Local Nature Reserve in Tamworth is somewhere that you can happily visit at any time of the year and in any weather. For the natural green-lung attraction, situated close to the centre of the Staffordshire town, has an all-weather wooden boardwalk running right from the entrance of the site across the main ditch, towards the River Anker. The boardwalk, which was installed by the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers, means visitors can access the riverside area without risk of getting their feet wet or muddy in the event of the prolonged rain that seemingly occurs during any time of the year.



The Warwickshire Moor Local Nature Reserve is an ongoing project between Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and Tamworth Borough Council which aims to improve local wildlife spaces in and around the town. It is one of several sites which have been purposefully designated as Local Nature Reserves, with community conservation groups set up to manage the sites.



I do not know why Warwickshire Moor nature reserve is so named, although the town of Tamworth was historically divided between Warwickshire and Staffordshire until 1888 when it became entirely the domain of Staffs. Whatever the reason for the choice of name, Warwickshire Moor is situated off Moor Lane in the Bolehall district of Tamworth. Tamworth Borough Council are the landowners of the site and are working in partnership with Staffordshire Wildlife Trust to maintain and improve it for the benefit of the local community.



Visitors are able to park their car on a small area at the entrance to the site, although you can only squeeze in about three or four vehicles at the most. But there is also limited parking on Moor Lane itself. A main ditch runs through the middle of the site which was dug out and opened up in 2006 through funding from the Central Rivers Initiative. A series of pools of various sizes were also created at the same time. Work has also been carried out to encourage more wildflowers on the site with some planting as well as the management of meadows. And local families were involved in building bird boxes to encourage birds such as blue tits, coal tits and robins to nest.



Vital conservation work is carried out by the Friends of Warwickshire Moor, a group of local residents which meets up twice a month to maintain and improve the site. For more information, or to get involved, please contact Staffordshire Wildlife Trust on 01827 59912 or 01889 880100. Prior to the setting up of the Friends of Warwickshire Moor, and the Central Rivers Initiative work in 2006, the site had been left completely unmanaged since grazing stopped.



The Central Rivers Initiative project mainly focused on cutting and removing areas of scrub and excavating areas of open water and reed beds in the hope that wetland species such as frogs, toads and smooth newts would breed well in the new ponds and ditches.



Further information about the local nature reserve initiative can be found by visiting either www.staffs-wildlife.org.uk or www.tamworth.gov.uk. Alternatively, you can contact the Wild About Tamworth Project Officer by emailing [email protected]

#escape_the_city
#free
#natural_attractions
#picnic_spots
#walks
%wnbirmingham