A New Nature Reserve In Town. 🦆🦋🌳

Recently Hugo and I have spent a lot of time
treading the boardwalks…..at the new Nature Reserve in town. Primrose Nature Reserve has opened at last! What was once an overgrown wasteland containing a mill lodge of stagnant water has been transformed, with walkways, a viewing platform and even a Monet style bridge spanning Mearley Brook. A fish pass has been installed close to the old Primrose Mill to allow salmon, trout and eels to travel upstream and gallons of silt has been removed from the lodge. I have taken a few photos which I hope will give a feel for the place. The reserve is suitable for wheel chairs, push chairs and prams and it doesn’t take very long to walk through.

Owl carving at the Woone Lane entrance.

• 

Number 24 Boundary stone, one of only 7 surviving town boundary stones from Clitheroe. Found in the lodge and now set in the reserve wall, it dates back to the 1500s.

Wildlife the reserve hopes to attract more of.

Green Winged Teal. There are several of these. Such pretty water birds.

Bird accomodation.

Moorhen.

Habitats have been created using fallen logs.

Butterbur frequent the brook side.

Monet style bridge.

Facing Woone Lane.

A bluetit furnishes its new home, number 5. 🙂

Little Egret seen from the bridge.

Sluice gates were used to control the flow of water to the mill.

Old Industry.

Mallard and ten ducklings.

I was happy to see there are actually primroses at Primrose Nature Reserve. 🙂

Flowering currant.

Dunnock.

Willow arch near the Whalley road entrance.

Reserve map at the Whalley road entrance.

To view the fish pass you have to walk up Woone Lane to the top of the nature reserve and you will be able to see it from the road next to Primrose Mill. At the moment the mill is being turned into apartments so whilst renovations are going on, here’s a photo from Instagram.

Alaskan Fish Pass, one of the largest in England.

I am looking forward to the changing seasons ,to see how the area becomes established. I think the reserve is a lovely little addition to Clitheroe. A wild space in an urban landscape. 😊