On Wednesday 3rd May we went for a walk round Bodenham Lakes Nature Reserve managed by Herefordshire Wildlife Trust and not far from Queenswood Arboretum.
D had seen an Apple Festival advertised in Leominster for the following weekend and one of the events was a walk around the Bodenham orchards. Well we'd be back at home by then but I said there's nothing to stop us walking round the orchards on our own. The two orchards there have been cultivated since arund 1700 and they contain cider and dessert apples, some perry pear, cherry, greengages and walnut trees. More trees have been planted in recent years.
Blossom was starting to appear.
Bodenham Lakes habitats include the orchards as seen above, meadows, one of the largest lakes in the county and wet woodland. Once part of Lady Cross Farm the site was used for gravel extraction from the late 1800's. In the 1980's when quarrying ceased the pits were linked to form one large lake which covers about 50 acres. It is an important breeding and overwintering site for waterfowl. The Lake is designated a site of local importance and where the reserve borders the River Lugg it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special area of Conservation. 160 species of bird have been recorded and otters are regularly seen. It is a good site too for dragon and damselflies.
In 2018 Herefordshire Wildlife Trust started to naturalise the steep sides of the lake and created shallows and reedbeds. In 2019 3 islands on the lake were improved for birds such as Little Ringed Plover and Oystercatcher. An Osprey platform was also installed.
Lots of wild flowers - daisies, dandelions, a cranesbill species I think (apparently you need to examine leaves closely to work out the exact species - oh well I will know next time) and Hawthorn is starting to flower.
We walked back past the car park and along the other side of the lake (you can't do a complete circuit as part of the lake is closed to protect the wildlife and seeing all the dogs on the reserve that is probably a good idea!).
St Michael and All Angels Bodenham - I've walked round the churchyard in the past but not yet been in the church.
River Lugg
Cuckoo Flower or Lady's Smock
White Dead Nettle
We didn't see many birds - a few Canada Geese, Mallard and a Mute Swan on the lake. When we sat on a bench for a while there were birds flying very swiftly between trees but impossible to id them.
Final few photos by D - the first one is a Speedwell.
We wondered if these were Toad tadpoles apparently Bodenham Lakes is an important breeding site for toads and thousands follow historic migration routes to reach the lake.
D made this feta and olive tart for tea - we had it with the asparagus (grilled in oil) bought from the farmshop in Bromyard. Rosie you mentioned it sounded like something you would enjoy so here is a link to the Recipe
We came home on the Thursday - I still hope one day we may be able to stay for longer - a week perhaps! I am very grateful though to have such a refuge to visit especially as that building work next door goes on and on and on. Having demolished and rebuilt the roof and added a huge loft extension (with dormer windows not in original planning permission and in fact they were told in the approval they could not add any more windows especially dormer windows at the rear of the property - they have added 7 extra!!!). They then demolished and rebuilt with huge extensions the rear and they are now demolishing the side of the house furthest from us and rebuilding and starting to do the same to the front of the property!!!!
Photos taken by me with the Pansonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera and those marked *D by my son with the Canon SX50HS Bridge camera (If anyone wishes to use one of my photos or my son's I would be grateful for an email first - thanks).
Reference:
Herefordshire Wildlife Trust Guide to their reserves
