About the reserve

Visitors will be amazed at the thousands of anthills that cover this field.  This herb-rich grassland has not been treated with fertilisers or herbicides and the presence of large ridge and furrow indicate it has been ploughed in the past but not for centuries.

Surveys have recorded more than 80 species of grasses, flowering plants and hedgerow shrubs that all provide a haven for insects and birds.  Butterflies include marbled white, meadow brown, large white and small skipper. The sympathetic management of the meadow by its previous owner protected its special features.  Like so many meadows, however, a change of ownership often places the wildlife under threat from inappropriate management of its historic features and wildlife is so the Trust acquired the meadow in 2005 with the aim of protecting and restoring this unique meadow.

The field is grazed, an essential part of traditional grassland management.  The animals graze once the plants have set seed, removing nutrients to maintain the poor soil conditions which allow the wildflowers to thrive. Eggs of the brown hairstreak butterfly have been discovered in the hedgerows of the meadow.  The area around Grafton is the only place in the Midlands that these butterflies are found.