Land > Heyford Meadow
We are delighted to announce that Heyford Meadow is now officially ‘open’. This 11 acres of water meadow land running down to the River Thames at Sandford on Thames, and looking out across land owned by OPT at Kennington, was left to the Trust in the will of Mr. Tait, with the support of the Challis family.
Acquired by the Trust in 2006 the land had been neglected for many years and used in part as a scrapyard, and so was severely degraded. There was no public access, and it had become a public health and safety hazard. On acquisition the Trust arranged for the removal of over 250 tonnes of waste (including tractors, rail wagons and 6 boats) and drew up plans to maximise the benefit to the local community by creating a wildlife friendly amenity space with public access.
Over the past two years we have, with the support of our funding partners, created a nature reserve with improved public access and:
- Re-pollarded existing willow pollards to prolong the life of the trees and provide habitat for birds and bats.
- Removed damaged or non-native tree species, replacing with native ones such as rowan and field maple to provide food and shelter for birds and invertebrates.
- Planted up around the existing hedgerows with native species such as blackthorn, hazel and hawthorn providing increased food and shelter for small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds and bats
- Created ponds and a scrape to increase the diversity of the site and provide food and shelter for amphibians, reptiles, invertebrates and birds, and also, to enhance the site for water vole and otter which are known to be in the area
- Planted green willow shielding to the ponds & scrapes
- Installed a board walk allowing access over the wetter areas of site all year round, and taking in the scrape and views across the Thames to Kennington, with viewing platforms and seats along the way.
- Restored the viewing platform on the water’s edge.
- Installed a screen for viewing the scrape from the board walk without disturbing wildlife.
- Installed interpretation boards
Future years will see tree work continuing, and further work to improve the quality of the grassland over the site. If you would like to get involved as a volunteer please contact us.
All this has been made possible by through generous grants from the Pond Conservation Million Ponds Project and the Waste Recycling Group through the Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment. We are pleased to be supported in this by our project partners The Four Pillars Hotel Group whose Oxford Thames Hotel is adjacent to the Meadows.
Heyford Meadows lies immediately behind the small estate off Heyford Hill Road, and can be accessed from the bottom of Broadhurst Gardens. If visiting by car please park responsibly – preferably on Heyford Hill Lane.
Local volunteers joined us on a glorious Saturday in October to clear vegetation from the edge of the board walk. If you would be interested in joining future events please contact us.
