Temple Balsall

About the reserve

Diverse in wildlife, this pleasant wet woodland is bisected by Cuttle Brook as it makes its way to join the River Blythe.   The marshy ground here results from the past existence of an artificial lake that occupied this site before its destruction during the late 1940s.

Common reed and sedges occupy the wetter areas, and there is also a stand of butterbur which produces impressive umbrella-sized leaves in summer.    Although many plants such as bamboo and rhododendron are introductions, the reserve is rich in native flowers and gives a fine show of snowdrops and ramsons in the spring. Scarcer species include large bittercress and opposite-leaved golden-saxifrage.