
Steven Cheshire
Know before you go
Parking information
Small car park off Ufton Fields Lane. Please note the barrier height is 2.1m.Grazing animals
Some years cattle will be grazing in Snipe Meadow.Walking trails
Wheelchair and buggy accessible paths. However please be aware there are wooden kissing gates (not radar key controlled) at the path entrance. Unfortunately mobility scooters cannot currently get through. There is a circular trail with waymarkers.Â
Access
Public footpaths around the reserve can be accessed by all.
Dogs
When to visit
Opening times
Open at all timesBest time to visit
April to AugustAbout the reserve
History of the reserve
Ufton Fields was quarried for limestone in the 1950's and waves of low spoil heaps were dumped forming a series of ridges. Pools have developed in the troughs in between and larger pools in the old quarry pits. Fast-growing, non-native trees were planted but most of the site was left to recolonise naturally. Â
What's it like to visit?
Common reed, bullrush and greater pondsedge now grow around the edges of the larger pool There are plenty of flowers in the wetland. Invertebrates prosper at Ufton Fields and are the main reason it has SSSI status There are around 28 butterfly species, including marbled white and 14 species of dragonfly and damselfly.Â
What is there to do here?
- Take a circular walk following the trail posts
- Spot flitting dragonflies
- Watch birds from the hides
What might I spot here?
Water life is abundant, with caddisfly larvae, leeches and water-scorpions all lurking in the pools. Common toads breed here every year, producing thousands of toadlets in late spring. Smooth and great crested newts live in many of the pools, and you may spot a grass snake. Â There are plenty of different birds, with flocks of tits and finches along with migrant warblers and spotted flycatcher. Scrub offers cover for turtle dove and winter thrushes. Alder attracts siskin, and goldcrests can be viewed amongst the conifers. Â Little grebe and teal occupy the pools, with perhaps a common sandpiper feeding at the pool margins. Buzzard, kestrel and sparrowhawk hunt the reserve, whilst green woodpeckers search the grassland for ants. Â
Rabbit, grey squirrel, muntjac and red fox all make a living here, with small rodents and shrews extremely abundant in the longer grass. Several species of bat can be easily viewed on summer evenings as they feed over the grassland and dark waters of the pools. Â
Species
Contact us
Environmental designation
Location map
Beth Rowland
Find out more about what you can discover at Ufton Fields!
Rachel Hall
Enjoy a video of otters at Ufton Fields kindly shared by Rachel Hall!
A Green and Healthy Ufton Project
Fancy living a wilder life? Be part of a Green and Healthy Ufton!
Spending time outdoors makes us feel better! The Green and Healthy Ufton project offers local people the chance to do just that. How? Warwickshire Wildlife Trust will be hosting a series of community events and fortnightly hands on practical sessions at Ufton Fields Nature Reserve (near Southam) to encourage local people to get out and get active.
Funded by Warwickshire Public Health, we will be continuing the success of the project in Rugby, opening up new opportunities for those living in the south of the county to get to know one of their local reserves, meet new people and learn new skills.
Community Events
Community events throughout 2019 will include family practical conservation sessions, guided walks, bat evenings, geology events and family fun days. Keep an eye out on the What’s On section of the website and our social media pages for more details.
Hands on conservation taster days
Practical conservation taster sessions will run fortnightly on Tuesday mornings (10am - 1pm) from May 2019. If you live locally and are keen to try something new, we would love to hear from you. Everyone is welcome and no time commitment is required.Â
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Your taster days
Your free taster sessions:
14th & 28th May
11th & 25th June
9th & 23rd July
6th & 20th Aug
3rd & 17th Sept
1st, 15th & 29th Oct
12th & 26th Nov
10th Dec
21st Jan 2020
4th & 18th Feb 2020
3rd March 2020.Â
To find out more or to sign up to a taster session please contact Faye Irvine, Wildlife Engagement Officer. Â Â Alternatively, just drop in on the day! We will meet in the carpark at 10am.
Ufton Fields, off Ufton Hill/A425, Southam, CV33 9PU.
t: 02476 302912
w: www.warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/GHUÂ
A Green and Healthy Ufton project is funded by Warwickshire Public Health
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Logos:
Funded by Warwickshire County Council