East Winch Common (credit Richard Osbourne)
East Winch Common (credit Richard Osbourne)
Slow worm (credit: Mark Ollet)
East Winch Common
Location
Buses X94 and 32 stop in East Winch village, five minutes walk away.
OS Map Reference
TF 698 161View on What3Words
Know before you go
Dogs
When to visit
Opening times
Dawn till dusk, every day, all year roundBest time to visit
All year roundAbout the reserve
A great place to take a summer stroll among the fragrant, purple heather.
Explore the network of sandy paths on a warm day and you might find lizards basking in the sun. In fact, a host of reptiles such as grass snakes, adders and slow worms all live on the common and in its ponds, making the reserve a rewarding place to explore.
For the naturalist, it contains many interesting plants and invertebrates that have been lost from elsewhere in the county, in part thanks to NWT’s restoration work. We have restored the common's ponds and removed much of the domineering purple moor-grass and scrub to maintain an open heathland landscape.
Ponies graze here, helping to maintain the diverse heathland vegetation. This in turn supports the site’s wide range of wildlife.
East Winch Common was gifted to NWT in 1973 by the famous cartoonist - Osbert Lancaster.
Species
Habitat
Contact us
Seasonal highlights
Spring
Invertebrates: green hairstreak butterfly.
Reptiles: adder.
Summer
Reptiles: grass snake, slow worm.
Plants: southern marsh orchid, St. John's wort.
Autumn
Birds: linnet, meadow pipit.
Winter
Birds: siskin.
Mammals: brown hare.
