Community WildSpaces in Great Glen

Great Glen Community Wildspace  manages several areas in and around Great Glen under licence from the landowners. These include three quite different areas known as Burton Brook Wildspace, the Embankments  and the ‘Meanders’ along the River Sence in the Recreation Ground, Bindleys Lane.

The map shows the location of these areas in the village of Great Glen.

Burton Brook Wildspace

This is the largest of the Wildpaces and was created by the Environment Agency in 1998, as part of a flood alleviation scheme in the village, to prevent flooding by collecting excess water from the Burton Brook when there is heavy or excessive rain. It is about 9 acres in area and can be accessed by the footpath that leads from the rear car park of the Pug & Greyhound pub on London Road, or via the footpath leading from the end of The Nook (also off London Road), nearby.

Here there is a diversity of habitat including a large pond, stream (Burton brook), wetland area with reed bed, wildflower bank, hedging grassland and native trees. The Environment Agency recently found a colony of water voles here and have put in extra channels in the waterway to encourage them.

Satellite image of Burton Brook Wildspace

River Sence ‘Meanders’

The group helps to manage the areas along the riverside in the Recreation Ground (see map above). This is an area dedicated to growing wildflowers and encouraging wildlife along the river’s edge. It area can be accessed either from the car park in the Recreation Ground (via the playing fields), or by one of two footpaths leading from Bridgewater Drive. The area consists of meadows, a community orchard with different types of apple tree and some wetland meadows along the river. We plan to expand the number of plant species in this area as pat of the Pollinators project with Trent Rivers Trust that started in 2021.

Orchard Lane embankments over the A6

Here is a picture after mowing and raking the grass on one of the embankments on October, though it is difficult to show its size without an aerial photograph!

These four embankments flank the farm track over the A6 road into Leicester and can be reached by walking along the track from Orchard Lane in the village. They were formed during construction of a flyover of the A6 bypass during 2005. With permission from the landowner the Wildspace group manages the site for the benefit of a variety of wildflowers and have replanted a hedge with hawthorn and native trees and established a large patch of greater knapweed, a later flowering plant that supports pollinating insects. We have regularly mown two of the four embankments, with the aim of encouraging more unusual wild flowers to thrive. Wild flowers thrive best where they are not dominated by grass so it is important to mow in late summer to encourage them.

Embankment to the north of A6, after mowing and raking.

Here is a picture after mowing and raking the grass on one of the embankments on October, though it is difficult to show its size without an aerial photograph!

Embankment near A6 bridge after the grass was cut and hay raked off, in early October.

GG2′ marked in brown

We had hopes of starting some work in this area but there has been a delay in adoption by the Local Authority.