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 Sence ‘meanders’ (in the recreation ground).
The map showing the location of these areas in the village of Great Glen is below.
Burton Brook Wildspace
This is the biggest of the Wildpaces and was created by the Environment Agency in 1998, as part of a flood alleviation scheme 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.
A satellite image of the area
Embankments over the A6 near Orchard Lane
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 made during construction 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. We have regularly mown the largest 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.
Here above 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!
Sence ‘Meanders‘
Finally we help to manage these areas along the riverside in the Recreation Ground (off Bindleys Lane in the centre of the village, see map above). It can be accessed via the entrance from the Recreation Ground (via the playing fields), or by a track from Bridgewater Drive. The area consists meadows, a small community orchard and some wetland habitat along the river. The managed area also includes land adjacent to houses in Bridgewater Drive further north along the River Sence.