Wilwell Farm Nature Reserve

Wilwell Farm Nature Reserve lies on the edge of Ruddington in Nottinghamshire. Once ordinary farmland, it became a cutting in the 1890s when the Great Central Railway’s London Extension was built. The line ran south to Ruddington station and north to Arkwright Street station. After the railway closed in 1969, plans to fill the cutting with rubbish were dropped. Local people argued successfully for it to become a nature reserve instead. The reserve is now a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Local Nature Reserve. Its slopes and damp hollows support a wide variety of wild plants and insects. Botanists recognise uncommon species such as adder’s-tongue fern and pepper-saxifrage. The reserve also shelters birds like skylarks and linnets among the grassland and scrub. A network of paths winds through the reserve, letting visitors explore its quiet corners. In spring, orchids appear along the banks. Summer brings butterflies over the meadows. The old railway bridges frame views of the cutting’s steep sides and the sky beyond. On clear days the skyline of Nottingham can be seen to the north.