Fowlmere RSPB reserve

Fowlmere is an RSPB nature reserve in Cambridgeshire, spread over 40 hectares between the villages of Fowlmere and Melbourn. It sits on land once covered by open water that attracted wildfowl before 1800. The site includes reedbeds and pools fed by chalk springs, and a chalk stream flows through it. Three hides allow views over the water, two of them designed for wheelchair users. Kingfishers dart along the stream while water rails skulk in the reeds, joined by sedge warblers, reed warblers and grasshopper warblers in summer. The reserve has a history tied to watercress growing. In the 1890s local growers dug ponds and laid clay beds to cultivate watercress. They piped spring water to the surface for washing and packing before sending crops by horse and cart to London markets. Watercress farming ended in the 1960s, leaving the beds to fill with reeds. The RSPB bought the site in 1977 with funds from a junior birdwatch sponsored event. Management now keeps the habitats varied, cutting and burning sections of reedbed each autumn to stop them drying out. A 3-kilometre nature trail winds through the reserve, with parts suitable for wheelchairs. Dragonflies and damselflies patrol the pools on warm days from spring until autumn. Cattle and sheep graze one area to encourage wildflowers such as cowslips and southern marsh orchids. Another section is mown each late autumn, and cuttings are removed to keep the soil poor and support weaker native plants. The reserve’s chalk grassland is slowly returning, adding colour and variety to the landscape.