Rack Marsh

Rack Marsh is a small wet meadow beside the River Lambourn in Bagnor, on the edge of Newbury. It covers four hectares and sits on a deep layer of peat above layers of alluvium and gravel left by the river. The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust manages the site. It forms part of the Kennet and Lambourn Floodplain, a Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. The whole floodplain is also a Special Area of Conservation recognised under European rules. The marsh has a long history. Diggers cutting a garden ditch once uncovered a prehistoric canoe buried in the peat. In 1996 the rare Desmoulin’s whorl snail was found here, nearly stopping the Newbury bypass. A court later allowed the road to go ahead, reducing the reserve by half. Despite this loss, the site still shelters a wide range of wildlife. Visitors walk along grassy paths beside the slow-flowing river. Grey herons stand motionless in the shallows while kingfishers dart past. Common chiffchaffs and warblers sing from the reeds and scrub. Marsh valerian and ragged robin bloom in summer, and the air smells of water mint. Barn owls hunt over the meadow at dusk, and the occasional sedge warbler calls from the dense vegetation.