Sustainable Wheatley

There is thick vegetation around the Boardwalk, which consists of the water loving plants. In wet spells, water streams through here along the old railway bed. You will see the Leaky Dams, built from willow, to stem the flow of water and prevent flooding further down, in extreme weather conditions. This will take a few years to establish. This is a good place to hear birdsong. Look out for dragonflies and damselflies.

The lower path is lined by nettles which are host to many different species of butterflies and insects.

The Pond area is fed by underground springs and in dry weather becomes a bog. Sometimes in the Spring, there are tadpoles, but they haven’t been seen in recent years. The Horsetail is a striking plant which dates back 350 million years. It loves the damp marshy ground and reproduces via rhizomes and doesn’t produce any flowers. Look out for dragonflies and damselflies which like to hover above the water in Spring/Summer. The wet areas are essential for the bats and birds which hunt for insects. Further on along the path you will see many fallen trees. It is dark, cool and damp here therefore there are many fungi, mosses, lichens and liverworts to be found on rotting wood, during wet spells and winter months.

This area is more open and allows the sunlight in to encourage meadow plants to grow. Here you will find grasses, umbellifers, wild flowers and subsequently insects and butterflies which thrive in this type of habitat. Bug hotels have been created with decaying wood from fallen trees. The Friends Group of Volunteers help to maintain the meadow by cutting and clearing during the Summer.

Some areas in the glade are boggy, attracting the soft rushes and marshy plants. There are blackberry bushes along one side which attract the butterflies and bees when in flower, and birds like to feed off the blackberries in late Summer.

One of the main features in the glade is the leaning Aspen tree. Look out for its diamond shaped, black markings on its silvery trunk, (lenticles). The silvery rounded leaves flutter and quake in the breeze, giving it the name, Quaking Aspen. The tree was probably planted in the 1970’s in their attempt to cover and landscape the cutting.

There is a Slow worm hotel hidden behind the Blackberry bushes.

The tunnel was sealed up both ends from public access in the early 90’s. It is just over a quarter of a mile long, with a slight bend in the middle. Now, it is home to several species of bats. Bat boxes have been placed in the tunnel and it is thought that there are four main species present; Natterer’s, Daubenton’s, Brown Long-eared and Barbastelle. Tell our volunteers if you would like to join our bat enthusiasts, to listen to their echolocation calls on our bat detectors. We meet some evenings, just before sundown when the weather conditions are favourable.

The area around the tunnel entrance is permanently damp, fed by streams running off the hill. The light level is low during the summer months when the leaves are on the trees. In the winter, look out for fungi – Scarlet Elf Cups which grow on the rotting wood pile.  In the Spring, bird song is amplified by the steep sides of the cutting and there is sometimes an eerie silence when the birds have ceased their springtime activities. A steep, partly stepped climb to the left of the tunnel leads to the upper path and links to a new path to Sandy Lane.

The area above the tunnel is covered with bracken during the late Spring and Summer. Hidden amongst the bracken is a reptile refuge; a metal covering which provides a warm habitat for Adders and Grass snakes. During late April, early May, Bluebells emerge across this area. 

Butterflies often are seen dancing their mating rituals in the sunlight. In the evenings at dusk, the bats can be spotted darting from tree to tree in their hunt for for insects.

For a longer walk, take the new path up towards Sandy Lane and join up with Shotover fields.

As you turn to walk back around the loop to the upper path, look out for dragonflies and damselflies by the kissing gate. They hover above the nettles on sunny days in the late Spring-Summer.

The upper path loops round and runs parallel to the lower path but on a higher level. Here, you are afforded wonderful views down to the tunnel and Butterfly Glade.

This path leads you downhill and under the Blackthorn arches which are covered in white blossom in early Spring. Look out for the Ash tree with a vertical split in one of its trunks. It was thought to heal sick children if you passed them through the hole! There are several Oak trees along the embankment. Their vast branches spread wide and provide a rich habitat for the birds and insects.

Stitchwort, Figwort, Violets, Foxgloves, and Bluebells are  among some of the wildflowers which grow along the edges of the path, but in July 2024 we made an exciting discovery! Helleborines were discovered, just before it joins with the lower path. These plants are quite a rare sight. They belong to the orchid family and flower from July to September. Helleborines have a complex system of reproduction which involves the mycorrhizal fungi in the ground. It is now important that we monitor and protect these plants for the future.