Churchtown Farm Community nature reserve

Habitat type: Grassland, wetland, woodland and tidal mudflats Size of Reserve 61ha (150 acres) OS Map No. 108 Grid reference SX 419 575 (down Wearde Road) or SX 417 582 (behind St Stephen's Church) Best time to visit: Summer - for butterflies and flowers
Cornwall Wildlife Trust encourages the use of environmentally friendly forms of transport wherever possible. Click on the locator map above to go to the National Cycle Network website and view an Ordnance Survey map of this reserve highlighting nearby cycle routes.

Directions:

Locate Saltash College. At the junction with St Stephen's Road turn left and follow the road until the next junction. Turn right down Wearde Road, and pass the school. The reserve entrance is found a few hundred yards further along the road on the right down an old trackway.

Churchtown Farm

Access:

Limited roadside parking. The majority of the site is accessed via permissive footpaths and there are some public rights of way. In some areas access is restricted because of farming management. There are some hard surfaces that lead to the heart of the site, affording access to wonderful views, but many of the footpaths can be wet and slippery, with some inclines.

Classification

Description:

The reserve has a picturesque setting between the Tamar and the Lynher estuaries. The majority of habitat is farmland, which is now managed for wildlife and includes wetland, hay meadows, arable land and hedgerows. The two quarries are designated as County Geology Sites.

Characteristic wildlife of this reserve:

The redshank is a medium-sized wader with grey-brown plumage and orangey-coloured legs and bill base. During flight, its pointed white rump and broad white trailing edge to wing make it easily recognisable. The redshank does not breed in Cornwall, but it can be seen on the estuary throughout the year excepting a few weeks in late May and most of June.

The colourful goldfinch can be seen year-round at Churchtown Farm, sometimes in large flocks. This is a small red-faced bird with rich gold patches on its wings. They benefit from the management of arable fields here which provide a valuable source of seeds for these and other farmland birds.

Other information:

Nearby is Antony House. This is one of Cornwall's finest 18th century houses and has been the home of the Carew family for almost 600 years.

Lowhill and Forder quarries were worked in the 19th century for hornblende dolerite (often known as green stone), an igneous rock used as roadstone. At the entrance to Lowhill Quarry, the contact between the dolerite and the Wearde sandstone can be seen.

Churchtown Farm is a Community Nature Reserve, involving local people in all areas of its life.

Click here further information, including how to get involved with Churchtown Farm Community Nature Reserve project

These information leaflets about Churchtown Farm Community nature reserve, plus other Cornwall Wildlife Trust nature reserve leaflets, are now available. More ...

Cornwall Wildlife Trust Nature Reserves

List of reserves ... Armstrong Woods Bakers Pit Beales Meadow Bissoe Valley Bosvenning Common Cabilla and Redrice Woods Caer Brân Carn Moor Chûn Downs Churchtown Farm Chyverton Devichoys Wood Downhill Meadow Fal-Ruan Estuary Five Acres Fox Corner Greena Moor Halbullock Hawkes Wood Helman Tor Kemyel Crease Kennall Vale Lanvean Bottoms Loggan's Moor Loveny Lower Lewdon Luckett Maer Lake Nansmellyn Marsh North Predannack Downs Park Hoskyn Pendarves Wood Penlee Battery Phillips's Point Priddacombe Downs Prideaux Wood Quoit Heathland Redlake Cottage Meadows Ropehaven Cliffs Rosenannon Downs St Erth Pits St George's Island Swanvale Sylvia's Meadow Tamar Estuary Tincombe Trebarwith Tresayes Tywardreath Marsh Upton Meadow Upton Towans Ventongimps Moor Welcombe & Marsland Windmill Farm

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