Roding Valley Meadows Local Nature Reserve

 Size: 56.5 Hectares

Grid Reference: TQ 430 942

Owners: Epping Forest District Council and the Grange Farm Centre Trust

LNR Declaration: 13 April 1986

Access: The reserve is open all year round with numerous paths both hard-surfaced paths and on grass. The gradients over the reserve for the most part are gentle. There are no stiles on the nature reserve, but there are numerous gates. After heavy rain and through the winter the meadows can be uneven and are prone to flooding. There will also be cattle grazing on the fields in the late autumn and winter normally bewteen September and March. The main reserve car park is on Roding Lane, Chigwell. Click here for location

What to see? The meadows consist of flower-rich unimproved hay meadows which are bounded by miles of thick hedgerows. There is also a small amount of scrub, secondary woodland and tree plantation. The best time to visit for the wildlflowers is mid May onwards. 

Ownership and management. The nature reserve is owned by Epping Forest District Council and the Grange Farm Centre Trust. However, since 1986 and their declaration as a local nature reserve the meadows have been managed on behalf of the two owners by the Essex Wildlife Trust.

Site Description: The reserve is a mosaic of old hedgerows and flower rich meadows that nestle beside the River Roding as it flows through Loughton and Chigwell. Today, the meadows represent the largest surviving area of traditionally managed flood-plain hay meadow and marsh in Essex and probably South East England.

Four of the fields are designated a site of special scientific interest reflecting their huge importance for biodiversity nationally. More details of this can be found on the Natural England website. 

The management of the reserve involves complex management. In early summer a traditional haycut is undertaken and this is followod in the autumn and winter by aftermath grazing. The rare breed Long Horn cows supplied by local farmer do this important job. The meadows are not just grassland as the fields are enclosed by a network of hedgerows totaling almost ten miles in length. These hedges need manageing and each year a programme or laying and coppicing takes place.

Further information about the reserve can be found on the links below:

• Roding Valley Meadows - Wildlife Gem 
• Roding Valley Meadows - Links to our past
• Roding Valley Meadows - Hedgerows and veteran trees
• Roding Valley Meadows - RAF Chigwell.
• Roding Valley Meadows LNR Management Plan 2009 - 2018 (download 1.8kb) 

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