High Batts Nature Reserve
From Thursday 24th March 2022 the Pond Hide is closed. This is because we need to make some urgent repairs which are essential for safety. Update: after a safety inspection on 26th March, the Pond Hide is open again.
Saturday 5th March was sunny, if a little cold first thing. The team of volunteers raked cut grass by the ride, then turned their attention to removing tree guards from 4-year-old saplings on Pennycroft. The mesh type of guard has
After the recent closure due to flooding on Sunday 20th February 2022, the waters have subsided and it is safe to visit the Reserve again. High Batts will therefore be open from today, Thursday 24th February 2022.
The Reserve is closed from the evening of Sunday 20th February 2022. This is due to flooding after the series of storms that have blown in from the West. Please check this website to find out when High Batts opens
The Muck-In Morning on 5th February 2022 was organised by Generals Pan and Laurie, who did a first-class job. The troops (and the generals) set about coppicing willow near the North Clearing, and by the end of the morning we’d
A hardcore/elite group of volunteers turned out on a cold and foggy morning to tackle a variety of jobs. The tasks included tree-guard collecting, pollarding of trees, building screens by a hide, and preparing a wall for re-pointing (pictured above).
This fox was seen swimming in the river Ure at High Batts on Friday 12th November 2021 by eagle-eyed member Eric Ward. The High Batts lifebuoy rings were not required.
There was a good turnout for the Muck-In Morning on 6th November. The first rather surprising task was herding sheep that had escaped from their pen onto the Reserve. They were successfully coralled. Then the volunteers’ attention turned to raking
Fourteen members came to the Muck-In Morning on 23rd October 2021. Some are pictured above, watching large flocks of lapwings. Tasks tackled included: hay-raking on the track in Pennycroft and in the Reserve mending potholes in the track leading to
At the Muck-In Morning on 11th September 2021, the volunteers raked cut grass in the Pennycroft area. It was then forked up into the High Batts dumper truck and taken off to be composted. There are several reasons for cutting