Chedworth Nature Reserve () is a nature reserve in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

.Kelham, A, Sanderson, J, Doe, J, Edgeley-Smith, M, et al., 1979, 1990, 2002 editions, 'Nature Reserves of the Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation/Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust' The site is listed in the 'Cotswold District' Local Plan 2001-2011 as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).Cotswold District Local Plan, Appendix 2, Key Wildlife Sites
The Chedworth Nature Reserve is owned and managed by the

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust The Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust is the Gloucestershire local partner in a conservation network of 46 Wildlife Trusts. The Wildlife Trusts are local charities with the specific aim of protecting the United Kingdom's natural heritage. The Gl ...

and was purchased in 1969. It was one of the earliest acquisitions of the trust which was formed earlier in the decade in 1961. Related sites Chedworth Railway Tunnel and Chedworth Woods are also listed in the 'Cotswold District' Local Plan 2001-2011 as Key Wildlife Sites (KWS). Chedworth Cutting Fault, Chedworth South Villa Cutting and Chedworth Tufa Site are listed in the 'Cotswold District' Local Plan 2001-2011 as Regionally Important Geological Sites (RIGS).Cotswold District Local Plan, Appendix 3, Regionally Important Geological Sites

Location and habitat

The reserve is located in the heart of the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jur ...

and is situated between the villages of

Chedworth Chedworth is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, southwest England, in the Cotswolds. It is known as the location of Chedworth Roman Villa, administered since 1924 by the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beaut ...

and

Withington Withington is a suburb of Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies from Manchester city centre, about south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy. Withington has a population of just ...

. It is on the south side of the

River Coln The River Coln is a river in Gloucestershire, England. It rises to the north of Brockhampton, a village to the east of Cheltenham, and flows in a south/south-easterly direction through the Cotswold Hills via Andoversford, Withington, Fosseb ...

Valley. The reserve is a relatively long stretch of former railway line ( Midland & South Western Junction Railway to become the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

). It is disused track-bed, railway cuttings and steep embankment. The line opened in 1891 and closed in 1961. The reserve is some 1800 yards long and is through ancient woodland. The woodland, Chedworth Woods, is one of the largest areas of such woodland in the Cotswolds. The reserve adjoins

Chedworth Roman Villa Chedworth Roman Villa is located near Chedworth, Gloucestershire, England and is a scheduled monument. It is one of the largest and most elaborate Roman villas so far discovered in Britain and one with the latest occupation beyond the Roman per ...

, a

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

site.'Chedworth Nature Reserve - Scenic railway to woodland refuge and geology trail', (undated) Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust The reserve terminates at the south end at the closed Chedworth Tunnel. Colonies of protected bats are recorded as hibernating in this tunnel and roost at other times of the year. The entrance is covered with a grille for their protection, and to allow the bats access. The reserve terminates at the north end at a lane called ''The White Way''. There is a

tufa Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitate out of water in unheated rivers or lakes. Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less porous) carbonate deposits, which are known as travertine. ...

spring close to the tunnel. Water containing lime emerges from underground. It flows over rocks and plants and they become covered with limescale. This is an area for liverworts and mosses. There are two embankment areas; the southern one is near the tunnel. The northern one is drier and supports a limestone grassland flora.

Geological interest

The railway construction led to the exposure of c. 180 million year old Cotswold limestone. The protection of these exposures was one of the main reasons why the trust purchased the site. The Middle

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

oolitic

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

s formed as layers of sediment in the shallow tropical seas. The structures and fossils in the different beds are significant research resources for investigating and evaluating the environmental conditions and lifeforms of those times. The bed exposures in the reserve are mostly level, but faults are visible and there are breaks in continuity. The cuttings in the reserve show a sequence in the

Bajocian In the geologic timescale, the Bajocian is an age and stage in the Middle Jurassic. It lasted from approximately 170.3 Ma to around 168.3 Ma (million years ago). The Bajocian Age succeeds the Aalenian Age and precedes the Bathonian Age. Stratig ...

stage and are considered to be one of the most accessible and best in the country. Fossils which may be seen in the limestone scree are bivalve, brachipod and echinoid. Specimen collection is only from the scree and not permitted from the exposures.

Biological interest

Chedworth Woods, through which the reserve passes, are semi-natural woodland. There is

pedunculate oak ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus. It is widel ...

and

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

. There is

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

and conifers. There is coppiced

hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...

. The reserve supports ash, hazel and

dogwood ''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or shrub ...

. primrose and

greater butterfly-orchid ''Platanthera chlorantha'', commonly known as greater butterfly-orchid, is a species of orchid in the genus '' Platanthera''. It can be found throughout Europe and Morocco. The name ''Platanthera'' is derived from Greek, meaning "broad anthers" ...

have spread from the surrounding woodland. The trackbed supports

hairy violet ''Viola hirta'' is a species of the plant genus ''Viola''. It is also called the hairy violet. As with the sweet violet, no fossil seeds of this species have been found. It is confined to the cold temperate zone, in Europe, north and west Asia, ...

autumn gentian ''Gentianella amarella'', the autumn gentian, autumn dwarf gentian, or autumn felwort, is a short biennial plant flowering plant in the gentian family, Gentianaceae. It is found throughout Northern Europe, the western and northern United States ...

, blue fleabane and large thyme (''

Thymus pulegioides ''Thymus pulegioides'', common names broad-leaved thyme or lemon thyme, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to Europe. Growing to tall by wide, it is a small spreading subshrub with strongly aromatic leaves, and lil ...

''). The margins of the track support various shrubs which includes the

wayfaring tree ''Viburnum lantana'', the wayfarer or wayfaring tree, is a species of ''Viburnum'', native to central, southern and western Europe (north to Yorkshire in England), northwest Africa, and southwestern Asia.Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flo ...

. Woodland flora such as bluebell and

ramsons ''Allium ursinum'', known as wild garlic, ramsons, cowleekes, cows's leek, cowleek, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, Eurasian wild garlic or bear's garlic, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant in the amaryllis family Amary ...

thrive, and rides in the drier woodland areas support wild strawberry. The northern embankment supports plants such a common milkwort, common centaury and

white clover ''Trifolium repens'', the white clover, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the bean family Fabaceae (otherwise known as Leguminosae). It is native to Europe, including the British Isles,Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg., E.F. 1968. ''Excursi ...

. A variety of woodland birds have been recorded and these include

tawny owl The tawny owl (''Strix aluco''), also called the brown owl, is commonly found in woodlands across Europe to western Siberia, and has seven recognized subspecies. It is a stocky, medium-sized owl, whose underparts are pale with dark streaks, an ...

nuthatch The nuthatches () constitute a genus, ''Sitta'', of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs. Mo ...

and

wood warbler The wood warbler (''Phylloscopus sibilatrix'') is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe, and just into the extreme west of Asian Russia in the southern Ural Mountains. This warbler is strong ...

. The reserve is known for the presence of

woodcock The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of wading birds in the genus ''Scolopax''. The genus name is Latin for a snipe or woodcock, and until around 1800 was used to refer to a variety of waders. The English name ...

. Deer use the site and recorded are

fallow deer ''Dama'' is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer. Name The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes, ...

roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

and

muntjac Muntjacs ( ), also known as the barking deer or rib-faced deer, (URL is Google Books) are small deer of the genus ''Muntiacus'' native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Muntjacs are thought to have begun appearing 15–35 million years ago, ...

. Adders may be found on the site and there are warning signs. Warm, humid weather may result in the emergence of the local

Roman snail ''Helix pomatia'', common names the Roman snail, Burgundy snail, or escargot, is a species of large, edible, air-breathing land snail, a pulmonate gastropod terrestrial mollusc in the family Helicidae.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. ...

Dormice A dormouse is a rodent of the family Gliridae (this family is also variously called Myoxidae or Muscardinidae by different taxonomists). Dormice are nocturnal animals found in Africa, Asia, and Europe. They are named for their long, dormant hibe ...

are recorded, and the hazel coppice provides a good habitat for them. These are a protected species. Butterflies appearing in the more open, sunny areas include the speckled wood,

comma The comma is a punctuation mark that appears in several variants in different languages. It has the same shape as an apostrophe or single closing quotation mark () in many typefaces, but it differs from them in being placed on the baseline ...

and

silver-washed fritillary The silver-washed fritillary (''Argynnis paphia'') is a common and variable butterfly found over much of the Palearctic realm – Algeria, Europe, temperate Asia, and Japan. Description The silver-washed fritillary butterfly is deep orange with ...

Conservation

The priority work is to ensure that the geological exposures are maintained.

Publications

* Kelham, A, Sanderson, J, Doe, J, Edgeley-Smith, M, et al., 1979, 1990, 2002 editions, 'Nature Reserves of the Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation/Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust' * 1986, 'Chedworth Nature Reserve: Booklet 1, Introduction', Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation * 'Chedworth Nature Reserve - Scenic railway to woodland refuge and geology trail', (undated) Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust * 'Nature Reserve Guide – discover the wild Gloucestershire on your doorstep' - 50th Anniversary, January 2011, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust
Image:Former railway bridge in Chedworth Woods - geograph.org.uk - 447752.jpg, Bridge over former railway, the entrance to the reserve (steps) Image:Cheltenham to Cirencester Railway Track Bed - geograph.org.uk - 15577.jpg, The reserve - looking down the trackbed Image:View across valley to Chedworth Woods - geograph.org.uk - 1548544.jpg, View across valley to Chedworth Woods Image:Looking north to Chedworth Woods - geograph.org.uk - 447762.jpg, A view north to Chedworth Woods Image:North from the Chedworth Woods footpath - geograph.org.uk - 447720.jpg, North from Chedworth Woods footpath Image:Footpath through Chedworth Woods - geograph.org.uk - 447713.jpg, A footpath into Chedworth Woods Image:Gate into Chedworth Woods - geograph.org.uk - 885762.jpg, Gate into Chedworth Woods Image:Road through Chedworth Woods - geograph.org.uk - 885777.jpg, Road through Chedworth Woods Nature reserves in Gloucestershire Cotswolds Rail trails in England