College Lake is a 65 hectare nature reserve in a former chalk quarry in

Pitstone Pitstone (formerly Pightelsthorn, with possible variation Pychelesthorn in 1399) is a village and civil parish in east Buckinghamshire, England. It is at the foot of the central range of the Chiltern Hills, centred east of Aylesbury and south ...

in the

Aylesbury Vale The Aylesbury Vale (or Vale of Aylesbury) is a geographical region in Buckinghamshire, England, which is bounded by the Borough of Milton Keynes and South Northamptonshire to the north, Central Bedfordshire and the Borough of Dacorum (Hertford ...

district of Buckinghamshire. It is one of the flagship reserves of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, and it has an information centre, education facilities, a café, toilets and a shop. It is in the Chilterns

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of ...

. The area east of the lake is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest called

Pitstone Quarry Pitstone Quarry is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Pitstone, Buckinghamshire. It is the area between the lake and the railway line in College Lake nature reserve. The site exposes deposits of the Middle and Late Pleistocene, ...

. The site has more than a thousand species of wildlife on the lake, marshland and grassland. Rare species include

Lapwings Lapwings (subfamily Vanellinae) are any of various ground-nesting birds (family Charadriidae) akin to plovers and dotterels. They range from in length, and are noted for their slow, irregular wingbeats in flight and a shrill, wailing cry. A gro ...

, which nest on islands in the lake, and redwing. The marshes are an important habitat for breeding waders. The grassland has a variety of flowers, which support a variety of insects, birds and mammals. There is access from Upper Icknield Way.

References

External links

College Lake Environmental Education Centre, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife TrustCollege Lake Walks, Buckinghamshire County Council
{{Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust Pitstone