Fox Covert is a nature reserve near Royston in

North Hertfordshire North Hertfordshire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Letchworth. The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the amalgamation of the Urban district (Great Britain and Ir ...

. It is owned and managed by the

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust manages over 40 nature reserves covering nearly north of London, in Hertfordshire and the historic county of Middlesex, part of which is divided between the London boroughs of Barnet, Enfield, Harrow and Hill ...

. The site is a mature beech woodland that was planted in the nineteenth century.

White helleborine ''Cephalanthera damasonium'', the white helleborine, is a species of orchid. It is widespread across much of Europe, the Middle East and Asia. ''Cephalanthera damasonium'' is the type species of the genus ''Cephalanthera''. Description ''Cephal ...

orchids are commonly found as ground flora around the area. The reserve houses

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

and various species of birds. In 1964, Fox Covert was offered as a gift by Mr. Fordham of

Letchworth Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 33,249. Letchworth ...

and became the Trust's first nature reserve. Fox Covert borders the

Therfield Heath Therfield Heath is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest and Local Nature Reserve on the chalk escarpment just north of Therfield, Hertfordshire; since it lies south-west of the town of Royston it is also known locally as Royston He ...

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

, and has the

Hertfordshire Way The Hertfordshire Way is a circular walk around the county of Hertfordshire, England. The total length is which was originally fully waymarked in the anticlockwise direction but is now waymarked in both directions. One section has two optiona ...

long distance footpath passing through it.

References

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