Langdon Nature Reserve (also described as Langdon Nature Discovery Park) is a 210 hectare nature reserve west of

Basildon Basildon ( ) is the largest town in the borough of Basildon, within the county of Essex, England. It has a population of 107,123. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1159. It lies east of Central London, south of the city of Chelmsford and ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. It is managed by the

Essex Wildlife Trust The Essex Wildlife Trust (EWT) is one of 46 wildlife trusts which cover the United Kingdom. The EWT was founded in 1959, and it describes itself as Essex's leading conservation charity, which aims to protect wildlife for the future and the people ...

, and forms part of the Langdon Ridge

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 ...

. This site has a wildlife garden, woodland, meadows and lakes. Over 350 species of flowering plants have been recorded, and 30 butterflies including white admirals,

green hairstreak The green hairstreak (''Callophrys rubi'') is a small butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. Etymology The genus name '' Callophrys'' is a Greek word meaning "beautiful eyebrows", while the species Latin name ''rubi'' derives from ''Rubus'' (bramb ...

s, marbled whites and grizzled skippers. The site visitor centre is on Lower Dunton Road. The site covers the area of

Dunton Plotlands The Dunton Plotlands was an area of small rural plots of land in Dunton Wayletts, southern Essex inhabited from the 1930s to the 1980s. The 'plotlands' consisted of small plots of land sold in the first half of the 20th century to people who buil ...

, inhabited from the 1930s to the 1980s by smallholders and weekend residents. The remains of small buildings are still present.

References

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