Purwell Ninesprings is a nature reserve 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 ...

on the edge of

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce peopl ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, England. The reserve is in the

flood-plain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

of the

River Purwell The River Purwell is a chalk stream in Hertfordshire, England. The entire course of the stream is near Hitchin. Its source is springs which rise out of the chalk bedrock at St Ippolyts, forming Ippollitts Brook. It is known as the Purwell by the ...

. It has open water with water voles and birds such as moorhens, mallards and teals. Other birds include

snipe A snipe is any of about 26 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill, eyes placed high on the head, and cryptic/camouflaging plumage. The ''Gallinago'' snipes have a near ...

and siskins. The wet ground has plants such as tussock sedge, yellow iris and water forget-me-nots.

Access

There is access from Gypsy Lane, a track which runs from the junction of Purwell Lane and Kingswood Avenue through to Hitchin Road. This route is promoted as part of the Hitchin Outer Orbital Path.

References

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