Ulverscroft is a nature reserve north of

Markfield Markfield is a large village in both the National Forest and Charnwood Forest and in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England. The settlement dates back to at least the time of the Norman conquest and is mentioned in th ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is managed by the

Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust The Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT) is one of 46 wildlife trusts across the United Kingdom. It manages nature reserves in Leicestershire and Rutland, and was founded in 1956 as the Leicestershire and Rutland Trust for Nature Con ...

(LRWT) and part of it is owned by the

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 ...

and part by the LRWT. The site is partly in Ulverscroft Valley, which is a

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 ...

. The site has diverse habitats with woodland, heath, wet grassland, a pond, a meadow, marshes and

sphagnum bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

. The meadow has a rich flora, including

fragrant orchid ''Gymnadenia conopsea'', commonly known as the fragrant orchid or chalk fragrant orchid, is a herbaceous plant of the family Orchidaceae native to northern Europe. Etymology The name of the genus ''Gymnadenia'' is formed from Greek words (', ...

devil's-bit scabious ''Succisa pratensis'', also known as devil's-bit or devil's-bit scabious, is a flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. It differs from other similar species in that it has four-lobed flowers, whereas small scabious and field s ...

and

bitter vetch Bitter vetch is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * ''Vicia ervilia'', called bitter vetch or ervil, an ancient grain legume crop of the Mediterranean region. *''Vicia orobus'', called wood-bitter vetch, a legume found in Atlantic ...

. There is access from Whitcrofts Lane.

References

{{Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust