River Lea Waterfall at Batford - geograph

Batford Springs is a Local Nature Reserve in

Harpenden Harpenden () is a town and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The population of the built-up area was 30,240 in the 2011 census, whilst the population of the civil parish was 29,448. Har ...

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 ...

. It is owned and managed by Harpenden Town Council, and most work on the site is undertaken by the Batford Springs Volunteers. The declaring authority is St Albans City Council. The main feature of the reserve is a number of small springs which are the source of chalk streams and ponds. The

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in South East England. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Creek. It is one of t ...

runs through the site, and there is grassland and a small wood. In January 2015 the site was extended by the purchase of land between Marquis Lane and Piggotshill Lane. There is also a children's area. Wildlife includes kingfishers and a variety of fish species in the river, including roach, barbel and a substantial population of chub. Batford Springs acts as a key nursery location for fish downstream all the way to Brocket Hall, where fish movement is severely impeded by man-made obstacles. The next fish nursery is the River Lea adjacent to the North Lake at Stanborough Park. There is access from the north end of Station Road.

Gallery

File:Batford Springs Information Board 1.jpg, Batford Springs Information Board & Map File:Batford Springs Information Board 2.jpg, Batford Springs Information Board File:Batford Springs River Lea 1.jpg, River Lea at Batford Springs File:Batford Springs Reeds 1.jpg, Reeds at Batford Springs File:Batford Springs Reedfen.jpg, Reedfen at Batford Springs File:Batford Springs Reedfen Plaque.jpg, Plaque on Reedfen Boardwalk at Batford Springs File:Batford Springs Reedfen Boardwalk 1.jpg, Reedfen Boardwalk at Batford Springs File:Batford Springs Reedfen Boardwalk 2.jpg, Reedfen Boardwalk at Batford Springs File:Batford Springs Reedfen Boardwalk 3.jpg, Reedfen Boardwalk at Batford Springs

References

External links

Batford Springs Volunteers

Wiki Voyage - Harpenden
{{Local Nature Reserves in Hertfordshire Local Nature Reserves in Hertfordshire Harpenden