Englemere Pond is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the southern outskirts of North Ascot in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Be ...

. The site is also a Local Nature Reserve. It is owned by the

Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priv ...

and managed by Bracknell Forest Borough Council.

Geography

The nature reserve is situated between Martins Heron railway station and Ascot railway station. It features a shallow acidic lake and marsh land.

History

The land for most of its recorded history has been part of a great Royal Hunting Forest that surrounded Windsor Castle. In 1990 the site was declared as a local nature reserve by Bracknell Forest Borough Council. In August 2016 an unexploded old military shell was discovered in Englemere Pond and blown up in a controlled explosion by the police.

Fauna

The fauna of the reserve include the following:

Birds

Invertebrates

Reptiles, amphibians and other vertebrates

* Grass snake * Common toad * Palmate newt * Adders

Flora

The flora of the reserve include the following:

Trees

* Oak *

Scots pine ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and or ...

Hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornb ...

* Rowan * Silver birch *

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist ...

* Cherry *

Alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...

Other

*'' Drosera rotundifolia'' *'' Calluna'' *'' Erica cinerea'' *'' Erica tetralix'' * Reed

References

{{Local Nature Reserves in Berkshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Berkshire Local Nature Reserves in Berkshire Winkfield