Cossington Meadows

Location and access

SK 597134 (Sheet 246, Explorer) The reserve is situated to the west of Cossington village, alongside the River Soar, between the City of Leicester and Loughborough. Cars can be parked off the road outside the main entrance near Cossington Mill. There is also access at several other points, where public footpaths enter the reserve (see map).

In order to minimise disturbance to wildlife on the reserve visitors are asked to stay on the footpaths, which are being marked. 

Please bear with us while we develop this new and exciting nature reserve. Stay away from machinery working on the site.

Dogs are permitted on this nature reserve but only under strict control - able to bring to heel at all times. Dogs should be kept out of the water.

Status

Cossington Meadows covers 80 ha and is the largest of the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust’s five nature reserves in the Soar valley. The land was purchased by the Trust in 2004.

History, habitats and management

The area currently occupied by Cossington Meadows Nature Reserve was quarried for gravel during the 1980s and 1990s, the pits then being filled with bricks and other ‘inert’ waste, with finer material laid over this. Some parts were finally covered with top-soil and sown with grass, others were left, with several deep holes in the north of the site filling with water to form lakes. Not all of the site was dug, however, including a strip alongside the river. A number of the original tall hedges were retained.

Cossington Meadows lies next to the river, which floods occasionally in winter. As the flood water recedes shallow pools of water form on the reserve, especially at the northern end. The pools, which are also boosted by rainwater, dry up in the summer exposing areas of mud, forming good habitat for many birds. The flood-water deposits the seeds of wetland plants all over the reserve and as a consequence marsh and swamp vegetation have developed.

Since acquiring the reserve the Trust has carried out work to create more shallow pools or ‘scrapes’, re-profiled the steep banks of ditches, dug new ponds, put out rafts for common terns to nest on and established reedbeds. Further work to shape the site will be undertaken, but natural processes such as flooding will be utilised to allow plants to colonise it. Grazing by cattle and ponies will be employed to control the growth of willow scrub and coarse vegetation, although in the short-term mowing will be necessary in places. By avoiding the use of fertilisers we can reduce the fertility of the soil pver time, which will benefit less competitive wildflowers. Tall hedges will be left to provide food and cover for insects and birds.

It is our intention to minimise the amount of work we carry out on the reserve, so that eventually grazing will be sufficient to maintain the wetland habitats, although the proportions of scrub, marsh, swamp and open water will change over the years and through the seasons.

Features of interest

The deeper pools attract wildfowl such as gadwall, tufted duck and great crested grebe, all of which breed on the reserve. In winter parties of wigeon and teal are common and rarer ducks seen include velvet scoter and garganey. Around the muddy edges of shallow water can be found waders such as green sandpiper, greenshank, oystercatcher, redshank, lapwing and little ringed plover. The last three species nest on the reserve. Grey herons are always present and other birds like kingfisher, grey wagtail and kestrel can often be located. Birds such as reed bunting and reed warbler should increase as the swamp vegetation becomes more extensive. Short-eared owls regularly winter on the reserve.

Grass-snakes, toads and frogs all breed on the reserve. Migrant hawker and black-tailed skimmer are two of the dragonflies commonly recorded and regularly seen butterflies include small copper, common blue and brimstone.

Many wetland plants have already colonised the reserve. Amongst the more notable are flowering-rush, purple loosestrife, ragged-robin and blue water-speedwell.