Wellington Castle Fields

A mainly wet grassland site with woodland fringes on a steep north-facing slope on the Blackdown Hills; access is best gained by parking at NT Wellington Monument which you pass on the walk down to the reserve.

Location

Wellington Castle Fields,
Voxmoor

Wellington

Somerset

OS Map Reference

ST 140 173

Know before you go

Size

11 hectares

Parking information

Either park in NT Wellington Monument (pay and display) then walk downhill on public footpath to the reserve or limited roadside parking on narrow lane at ST 141 181 and walk souith down Beacon Lane on public footpath.

Grazing animals

Grazed with cattle and ponies.

Walking trails

There is a lot of very rough grassland and paths can be very wet and muddy particularly in winter.

Access

Open access

Dogs

On a lead

Visit the 'Dog walking on reserves' page in the Contact section for more information.

When to visit

Opening times

Open at all times

Best time to visit

April to July

About the reserve

The fields here include a variety of habitats; unimproved and semi improved grassland, woodland and areas of bracken and scrub. The site has a great flora and fauna.

The reserve is mostly grassland with small areas of woodland on a steep north-facing slope of the Blackdown Hills. The grassland here is unimproved species rich pasture supporting rare plants such as Dyers Greenweed, Sneezewort and Common Spotted Orchids. Due to a spring line crossing the reserve some of the grassland is very damp which suites Devil's-bit Scabious, Betony, Common Fleabane and Meadow Thistle. Other plants here include Mat-grass, Quaking- grass and the sedges Flea- sedge and Pale-sedge. The small woodland had several fine trees mostly Oak, Beech and Sweet Chestnut with the low shrub Bilberry growing beneath them.

Reserve conservation management - To maintain this important habitat the site is grazed with cattle and ponies.

Wellington Castle Fields is also close to NT Wellington Monument.