Abington Meadows

An urban reserve, restored for wildlife

Location

Weston Mill Lane
Northampton
Northamptonshire
NN3 3HJ

OS Map Reference

SP 791 608
A static map of Abington Meadows

Know before you go

Size
10 hectares

Grazing animals

Grazing animals at certain times of the year

Walking trails

Gravel and dirt paths, often wet and sometimes flooded.

Access

Access from Nene Way and cycle way

Dogs

On a lead

When to visit

Opening times

Open throughout the year

Best time to visit

Winter and Summer

About the reserve

This is an urban reserve just off the A45, and its marshy grassland is home to such a tremendous diversity of wildlife that it falls within the Nene Valley Special Protection Area. We manage the reserve on behalf of Northants County Council. 

The site contains locally rare seminatural wetland habitats, which include wet grassland, marginal vegetation and fen/swamp communities, river backwaters, ponds, reedbed, willow scrub and mature hedgerows. There plenty of wintering birds on site, and interesting plants; this is one of the few sites in Northamptonshire known for pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium), a nationally rare member of the mint family. It is also an excellent spot for invertebrates – more than 400 species have been recorded here.

To manage Abington Meadows, we graze the meadow with cattle to help maintain the structure of the grass sward, and regularly cut back scrub and willow.  

Additional information

  • Scroll down to see the reserve boundary. Please note the boundary map is for indication purposes only and does not show the Wildlife Trusts definitive land boundary. 

FOR ANY MEDIA ENQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM:   communicationsteam@wildlifebcn.org or 01954 713500 and ask for comms team.

Contact us

Contact number: 01604 405285

Location map

Betony at Upwood Meadows June  - c. Robert Enderby

Betony at Upwood Meadows June  - c. Robert Enderby

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Did you enjoy your visit? From donating to volunteering, there are many different ways you can help us restore and protect local wildlife. We can't do this without you!

How you can help

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