WildNet - Kieron Huston
Bradlaugh Fields
A flower-rich limestone grassland reserve in the middle of Northampton
Location
Aintree Road
Northampton
Northamptonshire
Northampton
Northamptonshire
Northampton
OS Map Reference
SP 765 639
Know before you go
Size
18 hectares
Entry fee
NoGrazing animals
YesWalking trails
Some paths of tarmac but mainly grass. Some areas steep, wet and uneven
Access
Unsuitable for wheelchairs
Dogs
On a lead
When to visit
Opening times
Open at all timesBest time to visit
May to SeptemberAbout the reserve
These three meadow areas, close to Northampton town centre, are part of the larger Bradlaugh Fields Park complex. The reserve contains fine examples of unimproved, semi-natural limestone grassland and fragments of ancient hedgerow. Plants typical of calcareous grassland are found here, including yellow-rattle, knapweeds, lady's bedstraw, red bartsia and bird's-foot trefoil. If you are lucky and visit at dawn or dusk foxes and badgers are commonly spotted around the Bradlaugh Fields complex.
Species
- European badger
- Field vole
- Red Fox
- Blue tit
- Chaffinch
- Chiffchaff
- Fieldfare
- Kestrel
- Great spotted woodpecker
- Green woodpecker
- Long-tailed tit
- Sparrowhawk
- Willow warbler
- Marbled White
- Yellow Meadow Ant
- Adder's-tongue fern
- Bee Orchid
- Common Bird's-foot-trefoil
- Common Spotted-orchid
- Salad Burnet
- Red Bartsia
- Common Twayblade
- Yellow-rattle
- Bullfinch
- Greater Knapweed
Habitat
Contact us
Contact number: 01604 405285
Contact email: northamptonshire@wildlifebcn.org
Environmental designation
Local Nature Reserve (LNR)