Nature Reserves

Gallery pictureGallery pictureGallery pictureGallery pictureGallery picture

Widnell Park, Piddington, North OxfordshireStreet MapGoogle MapPhotos

Widnell Park
Managed by:Piddington Parish Council
OS grid reference:SP 634 173
Nearest postcode:OX25 1PS
Usual work:Pond restoration, tree planting, fencing, coppicing

Widnell Park is a small pocket of countryside just outside Piddington that used to belong to the MOD until it was purchased by the parish council in 1980. The site includes woodland and a pond that is thought could become an important site for the Great Crested Newts in the area.

Conservation Management

OCV is to assist at the site by restoring the pond using puddled clay to line it in order to help retain and enhance this important habitat. Trees are also to be planted by the local community as part of the as part of the Woodland Trust's Jubilee scheme. Other tasks that OCV may assist at within this reserve include fencing and gate instillation to maintain barriers that protect the habitats and guide visitors. There is also potential for coppicing at the site in order to prolong the life of the woodland and also to create more diverse habitats by allowing more sunlight to reach the woodland floor. Hedgelaying may also be performed here in order to provide thick cover for birds, small mammals, invertebrates and insects, and a natural boundary from humans and deer.

Directions

From central Oxford come out on the London Road or go round the ring road to the Headington roundabout then take the turn for Barton. Continue through on the Bayswater Road. Go straight on at the staggered crossroads, (right and immediately left) towards Woodperry and Horton-cum-Studley. Then take the Brill Road over the M40, through Boarstall and left onto the B4011, then follow the B4011 as it goes left at what is almost a crossroads. Pass Boarstall Prison on the left and turn right onto Widnell Lane just before the railway level crossing. The lane skirts an MOD facility on the left for about 3/4 mile and then Widnell Park is on the left, with a small car park.