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The Great Britain Guide

Wildlife reserves · West Midlands

Brandon Marsh

ModernWarwickshire Wildlife TrustFree admission♿ Wheelchair: limited

Brandon Marsh — nature reserve in the United Kingdom.

Brandon Marsh, wildlife reserves in Warwickshire

Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
2 h–4 h
Best time of year
Autumn & winter (migration & wildfowl)
Nearest railway station
Copsewood Miniature Railway · 3.2 km
  • Free entry
  • Family-friendly
  • Dog-friendly
  • Limited wheelchair access

About

Brandon Marsh is a wildlife reserve in the United Kingdom. Records date its origin to 1981. It covers approximately 92 km². Heritage designation: Site of Special Scientific Interest. Owned by Lafarge. Managed by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. Wikidata describes it as: "nature reserve in the United Kingdom". Coordinates: 52.3762°, -1.4359°.

Photo gallery

Protected designations

  • Site of Special Scientific Interest: Brandon Marsh SSSI
  • Site of Special Scientific Interest: Ryton and Brandon Gravel Pits SSSI

Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.

From the Wikipedia article

Brandon Marsh is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and nature reserve in Warwickshire, England. It is situated adjacent to the River Avon, near the village of Brandon, a few miles east of Coventry. The reserve is also the headquarters of the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. Formerly used for sand and gravel quarrying, the 92 hectares (230 acres) site is owned by French industrial company LaFarge Industries and is leased to the Trust. Today, Brandon Marsh is a mixture of flooded gravel pits, fen, scrubland, reedbeds and woodland, much of which is uncommon habitat for the local area. The site is particularly important for birdlife, with a wide range of breeding and wintering birds—237 different species had been recorded up to the end of 2018. The reserve also supports a variety of mammals and insects, over 500 species of plant, and more than 570 species of fungi. The nature reserve and Visitor Centre are open to the public seven days a week.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

History

Although the landscape features of the site are mainly derived from gravel pits and settling pools alongside the River Avon, the area was originally farmland, and the first pools were created by mining subsidence in the 1940s and 1950s caused by workings at Binley Colliery. The Brandon Marsh Conservation Group was formed in 1968, and by 1973 the site had been confirmed as an SSSI. In 1981, the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust (the successor to the West Midlands Trust) came to an agreement with Lafarge whereby the site is leased for a period of 99 years at a peppercorn amount of £1 a year, leading to the creation of the nature reserve. The first bird hides were constructed in 1984, overlooking…

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
52.3762, -1.4359
County
Warwickshire
District
Rugby
Parish
Brandon and Bretford
Postcode
CV3 3GW
Parliamentary constituency
Rugby
Established
1981
Nearest railway station
Copsewood Miniature Railway3.2 km

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

Where is Brandon Marsh?
Brandon Marsh is in Warwickshire, the West Midlands, United Kingdom (postcode CV3 3GW), in the parish of Brandon and Bretford.
When was Brandon Marsh built?
Built or established in 1981.
Who owns Brandon Marsh?
Brandon Marsh is owned by Lafarge and operated by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust.
Is Brandon Marsh a listed building?
Brandon Marsh is officially recognised as Site of Special Scientific Interest listed.
Is Brandon Marsh a protected site?
Yes — Brandon Marsh is part of the Brandon Marsh SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest and the Ryton and Brandon Gravel Pits SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Is Brandon Marsh free to visit?
Yes, Brandon Marsh is free to enter.