Dinton Pastures Country Park

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Snail sculpture at the entrance to Dinton Pastures Country Park

Dinton Pastures Country Park is a country park in the civil parish of St Nicholas Hurst, in the borough of Wokingham, near Reading in the English county of Berkshire.

Geography and site[]

The park is 450 acres (180 ha) in size.[1] It has seven lakes, two rivers, three public bird hides, and meadows.[2] One of the lakes, Lavells Lake is designated as a local nature reserve.[3] The two rivers that flow through the park are the River Loddon and the Emm Brook.[4][5] The Museum of Berkshire Aviation and the headquarters of the British Entomological and Natural History Society are both located in the park.[6][7]

The site is popular for a number of sports including sailing, angling, kayaking, and canoeing.[2] Other facilities include play areas and a cafe.[8][9]

History[]

Anglo Saxons farmed the park's river meadows and called the area Whistley, where "wisc" means marshy meadows and "lei" means a woodland clearing.[10] From the start of the 17th century, much of the area then belonged to Windsor Forest.[11]

The present day cafe was originally a farmhouse built in 1904, which was called 'High Chimneys'.[12] In 1924 the area was sold to a farmer who renamed the farm after his home village of Dinton, near Aylesbury.[13]

The country park is part of the river Loddon's flood plain and so makes a good source of gravel, between 1969 and 1979 an extensive gravel extraction program was carried out. Much of the gravel was used for the M4 and the A329(M).[14]

In 1979 Dinton Pastures was opened to the public.[15] In 1992, part of the country park, Lavells Lake, was declared as a local nature reserve by Wokingham Borough Council.[3]

Fauna[]

The site has the following fauna:[5][11][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]

Mammals[]

Invertebrates[]

Birds[]

Amphibians and reptiles[]

Fish[]

Flora[]

The site has the following flora:[29][30][31]

Trees[]

Plants[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Walks and nature - Dinton Pastures Country Park". Dinton-pastures.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  2. ^ a b "Dinton Pastures Country Park | Wokingham Directory". Directory.wokingham.gov.uk. 2016-08-31. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  3. ^ a b "Natural England - Special Sites". Lnr.naturalengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  4. ^ "Friends of the Emm Brook". foteb.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  5. ^ a b "Fishing - Dinton Pastures Country Park". Dinton-pastures.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  6. ^ "West Berkshire Council - Dinton Pastures Country Park - Wokingham Local Offer". Fis.westberks.gov.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  7. ^ "HOME - British Entomological & Natural History Society". Benhs.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  8. ^ "Children's play park". Dintonpastures.co.uk. 2014-05-07. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  9. ^ "Dragonfly cafe". Dintonpastures.co.uk. 2016-01-09. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  10. ^ "Walker's Walks: September 2005 - Dinton Pastures". Walkerswalks.typepad.com. 2005-09-23. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  11. ^ a b "A World of Water and Wildlife at Dinton Pastures - Walks". The AA. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  12. ^ "History of Dinton Pastures". Dintonpastures.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  13. ^ "History - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  14. ^ "Britain Outdoors - Berkshire Dinton Pastures Trail Details". Berkshire.britainoutdoors.com. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  15. ^ "Dinton Pastures Country Park – Reading Voluntary Action". Rva.org.uk. 2013-11-08. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  16. ^ "Mammals - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  17. ^ "Butterflies & Moths - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  18. ^ "Dragonflies & Damselflies - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  19. ^ "Other Wildlife - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  20. ^ "Divers - Herons - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  21. ^ "Swans - Ducks - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 2013-11-10. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  22. ^ "Raptors - Rails - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  23. ^ "Waders - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  24. ^ "Skuas - Terns - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  25. ^ "Pigeons - Woodpeckers - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  26. ^ "Larks - Chats - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  27. ^ "Thrushes - Warblers - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  28. ^ "Crests - Crows - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  29. ^ a b "Starlings > Buntings - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  30. ^ "Flora - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  31. ^ "WDVTA 10th Anniversary Report - Parishes and Towns". Wdvta.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-02.

External links[]

Coordinates: 51°26′46″N 0°52′44″W / 51.446°N 0.879°W / 51.446; -0.879

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