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Along the Moors - Granville Nature Reserve
In the Reserve
While it is now sometime since mining and iron-founding in the Donnington Wood coalfield ended, the landscape of Granville Nature Reserve still bears the scars of its industrial past… in the form of many large pit mounds dotted around the area; the result of waste material brought to the surface through centuries of intensive mining. While this might not seem like the most promising environment for wildlife to thrive in, the spoil heaps have gradually been transformed into oak and birch woodland… after initially being colonised by mosses, lichens, grassland and scrub. The presence of calcareous clay in waste material from the mines also provides ideal conditions for wild flowers to grow. Diverse grasslands have developed at Waxhill Meadow and on top of the Barnyard pit mound, which contains species such as the oxeye daisy and hay rattle, the nectar from which supports rare butterflies like the Dingy Skipper and Green Hairstreak in early summer.
Other remnants of the area’s industrial past also provide a haven for a wide range of plants and animals. Toads, frogs and smooth newts have all made their homes in the basin of the branch canal that once served the Lodge Furnaces. Water birds, such as coots, moorhens and little grebe, also frequent the former waterway, while many plant species can be found around the edges of the canal, including water mint, gypsy wort and yellow iris. To the north of Lodge Furnaces, the water from the canal flows (via a series of ditches and culverts) into Muxton Marsh, a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest with a variety of wet and dry habitats, including a wildflower meadow, reed beds with abundant sedges and wet willow woodland. The nature reserve is managed by Shropshire Wildlife Trust, while ‘The Friends of Granville’ group has also been formed for those interested in helping to look after the site.