Reserves

Weston Moor

Grid ref: 443 739 / Area 59.0 hectares

Set in the heart of the Gordano Valley, Weston Moor is a wild untamed place. A large and expansive area of open moor, this reserve also includes three fields situated along the limestone ridge west of Weston-in-Gordano. Networked with species-rich rhynes, the wet grassland is important for its breeding waders and rare plants.

How to get there
We encourage visitors to use environmentally friendly forms of transport wherever possible. Most of our reserves are easily accessible by bicycle, with many close to the National Cycle Network. Click here to view a location map of the reserve on the National Cycle Network website.

Access by car is currently difficult as parking is restricted and approach to the reserve is hampered by traffic on the B3124 being particularly fast moving - please do not park and block any farm, field or private home entrances. There is no public parking in Weston-in-Gordano. Bus services to the Gordano Valley from major centres. Please contact the Trust Office for up to date information.

Access
The birds are easily disturbed and the rhynes and wet grassland areas potentially treacherous. A limited number of annual permits for the moorland area are available. Open access is restricted to the fields north of Walton Brook, which give excellent views over the moor.

Wildlife and conservation
Species-rich rhynes, wet pasture and hay meadows. The fields and rhynes are full of many rare plants such as cotton grass, marsh pennywort, yellow sedge, lesser butterfly orchid, frog-bit and fen pondweed along with nationally scarce invertebrates such as the hairy dragonfly and ruddy darter.

Thelong term management of the wet grassland areas will include the maintenance of a high water table to reverse the recent trends in field drainage and to provide suitable habitat fo invertebrates, wading birds and wildfowl. During the spring and summer the fields on the moor attract breeding lapwing, redshank and snipe. These timid waders find the waterlogged conditions of the fields to their benefit because of the readily available source of invertebrates.

Other birds such as little owl, linnet, reed bunting and skylark also breed in the area. Sparrowhawk, buzzard and green woodpecker are regularly recorded over the reserve.

The fields to the north of the road are mostly species poor, once being part of the wooded area that currently cloaks the rest of the ridge. Returning some of these fields to woodland will play an important part of the future management of the site as well as sensitively managing some areas for their calcareous grassland interest which includes notable species such as bee orchid and common rockrose.

Further information
This site was purchased and managed through support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, YANSEC, the Alan Evans Memorial Trust, Countryside Commission and public donation. Part of the site is leased to the Trust by North Somerset.