The meadow adjacent to Nuns Walk, is a medium sized unimproved valley bottom fen meadow & swamp complex, located on the north-western edge of the Winnall Moors Meadows SSSI, in the valley of the River Itchen, Winchester. 

The meadow was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest by Natural England in 2006.

Sadly following a long period of miss management by the previous owners, the meadow is currently classified as "unfavourable (declining condition)" - so without appropriate management the site will never reach the desired favourable or recovering condition.

We are therefore working under the guidance of Natural England to protect and manage the site, to try to return it to a "favourable" status- i.e. where habitats & features are in a healthy state and are being conserved by appropriate management.

Some felling and scrub management is required in order to reduce the encroachment from the fringe, on the habitat & species it is protected for (in particular Willow Trees, Bramble & Himalayan Balsom).

We have been given consent from Natural England and the Forestry Commission to carry out this work (see below). 

• Assemblages of breeding birds.

• Lowland open waters and their margins

• Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

• Brook lamprey (Lampetra planeri)

• Bullhead (Cottus gobio)

• Floodplain fen (lowland)

• Nationally rare and scarce dragonfly species – Southern Damselfly (Coenagrion mercurial)

• Otter (Lutra lutra)

• Upland neutral grassland (MG8)

• Water vole (Arvicola terrestris)

• Wet woodland

• White-clawed (or Atlantic stream) Crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes).

• Assemblage W125 slow-flowing rivers, Assemblage W314 reed-fen & pools, Lowland meadows, Lowland mire grassland and rush pasture, Lowland mixed deciduous woodland, Lowland neutral grassland (MG8), Lowland wet neutral grassland (MG11, MG13), Lowland wetland including basin fen, valley fen, floodplain fen, waterfringe fen, spring/ flush fen and raised bog lagg.
  
  

List of present species (link to more into):

Taxon Name / Taxon Common 

• Agrostis canina / Velvet Bent

• Agrostis stolonifera / Creeping Bent

• Ajuga reptans / Bugle

• Alnus glutinosa / Alder

• Apium nodiflorum / Fool's-water-cress

• Caltha palustris / Marsh-marigold

• Cardamine hirsuta / Hairy Bitter-cress

• Cardamine pratensis / Cuckooflower

• Carex acutiformis / Lesser Pond-sedge

• Carex flacca / Glaucous Sedge

• Carex nigra / Common Sedge

• Carex panicea / Carnation Sedge

• Carex riparia  /Greater Pond-sedge

• Cerastium fontanum / Common Mouse-ear

• Cirsium palustre / Marsh Thistle

• Crataegus monogyna / Hawthorn

• Dactylis glomerata / Cock's-foot

• Epilobium / Willowherb

• Equisetum palustre / Marsh Horsetail

• Festuca pratensis / Meadow Fescue

• Festuca rubra / Red Fescue

• Filipendula ulmaria / Meadowsweet

• Galium aparine / Cleavers 

• Galium palustre / Marsh-bedstraw

• Galium verum / Lady's Bedstraw

• Geranium robertianum / Herb-Robert

• Geum rivale / Water Avens

• Glyceria fluitans / Floating Sweet-grass

• Glyceria maxima /Reed Sweet-grass

• Heracleum sphondylium / Hogweed

• Holcus lanatus / Yorkshire-fog

• Hypericum tetrapterum / Square-stalked St John's-wort

• Iris pseudacorus / Yellow Iris 

• Juncus acutiflorus / Sharp-flowered Rush

• Juncus bulbosus / Bulbous Rush