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The Old Pottery

 

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The Old Pottery appears in Alastair Sawday's Special Escapes

Nature / Wildlife / Animal Rescue:

The Brecks: one of the great British nature reserves with over 370sq miles of land straddling the Norfolk/ Suffolk border
Thetford Forest Park: A patchwork of pines, heathland and broadleaves providing the ideal setting for a day out, and a welcome refuge for a rich variety of animal and plant life. Peace and tranquility, as well as wide range of recreation facilities. High Lodge is the venue where children can explore trails, use the play furniture and have fun on the large grass area. Refreshments are also available in our oak framed building. Why not take a walk at Lynford in our Arboretum or around the lake? 50,000 Acres. Also very extensive cycle trails (30 miles) of graded difficulty and 'Go-Ape: see below..
Go-Ape: is an award-winning high wire forest adventure course of rope bridges, tarzan swings and zip slides up to 40 feet up in the trees. Only suitable for older children and adults - please see site for height restriction.
Stonham Owl Centre: The Suffolk Owl Sanctuary at Stonham Barns is the centre for many conservation & rehabilitation activities benefitting owls and other birds of prey. Lots of activities

Baylam Rare Breeds Farm: Have a wonderful day out with all the family, spend a day in the country by a lovely river and a lake. Enjoy feeding our friendly animals. Bring a picnic or indulge yourselves with a Suffolk clotted cream tea or homemade cakes. Meet breeds that were well known 80 years ago, White Park, Old Gloucester, Shetland, Berkshire, Middle White, Large Black, Norfolk Horn, Greyface Dartmoor, Balwen, Llanwenog, Herdwick, Ixworth, Scots Dumpy, Scots Grey.

The Suffolk Wildlife Trust: has
over50 sites including:

Lackford Wildfowl Reserve

Lackford Lakes lie beside the River Lark and have been created from former gravel pits. The potential list of birds here seems never ending, with rarities like Black Necked Grebe occurring alongside more common species such as shelduck.

A superb site for wildfowl in both winter and summer, Lackford attracts tufted duck, teal, pochard, gadwall, shoveler and goosander. There is a large winter gull roost and one or two pairs of redshank nest here - unusual so far from the coast.

Passing birds of prey include the majestic osprey, whilst buzzard and sparrowhawk can be seen regularly. In the summer months, hobby can be seen in hot pursuit of sand martin, swallows and an array of dragonflies. This is one of the best places in Suffolk for kingfisher, and cormorant are often seen fishing at the sailing lake or roosting in the tall trees by the river. Almost any migrant bird can turn up - black tern are regulars but species like Little Egret and the more uncommon waders are also seen.

Landguard

A must for anyone who wants to witness the spectacle of bird migration, explore the remarkable plant life or experience a wild, windswept peninsula with 500 years of military history.

Landguard is an exposed sand and shingle peninsula at the mouth of the River Orwell. Despite dramatic winter storms and scorching summer sun, rare shingle flowers, shore birds and a variety of migrants manage to thrive.

Sizewell Belts

Marsh, reedbed and wet woodland with adjacent heathland and beach - Sizewell Belts has just about everything! This diverse site is one of the best wetlands in East Anglia for wildflowers; it is a stronghold for otter, water vole and kingfisher, whilst water rail and barn owl can often be seen. The rare and haunting bittern and flighty bearded tit are also found here.

The wildflower meadows, which are maintained by cattle and sheep grazing, include four species of orchid, yellow rattle, ragged-robin, bogbean and lady’s smock. In summer the dykes are alive with many dragonfly (17 species have been recorded) including hairy and migrant hawker dragonfly. Visiting birds like wigeon, snipe and shoveler are attracted to the flooded marshes during winter.

Trimley Marshes

“ There are wonderful views of the Orwell estuary from here. An unbeatable wetland for its sheer number and species of birds.” Trimley Marshes is an exciting wetland reserve created almost entirely from arable land alongside the River Orwell. Most of the wildlife here today has colonised the site since it was created in 1990 to mitigate against the loss of Fagbury mudflats as a result of the expansion of the Port of Felixstowe. The mosaic of habitats, managed primarily for birds, makes this reserve one of the best sites in the county. Many of the wet meadows are managed by the traditional method of grazing with cattle. Others are grazed with sheep and by wigeon and geese during the winter months.

For a large number of other wildlife sites / nature reserves please the birdwatching page

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