Friday 3rd November 2023
Wiltshire Wildlife Trust Wilts Wildlife Trust @WiltsWildlife have tweeted on X (Twitter):·
Thanks to a WEIF grant and contractor @CainBio, three new baffles have been installed to raise water levels at our Smallbrook Meadows nature reserve, allowing fish to passage through the newly notched weir from the River #Wylye to the River #Were .
Wiltshire Wildlife Trust
Advance Notice of Entrance Closure
Smallbrook Meadows, Warminster
From the week of Tuesday 28th May 2013
work will begin on the ramp and gate
leading on to the
Smallbrook Meadows Nature Reserve
from Smallbrook Road (Calveswater),
to make it wheelchair accessible.
This means that the entrance at the eastern end
of Smallbrook Meadows Nature Reserve
will be closed for about a week
from the end of May.
Visitors will still be able to access
Smallbrook Meadows Nature Reserve
from the Lake Pleasure Ground (the Town Park)
and via Wheeler’s Lane at Rye Hill.
The Wiltshire Wildlife Trust apologises for
the temporary closure of the eastern entrance
but says when the work is completed
more residents and visitors to Warminster
will be able to enjoy the Nature Reserve.
For all enquiries please contact
Ashley White, Field Officer Reserves South Wiltshire
email: ashleyw@wiltshirewildlife.org/
telephone 07872 117383
Saturday 25th May 2013
Photographs taken by Danny Howell of the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust’s Family Fun Day – May In The Meadows – at Smallbrook Meadows, Warminster.
One of the ways of accessing the event, through
the gate at the south-east corner of the
Lake Pleasure Ground (The Town Park), Warminster.
“Come and explore – free event here today.”
Pushchair and buggies –
evidence that the youngest family
members were brought along for the fun.
Mid-day, just as the crowd starts to arrive.
On offer: pond dipping, face painting, seed planting,
clay art, nature trail, bushcraft, storytelling
and refreshments.
Taking time off from
“My Make Do And Mend Year“
to weave willow crowns for the heads of children
(and adults!). Left to right: Lisa Milner, William Gale,
Jen Gale and Samuel Gale.
Emma Crofts of Wiltshire Wildlife Trust
gets a couple of children started with activities.
Kai Mays with his There’s A Space Here booklet,
and Kate Donovan of the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.
Eileen Needham with Oscar
(her daughter Gemma May’s Shih Tzu dog)
waiting to take part in the dog show.
The Barefoot Storyteller Sheila Stansfield
regales a tale for the children.
www.thebarefootstoryteller.co.uk/‎
Sheila gets animated as she tells a story
about monkeys with hats on.
The queue for the face painting.
Clay art and lots of other things to do.
Glorious sunshine made the event really good.
Guy Hagg, the ‘Bushcraft Guy’
demonstrated wilderness survival skills
including how to light a fire
by rubbing two sticks together.
www.bushcraftguy.com/ ‎
The event was blessed with glorious weather.
Pond dipping proved very popular.
Alexander Meadow has a go at pond dipping.
Daniel Meadow enjoyed pond dipping too.
The pond dipping was supervised
by a member of the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.
Discovering the life aquatic.
Ryan Tabor taking photographs
for the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.
Freelance photographer Ryan Tabor.
www.ryantabor.com/
The perfect way to spend a perfect day.
What have we found?
Walking in the sunshine.
Signing up for the Nature Trail.
Looking at the tenth and final clue on the Nature Trail.
Chispa Merlo and Morgan Merlo
with their Nature Trail answer sheet.
One of the illustrated questions
on the nature trail.
The little car park at Calveswater
was another access point to the event.
But the car park soon filled up with cars.
Notice boards listing the activities.
Pedestrian access to Smallbrook Meadows
at Calveswater.
A banner advertising ‘There Is Space Here’
“What shall we do first?”
Susan Allen of the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust
had vegetable seeds, encouraging people
to “grow their own food”
in their gardens or on allotments.
Bug hunting with nets to swish
against the paths alongside the path.
Charts at the ready for
identifying bugs caught in the nets.
Nets for bug hunting.
“What insects have we found?”
“I’ve got some spiders in my net.”
The White family enjoyed the bug hunting.
Advice was on offer on what to see
and what to do at Smallbrook Meadows.
Despite there being many visitors
to the nature reserve there were still secluded
areas to listen to the birds.
Everyone who took part agreed
they had certainly enjoyed a lovely time
in a really beautiful place.
October 2004
Clive Thomas writes:
This year there have been encouraging developments in an application, co-ordinated by Isabel Buckingham, for a Living Space grant which would be used to reinstate, as part of the Reserve, newly-acquired meadows above the Park.
With the help of councillor Chris March and through contact with the Environment Agency, there have been moves to resolve the long-standing problem of extraction of water from the Were to top up the Boating Lake – the Were being a tributary of the Wylye, a vulnerable chalk stream/river.
Funding from the Trust was provided for urgent fencing repairs, path and bridge restoration and tree surgery along our boundaries.
July storms brought down mature ash and willow trees along the path to Wylye Pool and winter rains caused the Big Pond to overflow into a flooded Were.
Four kestrel chicks in a k. box were ringed by Nigel Lewis. Red Poll, little grebe, a shoveler, flocks of seven redwings and six song thrushes and little egrets were amongst our regular callers, with ten or more snipe in the winter furrows. This summer brought yellow-winged and brown hawker dragon-flies. Other visitors, including a June Open Day, were groups from the U3A, Wiltshire Entomologists and Warminster Junior School. The Warminster & Westbury Standard sent a reporter.
It is felt that the Visitor Centre portacabin, if not repaired, should be removed.
Lesley Balfe of the WWCV expressed the view that there is a general decline in the number of volunteers. Sadly, this seems to be the case.
Friday 30 July 2004
During a coffee morning held in Norton Bavant, Anne Sawyer received a special gift in recognition of the dedicated service she and her late husband David gave to the care and promotion of the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust’s reserve at Smallbrook Meadows.
The gift, a watercolour painting, was presented to Anne by Robert Floyd, the Chairman of the Trust.
Anne is continuing her work at Smallbrook with the assistance of other Wiltshire Wildlife Trust volunteers.
Volunteers from all walks of life are invited to Smallbrook Meadows, the nature reserve east of the Lake Pleasure Grounds, Warminster, on Sunday 25th July 2004, to help the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust carry out conservation work to the wet land, woods, river and ponds.
No previous experience is needed because the Trust provides all the tools and training. All that’s needed is enthusiasm, appropriate footwear and old clothes. Anyone of any age is welcome but under 16s must be accompanied by an adult. Those aged between 16 and 75 are covered by the Trust’s insurance, but those either side of this age range must seek their own personal accident cover. Please make sure too that you have an up-to-date tetanus injection.
The day runs from 10.30am to 3.30pm but don’t worry if you can’t stay all day, just turn up at the start time and say what time you want to leave. If staying all day bring a packed lunch and a drink with you. Meet at the Car Park opposite the pedestrian entrance to the Reserve, at Smallbrook Road.
Further details from Clive Thomas, 01985 216586.
1838
Penny Moor is listed in the 1838 Survey Of Warminster Parish.
Ref. No. 406.
In the 1801 Survey of Warminster it is listed as Penny Moore.
This parcel of land is now [2026) part of the Smallbrook Meadows Nature Reserve, being that part bounded on the south side by the Smallbrook Stream (The Were) and the Calveswater Pumping Station; on part of the north side by Wheeler’s Lane and the bottom of Sandy Hollow; and on the east side by Smallbrook Road.
