About the reserve

These three meadows are among the few flower-rich hay meadows still left in Suffolk. As they have never been fertilised, sprayed or drained, the site supports a wide range of wildflowers. To maintain the meadows’ diversity management is by a summer hay cut followed by aftermath grazing.  

In spring and early summer, visitors can enjoy superb displays of wildflowers, including early-purple, green-winged and pyramidal orchids. In late summer the meadows bloom once more, this time with meadow saffron. Most of the hedges enclosing the site are at least 100 years old and contain many different species of trees and shrubs including field maple, hazel, hawthorn and spindle. They are maintained by rotational coppicing or laying, in which sections are periodically cut to the ground, encouraging them to re-grow and thicken to produce a dense hedge that is good for wildlife.  

The reserve also has two orchards which include many local varieties of apple, along with pear, plum, quince, medlar and walnut.