About the reserve

The Suffolk landscape was once abundant with colourful wildflower meadows. Sadly, the UK has lost 97% of its wildflower meadows since the 1930s, with only a few isolated pockets remaining - such as Winks Meadow.

Supporting a rich array of plants unique to ancient, unimproved grassland, Winks Meadow is a lasting reminder of Suffolk's natural heritage from years gone by. Internationally rare species such as spiny restharrow, sulphur clover, and quaking grass thrive on the reserve alongside several orchid species.

The first orchids to flower in late spring and early summer are twayblade, early-purple orchid, and green-winged orchid. Later in the summer, common spotted, bee, and pyramidal orchids appear.

Surrounding the reserve is a thick hedgerow of field maple and dogwood, creating a dense structure that is perfect for nesting birds and small mammals. In spring, the flowering shrubs provide valuable food sources for bumblebees, hoverflies, butterflies, and other pollinators.

Managing the habitats

To maintain the diversity of wildflowers, we either graze the meadow during the summer or cut it for hay, followed by aftermath grazing. This prevents vigorous grasses from outcompeting delicate wildflowers, maintains suitable soil fertility levels, and helps scatter seeds so the meadow can regenerate year after year.

The hedgerows are maintained through trimming or coppicing, encouraging dense regrowth that provides ideal habitat for nesting birds and small mammals.