There are two flood meadows here, Short Dole & Ox Meadow, and a bank, Rough Hill.
Rough Hill is made up of a woodland and permanent pasture field.
Short Dole & Ox Meadow are surrounded by ditches and hedges, with the possibility of a water feeding ditch system running from the north-west corner in the northern most field to it’s south eastern corner, and from there across the southernmost field to the pond in its south western corner. There is a dew pond on the northern field that also abuts the woodland.
These fields are used as hay meadows, the hay being cut in July (floods permitting!). They are then aftermath grazed by cattle in the late summer and early autumn.
The woodland was once wood pasture - that is, grassland with some ancient oaks in. The oaks are still there, but scrub has been allowed to grow up for the last 20 years or so. We are cutting rides into the wood, and allowing grass to grow up in them - hopefully the orchids that were known to be there 20 years ago will return. The remaining hawthorn and ash trees will be allowed to grow on up.
