The water meadows – an urban oasis on our doorsteps
By Emma Wilkin BWMG member
I’m relatively new to Bury, having lived in the town centre for a mere 10 years after escaping London. I share my home with a small, extremely angry Cavapoo called Gus. We spend a lot of time walking around Ram Meadow, No Man’s Meadow and The Crankles. These walks are a favourite part of my day, even during the winter – provided we avoid the floods, having previously filled many a walking boot with water after underestimating a puddle.
One of the reasons I love Bury is the amenities – high street shops, independents and endless cafés – but also that I can be in a green space within minutes. Not just a perfectly manicured park like Abbey Gardens, but the untamed wilderness of the water meadows that feels like deep countryside, rather than a stone’s throw from a busy town centre.
The wild side of Bury
The Lark and Linnet rivers are globally rare chalk streams, attracting an incredible mix of birds, insects and mammals. Gus and I have encountered plenty on our travels around the meadows including muntjac and, less often, Roe deer (Suffolk is home to five of the six wild deer species found in the UK). We’ve seen a water vole cleaning its whiskers next to the river in Ram Meadow swiftly followed by a brown rat streaking across the path ahead of us (less Wind in the Willows, that bit). We’ve watched Grey Herons and Little Egrets standing in the shallows of the river waiting for fish, and listened to Sedge and Reed Warblers chattering in the reedbeds and nettle patches. I even saw a Kingfisher darting low over the water of the Lark once. Okay, I didn’t actually see the Kingfisher myself, but the people standing next to me did, so I’m counting it.
We mustn’t forget the insects either. Thanks to the lovely BWMG volunteers planting wildflowers and shrubs like oxeye daisy and buckthorn, the meadows attract stunning Brimstone, Peacock and Red Admiral butterflies. In summer, the riverbanks come alive with metallic-blue damselflies and Emperor dragonflies patrolling the water’s edge. We’ve yet to see a grass snake or a slow worm, but these harmless reptiles love to bask in sunny, undisturbed grassy edges as well as the compost piles created by our volunteers.
Waging war on litter
One of the things that does mar our walks around the meadows is litter. Every day we see traffic cones and shopping trolleys dumped in our precious chalk streams, cans cluttering the verges and occasional fly-tipping.
It’s frustrating, but we don’t have to just shrug and accept it. BWMG organises regular litter picks, staffed by volunteers who bravely wage war against the trash. I try to do my bit by picking up at least one piece of rubbish (the safe stuff like crisp packets and plastic bottles) on every walk. It’s an easy habit, and if even half the people who enjoy the meadows did the same, it could make a real difference to the little piece of wilderness we’re so lucky to have right on our doorsteps.
