Fishpond Plantation
Selected Wild Place / Other Wild Places / Public Rights of Way / VC55 boundary
Site species count:
In 2004 Fishpond Plantation was bought by the Parish Council on behalf of the village with villagers’ donations and grants from Leicestershire County Council and Charnwood Borough Council. The Plantation is close to the centre of the village and covers 1.6 hectares; all that remains of a larger wood. There has been woodland here for at least 300 years, probably due to the area being quarried for gypsum and then being unsuitable for agriculture. The ponds are thought to be remnants of the quarry pits. The present area of the wood was clear felled during World War II because it was in line with the north-south runway of Wymeswold Airfield. So now the woodland comprises many self-sown sycamores, ash, wych elm and beech, with an understory of yew and holly at the northeastern end around the ponds.
There is a succession of woodland flowers including snowdrops, celandines, violets, wood anemones and bluebells. To date, surveys of flora have found over 60 species. More than 30 species of birds have also been observed. The Plantation is also known to be the home for amphibians including the Great Crested Newt.
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