Paxton – Far from the Pits (But Close to Home)

On Tuesday last, I paid a visit to Paxton Pits, a reserve I was keen to see for a number of reasons, not least of which, was because in many ways, it is similar to our own reserve at HESC.

Paxton Pits can be found about 2 miles north  of St Neots,  just off the A1 and thanks to the new A421, can be reached from MK in not much over 35 minutes.

Like HESC Paxton has evolved out of old gravel workings, but at around 190 acres it is nearly double the size. Paxton is also much younger than HESC, having been officially opened as a Local Nature Reserve (LNR) in 1989.  Parts of the site are still being worked and are currently closed to the public, however, when these workings are phased out over the next ten years, they too will be incorporated into the LNR which will make the site nearly 700 acres in size.

The reserve like HESC consists of a mixture of lakes and meadows, bordered on the east by the river Great Ouse. The lakes and meadows are larger than those at HESC and overall it feels a lot less wooded and more open than the MK site.

Heronry South Lake

Many of the species of birds, mammals, reptiles  and insects are also similar to those we get at the Hanson Centre, although Paxton has the attraction of Nightingales for the birders (Turtle Dove were also present when I visited) and for the Dragonfly enthusiast the site holds the rare Norfolk Hawker.

At the time of my visit the lakes held good numbers of Common Tern, interspersed with B H Gulls and a fair few Cormorants. There were also quite a few rafts of Tufted Duck on the water. The Kingfisher hide failed to live up to it’s name but I was reliable informed by the locals that not only Kingfisher but also Otter can be regularly spotted from this viewing point.

Common Tern Whizzing Past The Kingfisher Hide

After spending some time exploring the lakes and following the Heron Trail, which is about 2 miles long, I back-tracked to the Visitor Centre, to explore the Meadows Trail (1.5 miles), where I was told my best chances of encountering the elusive Norfolk Hawker lay. Although the meadows did hold quite a few Dragonflies, I was unable to identify the invader from the east. During my search I did manage a close encounter with a Four-spotted Chaser munching a large black bug and then came across a Common Spotted Orchid growing by the side of the pathway.

Common Spotted Orchid

By this time I was ready for a sit down and a cold drink and so I returned to the Visitors Centre and enjoyed a long chat with Jim Stevenson the full time Ranger and two of the volunteer wardens from the friends group. I was particularly interested to learn how the reserve is run and managed.

They explained that Huntingdonshire District Council’s Countryside Services is responsible for the Reserve, whilst the Ranger manages the Reserve according to the Management Agreement under the terms of the Local Nature Reserve (LNR) designation.The Ranger is advised by a Management Group, which includes local experts, Natural England, landowners within the LNR, The Friends of Paxton Pits Nature Reserve, the Volunteer Warden Coordinator and the two Aggregate Companies.

Much of the funding for projects and help in maintaining the site is provided by the Friends of Paxton Pits Nature Reserve which has over 2000 members. I was amazed to hear that the reserve receives around 120,000 visitors a year, although it should be remembered that in many ways it is a public park, with free entry and allows dog walking and fishing on some of the smaller lakes.

The FoPPNR volunteer wardens and rangers staff the Visitors Centre and provide information to visitors as well as selling light refreshments, a few books, maps, bird seed and feeders etc.

Four-spotted Chaser taking afternoon tea

(I am told the Scarce Chaser is more common on this reserve!)

I was made extremely welcome by the people at Paxton and will certainly return soon. For me the visit was very inspirational and I came away thinking that whilst not all that they do at PP would be right for HESC, we could certainly learn from many of their initiatives.