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Prestwick Road Meadows Local Nature Reserve

Open all year

A Local Nature Reserve in South Oxhey with 9 points of interest

Woodland

These date from around the time Prestwick Road Meadows was farmland – they can be seen on historic maps dating back to 1842 but they may be substantially older. These hedgerows would originally have been planted to divide the fields on the farmland.

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Birds

Bird Hide

A large bird population, incluidng starlings and bullfinches, make use of the hedgerows and trees for food, nesting and shelter. By autumn the hedgerows are covered in berries and become an important food source for the birds ahead of winter.

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Ditches

Water Habitat

Remnants of old ditches can still be made out alongside the two northern-most hedgerows. These formed part of a wider network of ditches and streams that once drained the agricultural fields before eventually flowing out to the River Colne near Watford.

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Insects

Meadow

Prestwick Road Meadows provides a perfect habitat for a great variety of insects. For example, the site comes alive with the sound of grasshoppers in the summer.

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Neutral Grassland

Meadow

The site is composed of unimproved neutral grassland which is ideal for wild flowers. Look out for buttercups in June and July before the site turns purple in late summer as black knapweed takes over. The site is cut once each year and all vegetation is taken off site to ensure that the wild flowers continue to thrive.

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Original road plans

Site of historical interest

Prestwick Road Meadows LNR survives today as it was originally earmarked as a road to connect Harrow and Watford. Fortunately the road was never constructed and the site remians as reminder of the former landscape.

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Pear Tree

Woodland

This is a traditional pear tree – although the pears don’t look like pears as they are round like apples and very hard.

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Seasonal Pond

Water Habitat

The pond dries out in the summer but provides valuable habitat for animals such as frogs which will use it to breed in during the spring and herons will hunt for food. It was probably originally created as a source of water for grazing cattle.

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Wildflower Meadows

Meadow

Wild flower meadows such as Prestwick road meadows have declined by 97% since the 1940s due to urban development and changing agricultural practices. Prestwick Road Meadows is now a rare habitat in an everchanging landscape.

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Park Information

Prestwick Road Meadows Local Nature Reserve has some of the most beautiful wildflowers in the district.

Up until the 1940s, flower-rich hay meadows and pastures were a common sight. Since then more than 97% of these habitats have been lost. Prestwick Road Meadows is one of the few meadows that survived untouched.

It is a small place, taking just half an hour to walk around, but there is plenty to see. The site is a remnant of old meadows. The ancient hedgerows that seperated the fields can still be seen.

There is a seasonal pond that attracts frogs and herons in the spring. Summer is the best time to see the meadows in flower. The purple knapweed, yellow birdsfoot-trefoil and red clover create a tall colourful patchwork, with lots of insects. In autumn its hedgerows provide food for a wide variety of birds.

The meadows are cut just once a year at the end of summer. Grass pathways are cut more regularly to allow people to walk easily throughout the meadows.

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