Wansford Pasture

About

This peaceful site has glorious views over the valley with the large woodland of Old Sulehay Forest framing the ridge top beyond. As the field slopes down to the stream at the bottom, the changes in the flora reflect the mosaic of the drier limestone and neutral grassland with distinct wetter areas, marked out by the abundance of rushes and sedges. The most species-rich vegetation on the site are the flushes dominated by blunt-flowered rush, with other species such as fen bedstraw, large bird's-foot-trefoil and distant sedge all locally frequent. Rarer wetland species can also be found, with the small, delicate flowers of bog pimpernel in stark contrast to the super-sized southern-marsh orchids that have been recorded here. On the drier limestone grassland, typical plants include cowslip salad burnet and fairy flax. The striking musk thistle, with its brilliant purple flowers, and also plays host to Urophora solstitialis, a notably rare gall fly.