Management News

A warm welcome to all the newcomers to the village over the past few years. The nature reserve used to be well publicised in Keyworth News but this has not been the case for a while. During Covid, it didn’t need publicity!

This website tells you all you need to know and shows where it is and how to get there. It’s at the bottom of Lings Lane, past the riding stables and borders Fairham Brook (though when I last looked it wasn’t so much a ‘brook’ as a ‘desert’)

If you’ve been there recently (late summer 2026) you will have found it to be looking rather neglected. From a wildlife perspective (well it is a nature reserve) this could be considered a good thing but it should have been managed better for visitors too.

I have managed it for many years, and for the last decade a local farmer (Norman Davill – though he won’t thank me for naming him) has worked wonders in doing an annual hay cut and removal – exactly what a meadow nature reserve needs. However, all good things come to an end and I’m struggling to find anyone to keep up the good work. So, my apologies if you have found the reserve looking unmanaged.

Before I became Manager, I was a Warden along with several others and we would attempt to do the work by hand. Trouble was, the Meadow is too big for half a dozen volunteers to do the job properly and the natural history suffered.

If there is anyone out there who has ideas about how to manage a small nature reserve that is some distance along an unmade track, I would love to hear from you. The Reserve is owned by Keyworth Parish Council and we have a small management group that would benefit from some new ideas. My email is on the website – or contact the PC.

Otherwise, I hope you will take a wander down there and let me know what you see, but if it is in the next few weeks, make sure your wear thornproof clothing! After that I am hoping the management difficulties will be resolved.

Neil Pinder

25/08/26

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Keyworth Meadow is a small field of 1.5 hectares (3.7 acres) on the outskirts of the large village of Keyworth in south Nottinghamshire, central England. On its western margin flows Fairham Brook, to the south is arable land, to the north is a small pasture and to the east is Lings Lane, an unmade track, via which the meadow is accessed.

It has been owned and managed by Keyworth Parish Council since 1985. It is managed as a nature reserve and as an open-access piece of countryside where visitors can play, picnic and ponder.

This website provides information on the Meadow's history, natural history and current interest. There are links to useful sites on allied local interest and past editions of the Meadow Diary.

The Lings Lane Log is updated from time to time with sightings and photographs from the meadow and its vicinity. Occasional news is also reported on wildlife interest around the village. If you see some wildlife that you think others would be interested in, please let me know and I may use it here. 07981 928402 or email - see below.

If you have photos of the reserve from the past or stories of the meadow (or indeed the Lings Lane area in general) which you think could enhance the site, please forward them to me.

Risk Assessment The reserve is a safe place to visit but there are some hazards that it is best to be aware of especially if you are visiting for the first time or leading a group of youngsters. Please take a look at our Risk Assessment