We had a large turnout on a sweltering afternoon at Brockhampton Cottage on Wednesday for the 2025 National Meadows Day walk led by Peter Clay and the Garden and Estate Teams.
Many thanks to Peter for sharing the remarkable achievement that is his large area of meadow, created on land ranging from former building foundations to ryegrass swards. How wonderfully they now integrate seamlessly as part of his spectacular garden. We look forward to hearing the findings of the ongoing research project with Kew into orchid and mycorrhizal fungi relationships when they are available. It is expected to give pointers to how and when the time is right to introduce orchids into meadow restoration projects.
Thanks also to Mark Wood and the estate team for the delicious Perrystone Meats beef; one of the many products of flower rich grasslands being conserved, restored and created across the Clay Estates; to Hannah for guiding us around the meadows on a hot day. And to Stuart Hedley (vice County Plant Recorder) for helping us appreciate the distinctiveness of long established Herefordshire grasslands and their importance as functioning ecosystems in the wider landscape. Stuart also encouraged us to prioritise the conservation of our oldest meadows which are considered by many to be irreplaceable habitats. This would be in addition to meadow restoration which has been such a large part of Herefordshire Meadows focus over the last 9 years.
Here are some links and notes on the topic we discussed on the walk which happens to be Plantlife’s National Meadows Day 2025 theme
- How to make sure that grasslands are included in the Irreplaceable Habitats list – Herefordshire Meadows is a signatory to the Plantlife summary statement to DEFRA –
- North Herefordshire MP Ellie Chowns is championing this cause and you are encouraged you to write to your MP to make them aware of your views on this topic.
- Stuart Hedley has also prepared a policy note on grassland creation for wildlife in Herefordshire that we hope is helpful
- A Plantlife / Herefordshire Meadows Meadow Restoration Plan can be found on our website
- If you need further help and guidance for your grassland please get in touch with us or request an advisory visit
- If you enjoyed the visit and would like to donate to Herefordshire Meadows to support our programme of events and work please click here
This event was provided thanks to donations from our supporters to the Herefordshire Meadows Community fundraiser, and match funding from the Big Give Green Match Fund 2025.
