24th: Bickley Hall Farm – Cheshire

A very different reserve. Bickley Hall Farm is not only the headquarters of the Cheshire Wildlife Trust, but it’s also a working organic farm. They lease out a number of large fields to local farmers, who then either grow crops or graze cattle on the land, turning profit for genuine businesses. The trust and farmers coexist in what appears to be a very good balance.

Various areas of the reserve are put aside for wildflowers, scrapes and ponds, new hedgerows have been planted and natural borders created, all of which creates a wonderful variety of habitats that has over the years encouraged barn owls lapwings, hares and many, many birds and invertebrates.

We were met at the reserve by Rachel, who did a fantastic job of showing us around and telling us all about the work of the trust, which is fantastically inspiring. They host school visits, have a wildflower and tree nursery, which repopulates existing flower meadows, or creates new meadows and woodland areas, plus manage numerous other reserves for the betterment of the local wildlife and communities.

Whilst there we saw a hare, who spent quite a while checking us out before showing us its impressive speed and this time I even managed to get a photograph! We also saw many butterflies, damsel flies and other various creatures that showed how healthy the habitat is. I think the hare is a front runner to feature in a piece that also captures the landscape of a working organic farm, that also works in harmony with nature.