About the reserve

The site extends from the meandering course of the Elsdon Burn up the southern side of the valley through woodland, meadow and grazing pasture. The burn provides a home for otters and hunting dragonflies and in spring clumps of marsh marigold provide a splash of yellow. The meadows are home to a range of plant species including yellow rattle, cuckoo flower and betony with meadow brown and ringlet butterfly overhead. Patches of damper ground have swathes of meadowsweet and are the hunting ground for darters and damselflies.  

There are a couple of areas of mature woodland but most of it has been planted since 2007, a huge project carried out by the previous owners. This planting scheme took 10 years of work to achieve the scale that it now does, about half the total area of the reserve. The woodlands contain a mix of species including willows, birch, aspen, juniper and oak. The open glades are used by small heath butterflies and the woodland rides are hunted over by hawkers.