Coombes AND Churnet Valley?

Hi mate

I think the churnet bit refers to the wider area being known as the Churnet valley. The river Churnet flows south east from above Leek until it meets up with the river Dove. The coombes brook that flows through the reserve is a tributary of it.

Hope you make it down, I've discovered it this year and it's a fantastic place. Take a slow walk round and you won't be disapointed.

 regards    chris

Cheers Chris. Yeah, we intend to take a steady amble, we'll be in no rush.

Shaun

Hi,

Coombes and Churnet Valleys collectively cover an area of around 190 ha, the greater part being to the north at Coombes Valley.  Though the land to the south in the Churnet Valley is not connected, the two areas are treated as a single management unit.   

The RSPB land-holding in the Churnet Valley is a small part of a larger SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) which is predominantly woodland, spread out over quite an area.  There are many other landowners there.

Access into the Churnet Valley is limited.  There are no parking facilities immediately adjacent to our land holding, though there are some concessionary footpaths through our woods.  

The Churnet Valley has a slightly different character, in that the soils are slightly more base rich and there is more of an oak/ash mix, contrasting with the more oak/birch dominated woodland at Coombes Valley. 

To be honest, there is virtually no difference in the bird communities.  The key species for which the reserve is known i.e. pied flycatcher and redstart - are found most easily by arriving at the Coombes Valley Main Car Park and following the trail network there.

Because this is the main visitor hub, with readily accessible paths, I have chosen to avoid confusion by referring to just Coombes Valley on the website.  If you need any more information, talk to a member of the team.

Best wishes

Jarrod

VolunteerShaun said:

Can someone please expain why sometimes the RSPB refers to this as Coombes Valley and at others Coombes & Churnet? Is Churnet a seperate place or is it just an abbreviation of the name? I wouldn't want to come and find later that I'd missed one of  two sites.

Thanks