So now the festivities are over and all the mince pies have been eaten, it’s a perfect time to don your walking boots and get out exploring your local landscape. Many of you reading this may be aware of a unique landscape on your doorstep, the Brecks.
The Brecks spans approximately 1,000 square kilometres and encompasses South Norfolk and North Suffolk in its boundary, with the towns Thetford, Brandon, Watton, Mildenhall and Swaffham in the heart of it. Lakenheath Fen is lucky enough to straddle the border between the Fens and the Brecks. So if you are out visiting the reserve, you can have one foot in the Fens and one in the Brecks! The peaty and sandy molehills dotted around the reserve are a giveaway to the unique Fen and Brecks geology. This shows a stark contrast between the nutrient rich peat and impoverished sandy soil.
The Brandon Fen Family Trail on the reserve gives a taster of one of the many unique habitats in the Brecks, the sandy grass heaths. The UK holds 20% of the world’s heathland. Sadly, an estimated 80% of all the UK’s lowland heathland has been lost since the 1860s. The Brecks is an important stronghold for both grass heathland and semi-natural grassland with both habitats supporting a diverse range of species including rare flowers. This includes a wide variety of invertebrates and internationally protected birds like the stone curlews.
Spiked speedwell at Weeting Heath reserve by RSPB Brecks Photographer Ian Smith:
Maidens pink at Weeting Heath reserve by RSPB Brecks Photographer Ian Smith:
The best places in the Brecks to see some of these unique heathlands are the Norfolk Wildlife Trusts Weeting Heath reserve, which it a short drive from Lakenheath Fen. Here, in the summer, you can safely view nesting stone curlews and their chicks. You can also see an array of unique plants such as the spiked speedwell and maidens pink.
During the winter, a walk around Natural England’s Cavenham Heath reserve will put the colour in your cheeks and offer you glimpses of birds like green woodpeckers feeding on the heath along with hunting birds of prey. The Norfolk Wildlife Trusts East Wretham Heath reserve provides a modern day view of how big a part rabbits used to play in the Brecks landscape. They are a keystone species on Brecks heathland and were once farmed in their thousands for meat and fur. Their constant digging and chomping created unique tightly grazed and disturbed heathlands in the Brecks. This led to unique plant and insect communities developing.
Rabbit by RSPB Brecks Photographer Ian Smith:
So start the New Year with an outdoor adventure and get out there exploring your local landscape!