Bugdens Meadows

Grazing cattle at Bugden's Meadow

Grazing cattle at Bugden's Meadow

Grassland at Bugden's Meadow
Bugdens Meadow © Andy Fale

Bugdens Meadow © Andy Fale

Bugdens Meadows

Species-rich meadows at the heart of Verwood in the east of the county.

Location

Ringwood Road
Verwood
Dorset
BH31 7AH

OS Map Reference

SU0905709030

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A static map of Bugdens Meadows

Know before you go

Size
2 hectares
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Entry fee

N/A
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Parking information

Public car park nearby
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Bicycle parking

No
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Grazing animals

Cattle grazing during summer so please keep your distance and your dog on a lead.
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Walking trails

There are no formal paths but there is permissive open access across the land and visitors can wander between the fields and into the wood. Links to path through Bugdens Wood.
Before you go, please read our reserve safety and visitor information
Please click here for more information and guidance about dogs on Dorset Wildlife Trust nature reserves.

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Access

Access to the reserve is through the gates from main entrance or via Bugdens Copse. The ground is wet and boggy in parts and ditches may be hidden by vegetation in the spring and summer. There is a RADAR Key-accessible gate by Ringwood Road to the small flatter area of meadow with a stile at the southern entrance. A delightful and tranquil reserve to visit at any time of year.

Please be aware that ticks may be present on this reserve so do check yourself at the end of your walk.

Dogs

image/svg+xmlNo dogs permitted

See above for more information about dogs on nature reserves.

When to visit

Opening times

Open at all times

Best time to visit

Spring and summer

About the reserve

Escape the hustle and bustle of town life and explore two wildflower meadows in the heart of Verwood. This wildflower-rich wet meadow land is just north of Bugdens Copse. Walking through the tranquil reserve, you get a great sense of what the area must have been like in days gone by. Butterfly fans rejoice! The wet grassland and scrubby edge of this reserve support a varied range of colourful wildlife, with meadow brown, gatekeeper and common blue butterflies visiting the scruffy pink ragged-robin, the creamy white meadowsweet and the bright yellow blooms of the, rather rare, dyer's greenweed.

The area is also alive with the buzz of grasshoppers, with spiders, beetles and bugs all busy about their business.  In late summer, the fields are a haze of the purple-blue lollipop heads of devil's-bit scabious so loved by butterflies, bees and beetles anxious for a nectar top-up. A delightful and tranquil reserve to visit at any time of year.

Useful Information

The reserve is located in the centre of Verwood just off the B3081 Ringwood Road. Head east from the roundabout with the B3072 from Three Legged Cross, the reserve is on the right-hand side just after the Tesco Express but before the chapel.

Bugdens Meadows Nature Reserve

Bugdens Meadows Nature Reserv