About the reserve

The inspiring result of years of natural regeneration, the woodland, pools and meadows of Kilwood Reserve are home to a rich array of wildlife. Here springtime brings a floral treat for the senses as ramsons, also known as wild garlic, carpet the birch and oak woodland floor with a delicate dusting of white. Further beyond the woodland, small areas of old hazel coppice are interspersed with large, open crowned oaks, their branches a display of mosses, lichens and epiphytic ferns. In between are two damp, unimproved meadows where the air is filled with the chorus of grasshoppers through summer.

Once an area of clay mining, dating back to Roman times, the regenerated area also features a series of deep ponds, fringed at the edges with yellow iris and providing a habitat for great crested newts and 18 species of dragonflies. Other species of flower you can discover here include moschatel and, in Spring, bluebells in the shade of the woods, plus heath spotted orchids, betony and devil's-bit scabious peppering the grassland. The combination of open and closed woodland and meadow edge are an enticing site for bats, with 13 species known, and the woodland is also home to dormice. As you meander through the reserve, keeps eyes and ears open for marsh tits and, from April to September, willow warblers. In high summer silver-washed fritillary can also be seen from the central track.

Useful Information

Heading south from Wareham on the A351, take the road to the Blue Pool at the Stoborough Green roundabout. The reserve entrance is a few miles on, just after the junction to East Creech. Look for a lay-by to the left just before the entrance gate.