Roydon Fen Reserve
Summary
The Fen is an attractive low-lying area of mature trees of acknowledged nature conservation interest.
This valley fen is one of the few remaining quality examples of this habitat in the Waveney Valley. Many of the valley fens have been lost over the years through water abstraction and lack of management. They all rely on a pure supply of spring water from the underlying chalk rock, which has given them their unique characteristic vegetation and associated animal communities.
This page provides information on this fen.
Further information
Traditionally, the fen was mown by local villagers, with the harvested sedge and reed used for the thatching industry. This regular management helped the vegetation, and stopped scrub from invading and closing-over the fen altogether. Some areas will have been mown every year, and the resultant fen ‘meadow’ vegetation used for animal feed or bedding. This management stopped a deep plant litter layer from forming, which would have smothered the low growing and sensitive plants on the site.
In addition, the fen peat would have been dug regularly. The peat soils were regularly excavated by hand, and ‘bricks’ of peat removed to dry ready for using as fuel in winter for local household fires. From a viewpoint in the middle of the fen, you may be able to see some of the ancient peat diggings which give the surface of the fen a very irregular pattern. These features have added further variety to the fen, and have created variations in soil depth and hydrology, encouraging a wider variety of plants and animals as a result.
We have managed this reserve through Suffolk Wildlife Trust since 1992. In summer, areas of the saw sedge Cladium mariscus beds around you are still cut and harvested on a 4-year rotation, maintaining their condition and also providing good feeding areas for birds such as snipe. Other fen ‘meadow’ areas are cut every year and support a wide variety of mosses, sedges, rushes and grasses as well as uncommon flowers.
Many of the plants and animals in this nature reserve are extremely sensitive to disturbance. Please keep to the paths and refrain from picking or trampling the wildflowers. Dogs must be kept on short leads.
External links
Suffolk Wildlife Trust
This is the website for Suffolk Wildife Trust, who help South Norfolk Council manage Roydon Fen.
Contact us
| contact officer/team: | Countryside Ranger |
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| web: | online enquiry form |
| email: | Countryside@s-norfolk.gov.uk |
| minicom/textphone: | 01508 533622 |
| address: | South Norfolk Council South Norfolk House Swan Lane Long Stratton Norwich NR15 2XE |
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