Dinton Pastures Country Park

Dinton Pastures Country Park is a country park in the civil parish of St Nicholas Hurst, in the borough of Wokingham, near Reading in the English county of Berkshire.

Snail sculpture at the entrance to Dinton Pastures Country Park

Geography and site

The park is 450 acres (180 ha) in size.[1] It has seven lakes, two rivers, three public bird hides, and meadows.[2] One of the lakes, Lavells Lake is designated as a local nature reserve.[3] The two rivers that flow through the park are the River Loddon and the Emm Brook.[4][5] The Museum of Berkshire Aviation and the headquarters of the British Entomological and Natural History Society are both located in the park.[6][7]

The site is popular for a number of sports including sailing, angling, kayaking, and canoeing.[2] Other facilities include play areas and a cafe.[8][9]

History

Anglo Saxons farmed the park's river meadows and called the area Whistley, where "wisc" means marshey meadows and "lei" means a woodland clearing.[10] From the start of the 17th century, much of the area then belonged to Windsor Forest.[11]

The present day cafe was originally a farmhouse built in 1904, which was called 'High Chimneys'.[12] In 1924 the area was sold to a farmer who renamed the farm after his home village of Dinton, near Aylesbury.[13]

The country park is part of the river Loddon's flood plain and so makes a good source of gravel, between 1969 and 1979 an extensive gravel extraction program was carried out. Much of the gravel was used for the M4 and the A329(M).[14]

In 1979 Dinton Pastures was opened to the public.[15] In 1992, part of the country park, Lavells Lake, was declared as a local nature reserve by Wokingham Borough Council.[3]

Fauna

The site has the following fauna:[5][11][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]

Mammals

Invertebrates

Birds

Amphibians and reptiles

Fish

Flora

The site has the following flora:[29][30][31]

Trees

Plants
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References
  1. "Walks and nature - Dinton Pastures Country Park". Dinton-pastures.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  2. "Dinton Pastures Country Park | Wokingham Directory". Directory.wokingham.gov.uk. 2016-08-31. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  3. "Natural England - Special Sites". Lnr.naturalengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  4. "Friends of the Emm Brook". foteb.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  5. "Fishing - Dinton Pastures Country Park". Dinton-pastures.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  6. "West Berkshire Council - Dinton Pastures Country Park - Wokingham Local Offer". Fis.westberks.gov.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  7. "HOME - British Entomological & Natural History Society". Benhs.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  8. "Children's play park". Dintonpastures.co.uk. 2014-05-07. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  9. "Dragonfly cafe". Dintonpastures.co.uk. 2016-01-09. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  10. "Walker's Walks: September 2005 - Dinton Pastures". Walkerswalks.typepad.com. 2005-09-23. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  11. "A World of Water and Wildlife at Dinton Pastures - Walks". The AA. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  12. "History of Dinton Pastures". Dintonpastures.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  13. "History - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  14. "Britain Outdoors - Berkshire Dinton Pastures Trail Details". Berkshire.britainoutdoors.com. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  15. "Dinton Pastures Country Park – Reading Voluntary Action". Rva.org.uk. 2013-11-08. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  16. "Mammals - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  17. "Butterflies & Moths - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  18. "Dragonflies & Damselflies - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  19. "Other Wildlife - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  20. "Divers - Herons - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  21. "Swans - Ducks - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 2013-11-10. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  22. "Raptors - Rails - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  23. "Waders - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  24. "Skuas - Terns - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  25. "Pigeons - Woodpeckers - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  26. "Larks - Chats - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  27. "Thrushes - Warblers - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  28. "Crests - Crows - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  29. "Starlings > Buntings - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  30. "Flora - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  31. "WDVTA 10th Anniversary Report - Parishes and Towns". Wdvta.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-02.

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