Cossington Meadows
Tree Planting in Leicestershire at Cossington Meadows
Cossington-Meadows is a 90 hectare nature reserve on the outskirts of Leicester.
IMPORTANT VISITOR INFO – Take only photos. Leave only footsteps.
To keep the woodland as natural as possible we don’t label individual trees and we ask that visitors do not place their own plaques, labels, flowers, etc in the woodland. Each tree we plant should be seen as part of a natural woodland.
Before visiting this woodland, please read our Frequently Asked Questions page, which gives you helpful tips about your tree and visitor guidance.
* THIS WOODLAND IS Temporarily Full *
We’ve planted so many trees here that there isn’t any space to plant more.
We hope to be able to plant here again in future years.
For the nearest alternative woodlands take a look at the Woodlands Locations Map.
Cossington Meadows covers almost 90 hectares and is the largest of the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust's six nature reserves in the Soar valley.
Purchased in 2004, Cossington Meadows is a restored gravel pit that runs alongside the River Soar.
Cossington Meadows is a haven for wildlife. The deeper pools attract wildfowl such as gadwall, tufted duck and great crested grebe, all of which breed on the reserve. In winter parties of wigeon and teal are common and rarer ducks seen include velvet scoter and garganey. Around the muddy edges of shallow water can be found waders such as green sandpiper, greenshank and oystercatcher.
Redshank, lapwing and little ringed plover also nest on the reserve.
Grey herons are always present and other birds like kingfisher, grey wagtail and kestrel can often be located. Birds such as reed bunting and reed warbler should increase as the swamp vegetation becomes more extensive. Short-eared owls regularly winter on the reserve.
Grass-snakes, toads and frogs all breed on the reserve. Migrant hawker and black-tailed skimmer are two of the dragonflies commonly recorded and regularly seen butterflies include small copper, common blue and brimstone.
Many wetland plants have already colonised the reserve. Amongst the more notable are flowering-rush, purple loosestrife, ragged-robin and blue water-speedwell. .
The trees have been planted in tall shelters to reduce the potential damage from rabbits and deer.
Photo Gallery
Tree Species at Cossington Meadows
Since 2019 EFORESTS has worked with the land owners and local volunteers to plant 350 new native tree species.
The following tree species were planted on the site:
Address
Syston RoadCossington
Leicestershire
LE7 4UZ
Map
External links
https://www.lrwt.org.uk/nature-reserves/cossington-meadows/EFORESTS is not responsible for the content on external websites.
IMPORTANT VISITOR INFO – Take only photos. Leave only footsteps.
To keep the woodland as natural as possible we don’t label individual trees and we ask that visitors do not place their own plaques, labels, flowers, etc in the woodland. Each tree we plant should be seen as part of a natural woodland.
Before visiting this woodland, please read our Frequently Asked Questions page, which gives you helpful tips about your tree and visitor guidance.
Dedicate a tree to be planted in Leicestershire or elsewhere in the UK.
