VEALAND FARM
DEVON WILDLIFE TRUST
Nearest Town: Holsworthy
OS Map: SS 288 068
© James Chubb |
Vealand Nature Reserve was originally part of a small farm at Pancrasweek, close to the Cornish border. It was sold to the Devon Wildlife Trust in 1994 by Mr and Mrs Symons, following many years of careful farming. Within its borders there are 5ha of Culm Grassland forming part of a larger Site of Special Scientific Interest and 10ha of semi-improved rush pasture, fringed by mature, sprawling hedgerows. The remaining fields are of improved, higher grade pasture. The disused Bude Canal crosses the land.
Location and access: Follow the A3072 from Holsworthy towards Bude, and turn off the A road along the road signed Kingford, shortly after the bridge over the Tamar. Follow this lane for 3km, through Kingford and beyond. The entrance to Vealand Farm is marked by the road and is on the left (SS 292 067). Follow the access track, turning left after crossing a small bridge over the disused canal. This track leads to a small hard-standing area where you can park beside the interpretation panel beside the main farm track. The entrance to the fields is from this point. We encourage visitors to use environmentally friendly forms of transport wherever possible. Most of our reserves are easily accessible by bicycle, with many close to the National Cycle Network. Click here to view a location map of the reserve on the National Cycle Network website.
Features:
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Culm grassland
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Otters
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Butterflies and insects
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Walks
There are no set routes around the nature reserve, but allow at least an hour to walk the fields. It is important that visitors do not disturb the livestock in the fields. There is no access to any part of the disused canal - this land is privately owned.
More Information:
Vegetation
The Culm areas contain well maintained stands of purple moor grass, with heath spotted orchid, devil’s-bit scabious, marsh bedstraw, saw-wort and sneezewort being well represented. Also growing in these wet areas are two nationally scarce plants, wavy leaved St John’s-wort and whorled caraway. Marsh ragwort, ragged robin and lady’s smock occur in the rush pasture fields. The hedgerows contain hazel, willow, ash and oak, and in places have matured to become linear woodlands.
Fauna 
Otters are known to frequent the river. Tree pipits and reed buntings have been recorded in the Culm areas, and barn owls frequent the rush pasture fields and occasionally roost in the farm buildings. The reserve supports marbled white and marsh fritillary butterflies which have returned for the first time in 25 years in 2005. The quality of the grassland suggests that there is likely to be considerable invertebrate interest and there has been more recording carried out over the past few years. There are now 3 new ponds which attract an impressive range of species of dragonfly and damselfly and will be monitored with interest over the coming years.
Management
A combination of light summer grazing and winter burning or swaling is employed to maintain the rich diversity of grassland habitat types. Additionally summer cutting of the denser areas of rush helps to reduce their dominance. Some of the hedges will be laid to encourage dense re-growth and a wider range of available habitats on the hedge banks, others will be left to continue developing as linear woodland.
Reports
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The Devon Wildlife Trust cares for some 40 nature reserves around the county, totaling more than 1,300 hectares (3,300 acres) in all.
