Nature not reserved to time frame

As a child, many exciting summer days started before the sparrows were out of bed! My brother and I were thrilled to watch the sun rise through the trees as Grandma drove us to a favourite picnic spot in the woods where we’d enjoy breakfast, cooked on her camping stove, completely immersed in a symphony of birdsong. Magical! There are many wonderful wild places to visit in Oxfordshire, where children can explore, play, and learn about nature and wildlife. One of my favourites is Letcombe Valley Nature Reserve: nestling in the pretty village of Letcombe Regis, and set against the backdrop of rolling chalk downland in the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. I recently visited the reserve on a sunny morning when everything around me was fresh and vibrant, a wonderful experience for all the senses. Many different shades of green in the meadows, trees and hedges contrasted with splashes of blue and white from the bluebells, violets and garlic mustard. The heady scent of freshly-crushed herbs and grasses filled the air as I walked along the paths and then stopped to listen as robins vocally competed with wrens. How could such small birds make such a huge sound? No matter how many times I go to Letcombe Valley there’s always a new wildlife experience. As I stood, taking in the beauty of the woodland coming into leaf, a flash of white caught my attention; and I spotted a tree creeper hopping in spirals around a tree. The little tawny brown bird was so close, I could hear the scratchy sound of its beak tapping and probing the bark for tasty spiders and insects. The best part of the reserve, for me, is Letcombe Brook, a classic chalk stream that comes straight off the Downs. Further along the woodland path I heard the characteristic plop as a water vole dropped into the brook; I don’t need to see it to know it’s there. The best way to see wildlife is to let it come to you. ‘Kevin’ the resident kingfisher often obliges if you sit quietly on a log seat beside the brook, listening to the sound of water gently trickling over stones and watching the trout chasing the newly-emerged mayflies through the riffling water. Nature reserves such as Letcombe Valley offer not only a haven to wildlife but provide a wonderful natural ‘sensory playground’ for everyone. There’s a pushchair-friendly surfaced path to the centre of the reserve where coots and moorhens will be dabbling around on the lake. This is a great spot for a picnic with the kids. A walk along the brook through the trees is an easy amble for little legs, although the steps at the end of the path may seem a bit like mountains, but an exciting climb nonetheless. Letcombe Valley is a nature reserve open all year for everyone in the community to enjoy exploring and discovering a new wildlife experience every time they visit. The variety of habitats, such as damp wooded banks close to the brook and sunny open areas with well-drained chalk soil, enables many different wild flowers and insects such as bees and butterflies to thrive here. Recent visitors will have noticed a new fenced enclosure for sheep to graze the chalk grassland. This is a traditional way of managing this rare type of habitat, to reduce nettles and scrub and encourage smaller delicate wild flowers. This summer come along and see more harebells and small-leaved thyme nestling among the grasses.