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About the Group
and the Reserve
The Moor Green Lakes Group (MGLG) was established in 1993 as an organisation to
help manage the Moor Green Lakes Nature Reserve in Berkshire, England.
Our aims are:
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to improve the
Reserve for wildlife
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record and monitor that wildlife
-
enhance the facilities of the Reserve for
members of the Moor Green Lakes Group and other visitors
The Group works in conjunction with
CEMEX, the site owners and the
Blackwater Valley
Countryside Partnership both of which bring resources and expertise in active
conservation within the 30 kilometres of the Blackwater Valley.
For the past 50 years
or so gravel has been extracted from the
Blackwater Valley, stretching westward from Sandhurst to Eversley where it
continues today. Moor
Green Lakes is the result of restoration of part of that area. Land north of the
river stretching for 2.5Km to the
west of the Reserve, which is presently being worked, will ultimately become a
major extension of the Reserve, more than
trebling its size.
The
existing Reserve occupies
36 hectares (90 acres) north of the River Blackwater and lies
in the boroughs of Bracknell Forest and Wokingham, in
Berkshire, England. It comprises three lakes: Colebrook North, Colebrook South and Grove
Lake; click
here for an
aerial view. The main access point for the Reserve is
the
Car Park
off Lower Sandhurst Road in Finchampstead, Wokingham. Note that this is a
private Car Park and is locked at night.
It is usually open from approx 08.00; the lock-up
time is displayed on a notice in the Car Park. Due to recent work to
improve the drainage in the area, there is no longer any roadside parking just
outside the car park, however there is room for a car at the bottom end of Dell
Road, just west of the car park; but please don't block the field gates.
Alternative Parking
is available off Mill Lane near the sailing club at Horseshoe Lake.
If visitors identify
any Health and Safety issues on the
Reserve, then please report them to the Site Liaison Officer - details on the
Contacts page. The
Reserve Map shows
the features of the reserve, including location of two viewing hides for use by
members of the Group. Access to the Reserve
is along the footpath running south from the main Car Park, past Colebrook Lakes
North and South, to meet the
Blackwater Valley Path. The
Colebrook Hide is on the spit between the lakes and has wheelchair access. The Blackwater Valley
Path runs beside the
river along the south of the Reserve. A bridge crosses the river 100m to the east of the path from the car park
and leads to Yateley. A bridleway runs in parallel with the path
from the car park to the river bridge. The path from
the river bridge to Mill Lane is part of the
Three Castles
Path, a ramblers route running between Windsor and Winchester. The
hide at Grove Lake is situated on the south-east corner and can be accessed by
the footpath from either car park, being closer to the Mill Lane entrance.
The wildlife on the
Reserve has been recorded and monitored by the Moor Green Lakes Group since
1993. Nationally rare plants are present on the Reserve and the site is of local importance for wintering wildfowl. Tern
Island on Colebrook Lake North holds one of Britain's largest inland nesting
colonies of Common Terns and Black-headed Gulls.
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[Current
Weather]
Latest News
The
June Bird Summary has been added.
30 June 2009
The work to resurface the bridleway and car
park has been completed and they are now fully open for use. I think you
will agree that the result is well worth suffering the inconvenience caused
in carrying out the work.
26 June 2009
A page giving
basic
statistics on the presence of some migratory birds recorded at Moor
Green Lakes has been added. This will be extended in due course.
16 June 2009
The
May Bird Summary has been added.
1 June 2009
The resurfacing of the bridleway has been
completed and is now open for use, as are the car park and footpath.
However, there is some remaining material occupying some of the parking
spaces in the car park, which has yet to be removed.
16 May 2009
The
April Bird Summary has been added.
30 April 2009
Access Improvements at Moor Green Lakes
We are very pleased to say that work to improve the surface of the bridleway
between the Lower Sandhurst Road
Car Park
and the Blackwater River will start on the 27th April. We hope that the
work will take no more than three weeks and during this time there will be
some disruption to access at Moor Green Lakes.
We apologise for any inconvenience that this
may cause but the work will make a long lasting improvement to the quality
of the bridleway and the access at Moor Green Lakes.
For 3 weeks from 27th April 2009:
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the bridleway will be closed.
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the footpath from the car park to Colebrook
Hide will be closed during the day but open in the evening and at
weekends. It should be possible to access the hide from the south.
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the car park will be closed during the day
but open at weekends.
If you have any queries, please contact Sue
Dent on 01252 331353 or
Email Sue Dent
or call Wokingham Borough Council Countryside Service on 0118 934 2016.
Unfortunately, there is no alternative local parking due to the
narrow lanes. The nearest alternative parking is at
Horseshoe Lake, (OS map ref SU 820 621).
Updated on 24 April 2009 - (posted 15
April)
The
Minutes of the 2009 AGM have been added to the [Joining
MGLG] Page.
14 April 2009
The
March Bird Summary has been added.
31 March 2009
If you spot any faults or
mistakes or have any comments or suggestions on this website, then please let me know at:
webmaster@mglg.org.uk
Earlier news items are in the
[News
Archive] |
