Mottey Meadows National Nature Reserve is one of the best examples in the UK of wildflower rich floodplain meadows. The reserve comprises a series of alluvial flood meadows which have been managed as hay meadows for many centuries

Where: Staffordshire

Main habitats: Lowland grassland

Area: 37 Ha

Why Visit: The reserve's grassland supports over 240 species of flowering plants and grasses, including the rare and beautiful snakes head fritillary. Ditches on the site are home to plants such as common meadow rue, yellow flag iris and water mint. In the wetter meadows you will find cuckoo flower and marsh marigold.

By mid June the meadows at their best with a sea of great burnet, ragged robin, knapweed and other hay meadow specialists such as pepper saxifrage, meadow rue, meadow thistle and saw wort.

The site supports a number of invertebrate species, including numerous species of butterflies and the rare horsetail weevil. Mottey Meadows is also home to breeding birds such as snipe, curlew and lapwing

Please note the site is limited to permit holders only apart from guided walks. A permissive path is open through the hay meadows for the public to see the best of the wildflower displays from 1st June to 31st August.

Dogs must be kept on leads at all times as rare ground nesting birds breed on the reserve.

Star Species: Snakes head fritillary, hay meadow flowers, curlew

Access: The site is 2 km north of the A5, 0.5 km south of Marston village and 1 km west of the town of Wheaton Aston. By car, access to the site is via minor roads from the A5, A41, A449 and A518.

The nearest train station is in Penkridge, 8 km to the east. Bus services exist between Penkridge and Wheaton Aston.

Mottey Meadows: what makes it special?

Mottey Meadows lie in the broad valley of the Motteymeadows brook.

Peaty soils overly sand and gravel deposits, resulting in an area that is wet in winter, but dries out rapidly in spring. This provides ideal conditions for the growth and harvesting of hay, and the Wheaton Aston area was famous for its excellent hay quality.

Snakes Head Fritillary

This system is also ideal for the rare and delicate member of the lily family, the snake's-head fritillary; here it is at its most northerly location in England where it grows as a truly wild plant. Locally the snake's-head fritillary is known as the “folfalarum” or “folfar” this name is not known to be used anywhere outside of the village of Wheaton Aston.

Hay Meadow Flowers

By mid June the meadows are at their best with a sea of great burnet, ragged robin, knapweed and other hay meadow specialists such as pepper saxifrage, meadow rue, meadow thistle and saw wort. This type of display of hay meadow flowers would have been quite common a century ago however due to agricultural improvements to 90% of England floodplain meadows have disappeared.

Mottey Meadows is now one of only a handful of sites with this type of wildflower assemblage with such a great diversity of plants. As one of the five most important sites for floodplain meadows in the UK, Mottey Meadows have been designated as a Special Area for Conservation under European Legislation.

The history of agriculture

The meadows are managed through a traditional hay cut (historically done by hand, today done by modern agricultural machinery) and after math grazing. By July many of the flowers are staring to seed and in the first spell of settled dry weather the hay will be mown. The haymaking process and aftermath grazing help scatter wildflower seed, thus perpetuating an assemblage of wild plants that have existed at Mottey for many hundreds of years.

This pattern of agricultural management has continued at Mottey Meadows for many hundreds of years, with some evidence that this was in operation as far back as 1336.

Mottey Meadows: seasonal highlights

The end of April is the best time of year to see the snakes head fritillary.

Snake's head fritillaries (c) Peter Wakely

Please note the site is limited to permit holders only apart from guided walks.