British Habitats

This exhibit will provide visitors with direct links on how they and other individuals and groups in Britain can attract and support overlooked, threatened, native wildlife. The exhibit will demonstrate the importance of several British habitats that have been classified as priority habitats for conservation by the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP). They are:

• Cereal field margins
• Species rich hedgerows
• Lowland calcareous grassland
• Lowland meadow.

The proposed exhibit includes: a ranger station, an open sided barn, visitor routes within the exhibits, new ponds, new native woodland, an orchard, shrubs and herbaceous, marginal and meadow planting. The first exhibit to be experienced by visitors, British Habitats is located on the primary pedestrian route just beyond the visitor village.

The British Habitats exhibit will be experienced in two parts, with the ranger station, open sided barn and an associated courtyard space set between the two themed areas. The first part of the exhibit is a garden landscape, the second gives an experience of a farmland landscape.

The secret garden, viewed from various locations through openings in walls and willow hurdle fences, will allow wildlife to remain undisturbed. Bird and insect feeders encourage wildlife into this area. A nearby adder vivarium will provide visitors will an opportunity to see Britain’s only poisonous reptile.

The farmland landscape provides an opportunity to experience detailed corners of a working landscape, including an orchard and a field edge of cereal crops and wildflowers. This part of the exhibit includes a veteran oak, meadow area and pond. The pond is screened by a living willow fence, which acts as a hide. This has ‘windows’ at various heights, allowing visitors to view undisturbed wildlife. There is also access to the water’s edge for guided groups and for more observant visitors, via a grassy path around the fence. A calcareous meadow is at the west of the site, accessed through a hedge. Once through the hedge, this part of the exhibit merges into grassland and visitors have views over open parkland to Hollywood Tower.