Habitat type: Grassland
Size of Reserve: 5ha (12 acres)
OS Map No. 108
Grid reference: SX 413 707 from public footpath in south east corner of reserve
Time to visit: June on Open Days
Cornwall
Wildlife Trust encourages the use of environmentally friendly
forms of transport wherever
possible. Click
on the locator map above to go to the National
Cycle Network website and view an Ordnance Survey map of this
reserve highlighting nearby cycle routes.
Directions:
From the A390 at St Anne's Chapel take signposted turning to Donkey Park. Park in the Tamar Valley Donkey Park car park and proceed to ticket office. Donkey Park staff will direct you to reserve entrance.
Access:
From Easter until 30th September Sylvia's Meadow is open daily from 10am until 5pm. From October until Easter please contact the Reserve Officer on 07866 430086 to check opening times.
Classification
Description:
Unimproved herb-rich pasture is a very rare sight in the Cornish
countryside and this is one of the most important meadows for nature
conservation
in Cornwall. It is necessary to graze the meadow to prevent the more
interesting and rare plants from being overwhelmed by coarse grasses
and scrub.
Characteristic wildlife of this reserve:
The lesser butterfly orchid can grow from 8-24 inches tall. The flower's
appearance is very striking, with two large oval leaves at the base
and smaller, pointed
leaves higher up the stem and a number of large greenish-white flowers.
This plant is similar to the greater butterfly orchid, but the two
can be told
apart by looking into the throat of the flower: in the lesser, the throat
is narrow and closed and the two pollen clumps lie parallel close together,
in the greater the throat is broad and the pollinia further apart at the
base than the tips.
The heath spotted orchid has narrow leaves marked with small purple
circles and a flower of white to pale purple edged with darker mauve.
Its lower lip
is large and round. The flower appears in June.
Other information:
The reserve was named after the previous owner's daughter.
The field was probably used as pasture or crops in medieval times,
although as part of Hingston Down heathland, it survived the
plough during the Second
World War because a military camp was sited on it.
On the reserve are found a leat, which ran to Drakewalls tin mine
to the east, and two adit gullies, likely to be from the Hingston Down
Mine.
Purchased in 1992 with a grant from the National Heritage Memorial
Fund.