About the reserve

Churchtown Farm lies in a strategic position on the edge of Saltash with spectacular views over the scenic waterways that connect Plymouth and the Tamar Valley to the sea.

The farm’s hay meadows, arable fields, mature hedges, woodland, wetland, scrub, rocky shoreline and mudflats are steeped in history, with prehistoric settlements, medieval aristocracy, the Church, farming, seafaring, quarrying, mining, and railway engineering all having left their mark.

Churchtown Farm leaflet with walking trails - download here

Without the use of herbicides and pesticides, once-common ‘arable weeds’ are able to survive here; the tiny flowers of scarlet pimpernel (red) and corn spurrey (white) can be seen across the site.

Churchtown Farm’s arable fields are sown with a seed mix for farmland birds, resulting in numerous species, including chaffinches, bullfinches, greenfinches, goldfinches, linnets, and occasional bramblings, which can be seen enjoying their winter seed banquet, flocking to the fields.

From September onwards, look out for other birds, including wildfowl and wader species, which can be found at the reserve’s Forder Creek area and out in the estuary. Redshank, greenshank, curlew, wigeon and teal can be seen and heard around the sheltered bays, whilst further out you may spot a great crested grebe.

Wide field margins are cut on long rotations. In late spring and summer, look for the pink flowers of red clover and cut-leaved crane’s-bill, as well as the yellow and orange blooms of bird’s-foot trefoil. Butterflies you may see around the field edges include the ringlet, meadow brown, gatekeeper, comma, marbled white and common blue.