Windmill Farm

The reserve is of particular importance for its lowland heathland habitats and the variety of rare and specialist wildlife, including Cornish heath.

Location

1 mile north of Lizard village.

On the A3083, head south towards Lizard village. Keep going past Trevelyan Holiday Homes and take the third turning on the
right, along a two-vehicle wide, rough but Tarmac road. Continue straight for 700m passing through Rose in the Valley Farm until you reach the Windmill, where you will find parking for up to 10 cars.

OS Map Reference

SW 6936 1521

Know before you go

Size

85 hectares

Grazing animals

Yes. Cattle onsite usually between April – October.

Access

Cattle grazed farm pasture and heathland makes for challenging terrain. Disabled access is limited, the site is not suitable for push chairs. In the winter months the ground is water logged and gateways can be impassable.

There are two way-marked trails at the reserve: a Nature Trail (which passes some of the reserve’s most important
features for wildlife) and a WWII Trail for the site's wildlife highlights and former military buildings that were once part of RAF Predannack, an airfield established in 1941.

Dogs

No dogs permitted

When to visit

Opening times

Open at all times

Best time to visit

May to August

About the reserve

The reserve’s heathlands are part of the Lizard Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Since purchasing this former dairy farm in 2001, ancient trackways have been rediscovered, and more than 30 pools and scrapes (shallow water bodies) have been created. The scrapes dry out during the summer and their muddy margins provide suitable conditions for specialist plants, invertebrates and wading birds. This has encouraged rare plants, helped establish the reserve as a key site for dragonflies and damselflies (17 species are regularly recorded here), and benefitted other species such as newts and rare stoneworts.

Windmill Farm is a great site for bird watching because of its many pools, grown-out hedges and extensive grazing pasture. In spring the reserve hosts many warblers such as whitethroat, reed, sedge and willow. The most distinctive is the grasshopper warbler – a secretive summer visitor whose insect-like, reeling song is unmistakable.

Cuckoos, often heard calling across the reserve, search for the nests of meadow pipits. During the winter the heaths have good numbers of snipe and woodcock, plus the occasional over-wintering hen harrier.

The old tracks are perfect for the rare and endangered pygmy rush. At less than 3cm tall it can be tricky to find, but its purplish colouring in June can be distinctive. Threelobed water-crowfoot, a very rare member of the buttercup family with small, white, starry flowers thrives in the reserve’s wet muddy gateways and temporary pools.

Download: Windmill Farm leaflet