Henley Sidings

An old railway embankment now filled with wildflowers and butterflies

Location

0.5km north of Henley in Arden, in Johnson Place off the A3400. 'What 3 Words' address: rainwater.quintet.flattery

Henley-in-Arden

Warwickshire

B95 5AE

OS Map Reference

SP 147 667

Know before you go

Size

1 hectare

Parking information

Parking available in Henley. Please do not block the gateway.

Grazing animals

Walking trails

Prone to waterlogging, soft in patches

Access

Reserve is prone to waterlogging. From Henley in Arden High Street walk North out of town (house numbers decreasing). Walk on right side of the road as the footpath ends on the other side. If necessary cross the road using the pedestrian refuge close to Number Three High Street. Continue walking for 100m, past the parapets of the demolished railway bridge. Cross the road, pass through the gate, take the path to the left, walking between the trees. Continue on and follow the tarmac road, which rises after the bend. In 300 m turn right, the public footpath passes down the tarmac drive to Park Farm. After 100m the gate to Henley Sidings is on the left, before the footpath that goes around the side of the barn.

Dogs

No dogs permitted

Assistance dogs only

When to visit

Opening times

Open at all times

Best time to visit

Spring and summer

About the reserve

Explore this stretch of 500m of old railway embankment and look out for wildflowers like cowslip, agrimony, purging flax, woolly thistle, fairy flax and lady’s bedstraw.

There are plenty of rabbits here and they help to keep the grass short. Where the grass is sparse a carpet of lichen covers the ground.

What might you spot?

Look for the anthills created by the yellow meadow ants. They build a soil dome above their nest - which can extend a metre below the ground - that helps to regulate temperature and humidity.

Twenty species of butterfly have been seen here, including marbled white and clouded yellow. Day-flying moths such as latticed heath and the narrow-bordered five-spot burnet provide further variety. Around 200 species of beetle have also been recorded.

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