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Aston Nature Reserve
Aston Nature Reserve
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Aston Nature reserve is being extended to provide a major new wetland, as part of the English restoration. The first reserve area was constructed by volunteers from the Waterway Recovery Group in the 1990s, and a recent extension was constructed in 2008, utilising funding from Europe and the Heritage Lottery Fund. Eventually the ponds will cover the whole length of the offside from Aston Top Lock to Aston Bottom Lock, creating over ten acres of new pools and ponds.
The Montgomery Canal has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest, most noted for its aquatic plants, vegetation and aquatic invertebrates. Otters are visitors to the reserve and water voles have recently been seen in the area, and may be returning to the canal after an absence of many years. Rarer plants found here include a variety of different pondweeds (Potamogeton species), water violet and frogbit.
The reserves have a continual flow of water through them, using water that would have otherwise flowed around the by-washes, and have been designed to replicate the conditions found in the canal. They have also been lined, to prevent loss of water from the canal system.
Parking is available at the Queen’s Head pub, as well as opposite the pub, which serves a wide range of food. Situated nearby the pub is a large, old corrugated iron warehouse. The building is a listed structure and was built by the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company; it is now owned and used by Shropshire Paddlesports.
The best access to the reserve is adjacent to Aston Top Lock, just before you reach the lock keeper’s cottage. There is private farmland adjacent to the reserve, so please respect any information boards.
Services offered:
- Nature reserve
