The Spearwort Fields
Selected Wild Place / Other Wild Places / Public Rights of Way / VC55 boundary
The site can be accessed by numerous entrances.
Coming from Aylestone, head across the humpback bridge over the canal, over the packhorse bridge and the small concrete bridge that follows, then turn immediately left through the metal gate. The Spearwort Fields begin at the next gate ahead of you.
Coming from Braunstone a boardwalk at the end of Kingsway leads to the playing field football pitches, crossing these leads to gates or styles at both ends and the middle of the boundary with The Spearwort Fields.
There is also a footpath leading to the site from Asda car park although this can be flooded in winter and overgrown with bramble in summer. Look for the path starting at the north-eastern corner of the car park, follow it over the bridge and continue along the path at the bottom of the slope parallel with the ditch. If this is flooded then head up onto the playing fields to reach the same gate.
After several years absence grazing has been restored to the site after hard work by Leicester City Council. The lack of grazing led to reductions in more delicate plant species as coarse grasses, meadowsweet and pond sedges increased their dominance and a heavy thatch built up. It will be interesting how the return of cattle affects the site.
Site species count:
This site is an area of unimproved grassland with stands of sedge situated alongside the River Soar. It also features hedgerows, ditches and boggy ground including a previous water course. The fields are the core area of what was once a larger Aylestone Bog, part of which is now buried under the playing fields to the west. It is maintained through grazing by English Longhorn cattle during the summer months.
Parts of the site flood in winter and remain boggy well into spring, particularly the south-western field and the old water course. Waterproof boots are advisable if you wish to explore the whole site at this time of year.
The boggy nature of the site makes it interesting botanically with numerous species of sedge and rush being present. Plant species of particular note include Slender Spike-rush, Common Meadow-rue, Marsh Arrowgrass and Tubular Water-dropwort.
The lush summer vegetation also supports good numbers of invertebrates. Roesel's Bush-cricket can be quite common, and Speckled Bush-cricket and Long-winged Conehead are regularly seen.
The fly fauna includes wetland specialists such as soldierflies and those attracted by the presence of cattle such as Horse flies and Stable Flies. The small soldierfly Nemotelus uliginosus can often be seen on the Tubular Water-dropwort or Ragwort flowers and, like Slender Spike-rush, is a species more usually associated with coastal habitats.
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