Idle Valley Nature Reserve

The Idle Valley Nature Reserve is a wetland Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) situated north-west of the town of Retford in the Bassetlaw district of north Nottinghamshire. The nature reserve is situated along the western bank of the River Idle and east of the villages of Sutton cum Lound and Lound. The nature reserve is managed by the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust.

History 

The lakes within the nature reserve have been formed over seventy years of extraction of gravel and other aggregates, and since 1981 by Tarmac Limited. Tarmac agreed to hand over all of its land within the SSSI to the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust. In 2002, Natural England designated the site, formally known as the Sutton And Lound Gravel Pits, a SSSI. The Idle Valley Learning Centre which offers diploma courses in environmental conservation from North Nottinghamshire College was opened in 2008 and is owned by the college. The nature reserve received £1 million in Lottery funding in 2008. Paths, fencing and clearing of land has also taken place since the handover of the land, the efforts of which in 2011 won Tarmac the Mineral Products Association Cooper-Heyman Cup double award. In 2017, a new boardwalk was constructed adjacent to the visitor centre in order to improve access to the reserve, as part of a partnership between the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and the Rotary club of Retford.

Geography 

The reserve is over 3 miles long from the northernmost tip to the southern base of the site and covers over 450 hectares. It is the largest wetland in Nottinghamshire and the 5th largest SSSI in the county, covering 320 hectares. 259 bird species have been recorded making it one of the top birding sites in the UK, altogether making this reserve a site of national importance.

References

External links 

 Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust - Idle Valley
 Notts Birders- Idle Valley/Lound
Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Nottinghamshire
Category:Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust
Category:Retford