Pensthorpe Springwatch Bill Oddie Kate Humble Norfolk BBC Nature

Pensthorpe Nature Reserves lies on the A1067 one mile south of Fakenham. The 300 acre reserve is one of the foremost wildfowl sites in Europe and is located in the valley of the River Wensum. It features a diverse range of habitats including: lakes, woodlands, marshland, heathland, scrub and water meadows. (Sennowe Hall in the upper Wensum Valley recently provided the location for The Diets That Time Forgot and further downstream Bintry Mill was used in the BBC's 1997 production of The Mill on the Floss.)

This year, Pensthorpe will host the highly popular BBC TV series Springwatch. The programme, which has previously been based in Devon, will be moving to Norfolk and will be presented by the normal team namely: Bill Oddie, Kate Humble and Simon King. The programmes will be broadcast from May 26 to June 12. Norfolk was chosen because of the unparalleled range of wildlife habitats that it offers.

The Pensthorpe Conservation Trust has played a large part in the re-introduction of endangered British species such as the corncrake, red squirrel and Great Crane. The Wensum, which flows through Pensthorpe, is also home to rare species like the white clawed crayfish, the bullhead and the brown trout.

The crane was once common in England but became extinct in the 17th Century. In1979, cranes re-appeared in the Norfolk Broads and remained through out the winter and in 1982 the first chick was successfully raised. At the moment the RSPB predict that there are approximately 100-200 birds in the UK.

In his book Nature Cure - the naturalist Richard Mabey had this to say about cranes in Norfolk after spotting some at Horsey Mere:

'Cranes are the epitome of wild places, and their return to the Broads is a blessing, a sign that their sense of wilderness hasn't been entirely destroyed. They had come of their own accord, settled where they wanted, and survived without any elaborate protection systems or habitat manipulation. No wonder that across the world, they are regarded as symbols of good luck, renewal and fertility.'

While doing voluntary work recently at the new RSPB reserve at Sutton Fen, I was lucky enough to see a pair of cranes passing over the reedbeds.

pensthorpe

In Nature Cure - Mabey also visits the Hawk and Owl Trust site at nearby Sculthorpe.

'Sculthorpe seemed more ancient and echoing than any wet place I'd seen. Huge willows had collapsed like broken sheaves, arching over the peat and here and there talking root at their tips. Their branches were draped - upholstered almost - with moss and lichen and epiphytic ferns. In danker spots there were mounds of tussock sedge, iron-dark and fusty, which in Norfolk were once cut to make fireside seats and church kneelers.'

Norfolk Nature Writers

Norfolk is fortunate to possess many internationally important wetland sites. It is also fortunate in having produced or attracted a string of outstanding nature writers. One of the earliest of these was the physician and proto-scientist Sir Thomas Browne who published Notes on the Natural History of Norfolk during the 17th Century. Browne lived in Norwich in a house on the Haymarket and surrounded himself with a bizarre collection of specimens including a stuffed dolphin and a live bittern.

Another important Norfolk naturalist was Arthur H. Patterson (aka John Knowlittle) who was born in Yarmouth and was an expert on the wildlife of Breydon Water - not to mention being a renowned EDP Nature diarist. Patterson was also a major influence on another EDP nature diarist Ted Ellis - who set up his own nature reserve at Wheatfen Broad near Surlingham.

More recently we have been fortunate to receive Richard Mabey and Mark Cocker - two exceptionally talented nature writers. Richard Mabey, who is the author of books such as Food For Free, Nature Cure, Flora Britannica and a biography of Gilbert White, currently lives at Roydon near Diss. Mark Cocker - who is a leading authority on birds and the author of Birds Britannica (assisted by Mabey), Birders and Crow Country is based at Claxton in the Yare valley.

Links:

Pensthorpe Nature Reserve

Pensthorpe Conservation Trust

Sculthorpe Moor

Bird and Nature Reserves in Norfolk

Norfolk Wildlife Trust

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