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Dinton Pastures Country Park

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Coordinates: 51°26′46″N 0°52′44″W / 51.446°N 0.879°W / 51.446; -0.879
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Snail sculpture at the entrance to Dinton Pastures Country Park

Dinton Pastures Country Park is a country park in the civil parish of St Nicholas Hurst, in the borough of Wokingham, near Reading in the English county of Berkshire.

Geography and site

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The park is 450 acres (180 ha) in size.[1] It has seven lakes, two rivers, three public bird hides, and meadows.[2] One of the lakes, Lavells Lake is designated as a local nature reserve.[3] The two rivers that flow through the park are the River Loddon and the Emm Brook.[4][5] The Museum of Berkshire Aviation and the headquarters of the British Entomological and Natural History Society are both located in the park.[6][7]

The site is popular for a number of sports including sailing, angling, kayaking, canoeing,[2] and running, playing host to a parkrun.[8] Other facilities include play areas and a cafe.[9][10]

History

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Anglo Saxons farmed the park's river meadows and called the area Whistley, where "wisc" means marshy meadows and "lei" means a woodland clearing.[11] From the start of the 17th century, much of the area then belonged to Windsor Forest.[12]

The present-day cafe was originally a farmhouse built in 1904, which was called 'High Chimneys'.[13] In 1924 the area was sold to a farmer who renamed the farm after his home village of Dinton, near Aylesbury.[14]

The country park is part of the river Loddon's flood plain and so makes a good source of gravel, between 1969 and 1979 an extensive gravel extraction program was carried out. Much of the gravel was used for the M4 and the A329(M).[15]

In 1979 Dinton Pastures was opened to the public.[16] In 1992, part of the country park, Lavells Lake, was declared as a local nature reserve by Wokingham Borough Council.[3]

Fauna

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The site has the following fauna:[5][12][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]

Mammals

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Invertebrates

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Birds

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Amphibians and reptiles

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Fish

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Flora

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The site has the following flora:[30][31][32]

Trees

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Plants

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References

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  1. ^ "Walks and nature - Dinton Pastures Country Park". Dinton-pastures.co.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Dinton Pastures Country Park | Wokingham Directory". Directory.wokingham.gov.uk. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Natural England - Special Sites". Lnr.naturalengland.org.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  4. ^ "Friends of the Emm Brook". foteb.org.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Fishing - Dinton Pastures Country Park". Dinton-pastures.co.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  6. ^ "West Berkshire Council - Dinton Pastures Country Park - Wokingham Local Offer". Fis.westberks.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  7. ^ "HOME - British Entomological & Natural History Society". Benhs.org.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  8. ^ "home | Dinton Pastures parkrun | Dinton Pastures parkrun". www.parkrun.org.uk. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Children's play park". Dintonpastures.co.uk. 7 May 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  10. ^ "Dragonfly cafe". Dintonpastures.co.uk. 9 January 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  11. ^ "Walker's Walks: September 2005 - Dinton Pastures". Walkerswalks.typepad.com. 23 September 2005. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  12. ^ a b "A World of Water and Wildlife at Dinton Pastures - Walks". The AA. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  13. ^ "History of Dinton Pastures". Dintonpastures.co.uk. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  14. ^ "History - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  15. ^ "Britain Outdoors - Berkshire Dinton Pastures Trail Details". Berkshire.britainoutdoors.com. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  16. ^ "Dinton Pastures Country Park – Reading Voluntary Action". Rva.org.uk. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  17. ^ "Mammals - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  18. ^ "Butterflies & Moths - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 11 August 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  19. ^ "Dragonflies & Damselflies - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  20. ^ "Other Wildlife - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  21. ^ "Divers - Herons - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  22. ^ "Swans - Ducks - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 10 November 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  23. ^ "Raptors - Rails - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  24. ^ "Waders - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  25. ^ "Skuas - Terns - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  26. ^ "Pigeons - Woodpeckers - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  27. ^ "Larks - Chats - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  28. ^ "Thrushes - Warblers - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  29. ^ "Crests - Crows - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  30. ^ a b "Starlings > Buntings - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  31. ^ "Flora - Friends of Lavell's Lake". Foll.org.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  32. ^ "WDVTA 10th Anniversary Report - Parishes and Towns". Wdvta.org.uk. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
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51°26′46″N 0°52′44″W / 51.446°N 0.879°W / 51.446; -0.879

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