Carymarsh Nature Reserve

Carymarsh Nature Reserve A photographic history of the evolution of the reserve A wetland area is 5 ha in size.

Orchard Farm has been farmed by the Boyer family since 1928, the current residents being the third generation. With the decline of agriculture over the past decades much of the land is less intensively farmed than in the past and wildlife, including roe deer, badgers, foxes and many species of wild birds, is increasing. While Orchard Farm is still an active and high-producing farm, we have tried t

o improve the natural environment. As part of this we have taken a low-producing area out of the production and created Carymarsh Nature Reserve. A series of ponds and reedbeds have been created by diverting a small brook through the field, providing a wide range of wetland habitats, similar to the types of habitats that would have occurred in this area many centuries ago, prior to the onset of intensive agriculture. Adjacent to this we have planted a broadleaved woodland with 2.7 ha of native trees and shrubs, surrounded by rides of rough tussocky grasses (0.3 ha) and an area that is planted each year to provide winter bird-seed (0.9 ha). The reserve is criss-crossed with footpaths for the use of the local community of Castle Cary and the surrounding villages.

Behind all of the beautiful photos of the ponies, pigs, kingfishers, butterflies, plants, etc. taken in the reserve is a...
19/09/2025

Behind all of the beautiful photos of the ponies, pigs, kingfishers, butterflies, plants, etc. taken in the reserve is a huge amount of hard work by ourselves and the many lovely volunteers who help us.
This weeks task is to clear the grass that has been cut in the margins around the woodland. Around 1.5 km of margins, with a dense sward, makes for a lot of work😳😅
Well done to the Able2Achieve guys and some of our regular local volunteers 👏👏

Our little Exmoor pony herd has grown somewhat over the past couple of months.These ponies are ideal conservation grazer...
25/07/2025

Our little Exmoor pony herd has grown somewhat over the past couple of months.
These ponies are ideal conservation grazers; we have used them in Carymarsh for almost two decades.
The reserve is not large enough to support more than 2 or 3 ponies and so during the autumn both mares and their foals will be moved Exmoor.
We will have the stallion and his yearling son, born last summer, for the winter.

Each year we plant a hectare of “wild bird seed” under power lines that run across our woodland (trees and electric cabl...
24/05/2025

Each year we plant a hectare of “wild bird seed” under power lines that run across our woodland (trees and electric cables make for problems). This includes sunflowers, linseed, mustard, phacelia, quinoa.
This task has just been completed, and hopefully in a few months we’ll have a variety of flowers for bees and butterflies, followed by seeds throughout the winter months, primarily for “farmland birds”; species like reed bunting, chaffinch, linnet.
Many thanks to Targett & Sons, neighbouring farmers, who once again drilled the seed, and also rescued our tractor when it broke down.
Hopefully, if we get some rain soon, it will look like the crop of 2023

Storm Darragh left an ash along Carymoor Drove rather precariously caught in the adjacent oak. As far as we can tell it ...
08/12/2024

Storm Darragh left an ash along Carymoor Drove rather precariously caught in the adjacent oak.
As far as we can tell it is safe, but it is an old tree with a rotten core (and dozens of nest holes), so it could fall at any time.
A tree surgeon will deal with it in the coming days, but until then, for your own safety, if you’re walking along the drove or in the woodland please give the tree a wide berth

A group of conservation volunteers spent the weekend in the reserve removing thugs and bullies that are threatening to t...
06/12/2024

A group of conservation volunteers spent the weekend in the reserve removing thugs and bullies that are threatening to take over- mostly willows, blackthorn and brambles.
This is a natural process but we’re trying to slow down the degradation of the wetland habitats- especially as wetlands are one of the most threatened habitats in the UK.
A huge amount was achieved, but as always this is a never ending task 🥹
To support all the hard work, lots of eating and drinking kept everyone going 🤗

06/12/2024

Thanks to Marie-Anne for putting this together

One of our goals for Carymarsh is to create an accessible reserve for local people to enjoy nature. A really muddy bridg...
02/10/2024

One of our goals for Carymarsh is to create an accessible reserve for local people to enjoy nature. A really muddy bridge (thanks to our lovely Exmoor ponies) has now been bypassed by a footbridge, constructed by the wonderful Mendip Ramblers volunteers

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Orchard Farm
Castle Cary

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