Peterborough National Nature Reserves

19/03/2026

13/02/2026

Dogs on Leads at Castor Hanglands NNR

This week, staff were on site when a muntjac was attacked by two spaniels, causing catastrophic injuries and ending with the deer being put down. As a result of this and increasing sightings of dogs chasing deer on the Reserve, we are now asking that all dogs are to be kept on a lead and under control while walking at Castor Hanglands.

31/03/2025

Due to a wayward sheep not wanting to move with the flock today, we currently have sheep in 2 compartments at Barnack, so there is no access into the site from the car park. Please access via Walcott Road instead to enjoy the rest of the site. Apologies for any inconvenience we hope to solve it soon!🐑🐏

26/03/2025

An interesting article and an issue on all of our NNR's.

Dogs off leads at protected nature reserves are disturbing nests, scaring away wintering birds and hampering the efforts of conservationists.

29/06/2024

One cigarette could start a fire that ties up our firefighters for hours 🚬

The weather is forecast to be hot this week, so grass areas will be very dry and could easily catch fire if ci******es aren't disposed of correctly 🔥

Help prevent outdoor fires: https://orlo.uk/fC0VP

15/04/2024

This afternoon a staff member found a dog in the locked compartment where the sheep are at Barnack Hills and Holes. It was chasing the sheep!

Please be responsible for your dog whilst on any part of the NNR. Have your dog on a lead or under close control. This means you can see and call your dog at all times.

We have many responsible dog walkers that use the NNR, but the horrific attack less than 2 weeks ago followed by today's incident is not acceptable!

12/04/2024

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw4rl30pz01o

The dog attack left the animal too injured to survive this latest attack, says Natural England.

11/04/2024

https://www.lincsonline.co.uk/stamford/news/section-of-nature-reserve-closed-following-dog-attack-9361077/

Part of a nature reserve has been closed off after a sheep was killed in a dog attack.

08/04/2024

After last week's fatal dog attack on one of our sheep we've decided to lock all gates into the compartment at Barnack Hills and Holes NNR.
We hope to move the sheep to another NNR over the next week or so.

08/04/2024

RIP Necky unfortunately she was the sheep attacked by a dog last week and had to put to sleep by the vet. She brought a lot of joy to many and will be sadly missed.

05/04/2024

Not a nice message but more than necessary!

Today one of our volunteers was checking our sheep at Barnack Hills & Holes NNR and found a sheep in discomfort, it was lying down and wouldn’t move. 2 Natural England staff members went along to check the sheep out. It had been attacked by a dog, today or possibly yesterday, we called a vet who attended and they could do nothing for the sheep apart from put it to sleep. It had puncture wounds on its throat, back of the neck, nose & chin.

If anyone saw anything can they please contact Natural England (0300 060 6000). We have many regular dog walkers on Hills and Holes that are more than responsible on the site, it’s such a shame for everyone when incidents like this happen.

While dealing with this we had to stop 4 boys, (aged between 13 & 16 who I think were local as they had T-shirts on) from chasing and shouting at sheep scaring them. A really sad day for the site.

03/10/2023

We've had a spate of metal detectorists on site at Hills & Holes NNR recently. They are damaging the ground. It is illegal for anyone to use a metal detector on a SSSI without permission. If you see anyone using a metal detector on the reserve please report it to the Police & this number immediately (0300 060 6000).