🦦 Clophill Lakes Opening Day - 5th April 2025

Saturday 05 April 2025
Time: 09:00 - 17:00
🎉 We are delighted to announce that Clophill Lakes Nature Reserve will open to visitors from the 5th April 2025. The new nature reserve lies in the heart of Greensand Country’s Flit Valley, between Clophill and Chicksands, providing stunning lakes and wetlands alongside the nationally important Cainhoe Castle Scheduled Monument, with the Greensand Ridge forming the backdrop to the north.
🕘 OPENINGS TIMES
▪️Site open 9am-5pm, (7 days a week)
▪️Closed Christmas Day
☕️ CAFE: Open 10am-3pm, (7 days a week)
A Riverside Café serving barista coffee from local suppliers Wooden Hill and light snacks. Card or Contactless payment only
🚻 TOILETS
Toilets available 9am-5pm
COME & SEE:
🦦 Otters
🦆 Ducks
🐦 Birds
🦋 Butterflies
🏰 Norman Castle mound
ℹ️ ABOUT THE NATURE RESERVE
▪️The Lakes: As a former Fuller’s Earth quarry, the site has been shaped by its industrial heritage. Warren Lake and Castle Lake lie where the quarry extraction took place, and the whole site has become a haven for wildlife.
▪️Habitats: The nature reserve offers a mosaic of habitats such as wetlands, flower-rich grasslands and woodland which support a wide range of species including otters, dragonflies and damselflies and wetland birds. important haven for wildlife. It includes the Cainhoe Lakes County Wildlife Site (CWS), recognised for its habitat mosaic of semi-improved acid and neutral grassland, plant species, woodland, scrub, hedgerows, marshy grassland, swamp, ditches, ponds and lakes. It is also recognised for its wintering birds - both waders and wildfowl. Areas of the site are part of the Flit Valley County Wildlife Site and River County Wildlife Site.
🕘 OPENINGS TIMES
▪️Site open 9am-5pm, (7 days a week)
▪️Closed Christmas Day
☕️ CAFE: Open 10am-3pm, (7 days a week)
A Riverside Café serving barista coffee from local suppliers Wooden Hill and light snacks. Card or Contactless payment only
🚻 TOILETS
Toilets available 9am-5pm
COME & SEE:
🦦 Otters
🦆 Ducks
🐦 Birds
🦋 Butterflies
🏰 Norman Castle mound
ℹ️ ABOUT THE NATURE RESERVE
▪️The Lakes: As a former Fuller’s Earth quarry, the site has been shaped by its industrial heritage. Warren Lake and Castle Lake lie where the quarry extraction took place, and the whole site has become a haven for wildlife.
▪️Habitats: The nature reserve offers a mosaic of habitats such as wetlands, flower-rich grasslands and woodland which support a wide range of species including otters, dragonflies and damselflies and wetland birds. important haven for wildlife. It includes the Cainhoe Lakes County Wildlife Site (CWS), recognised for its habitat mosaic of semi-improved acid and neutral grassland, plant species, woodland, scrub, hedgerows, marshy grassland, swamp, ditches, ponds and lakes. It is also recognised for its wintering birds - both waders and wildfowl. Areas of the site are part of the Flit Valley County Wildlife Site and River County Wildlife Site.
▪️River Flit: The site lies in the heart of the Flit Valley and is carved by the River Flit which runs with through it.
▪️Cainhoe Castle Scheduled Monument: With its associated moated site, fishponds, and field systems is a prominent landscape feature to the south. A footpath goes through the site towards the A507, and all of the archaeological features can be clearly seen from the footpath. Please stick to the footpath as the archaeological earthworks are extremely fragile and are vulnerable to erosion and damage if they are walked over.
▪️Cainhoe Castle Scheduled Monument: With its associated moated site, fishponds, and field systems is a prominent landscape feature to the south. A footpath goes through the site towards the A507, and all of the archaeological features can be clearly seen from the footpath. Please stick to the footpath as the archaeological earthworks are extremely fragile and are vulnerable to erosion and damage if they are walked over.
🐶 DOGS
Strictly dogs on lead only.
♿️ ACCESSIBILITY
Site partially wheelchair accessible (more paths coming soon).
🚴♂️ CYCLING
Cycling to the reserve, but not round the reserve.
⛔️ NOT ALLOWED
▪️No fishing
▪️No swimming
▪️No BBQs
▪️No horse riding
▪️No drones, metal detectors, kites or model aircraft please
▪️No open fires and no camping
🅿️ PARKING - FEES APPLY
We operate an automatic number plate recognition (APNR) parking system - you must pay for your parking before you leave the car park as there is no payment possible at the exit barrier. Payment onsite via payment machine located in the car park where you can pay by card or contactless.
📧 CONTACT DETAILS
Email us on info@greensandtrust.org and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
We can't wait to welcome you in.




