Daneshill Lakes

Daneshill Lakes is an area of restored and flooded gravel pits that now provides a home to a diverse range of wildlife. The reserve is leased from Nottinghamshire County Council and is a designated Local Nature Reserve. The main points of interest are the lakes, but there are also important areas of marginal vegetation, grassland and willow woodland habitat supporting many species of birds, butterflies and other wildlife.

There are also areas of drier woodland and scrub and rabbit-grazed grassland. The dry woodland and scrub occurs around the periphery of the site and includes trees such as oak, birch, blackthorn, hawthorn and rowan; flowers include wood sage and foxglove on sunny edges. Bramble and gorse attract many species of invertebrate including butterflies such as the bright yellow brimstone, common blue, meadow brown, gatekeeper and ringlet.

Good numbers of willow warbler, whitethroat and blackcap are present in summer, and in winter you may spot a siskin or a goldcrest. Down by the wetland, water rail may be also seen. This is also a good site for damselflies and dragonflies, and if you’re lucky, you might spot a grass snake.