Willow Holt

About Willow Holt

Changes in level, a legacy of long-forgotten gravel diggings, are the surprise in this Fenland landscape. Part water-filled, they teem with life, home over the years to water vole, grass snake, great-crested newt, dragonfly, whirligig beetle and umpteen other insects. Wildlife witnessed in 2023 includes Muntjac and Roe deer, fox, hedgehog and rabbit. Moorhen patrol the ponds while buzzard and red kite soar above the trees. The wooden house is shared with a breeding roost of soprano pipistrelles, welcome feeders on the mosquitos produced in the ground-water ponds.

A stroll from the slightly more controlled house-side garden brings visitors to the meadow, tree-fringed from our planting of the 1990s and abundant with grasses, wild carrot, yellow rattle, scabious and many more native plants. On the far side a walk past the sunset gate, a new addition leading to the track outside, brings you to the wilder lower level garden with its quirky sculptures and bridges across the wet areas. Allow at least an hour for a full exploration.
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