Marbury Reedbed Nature Reserve

Marbury Reedbed Nature Reserve is a 6-hectare (15-acre) nature reserve located at the western end of Budworth Mere, north of Northwich, Cheshire, England. It is managed by the Cheshire Wildlife Trust under lease from the Royal Society for Nature Conservation, which purchased the land by public subscription in 1934 as a memorial to the Cheshire naturalist Thomas Coward. The reserve, which is adjacent to Marbury Country Park, contains a range of habitats, with the reedbed, carr woodland and semi-natural broadleaved woodland demonstrating the various stages of hydrosere succession (a gradual change from open water to woodland). The open water contains a rich selection of plants, including water lilies, and provides valuable feeding and breeding habitat for kingfishers, little grebes and great crested grebes. The reedbed is almost exclusively composed of common reed and is a residence for summer birds such as reed and sedge warblers. In recent years the reedbed has been used as an over-wintering site by bittern, and the trust manages the reedbed for this secretive heron by cutting glades through the reeds to allow better feeding opportunities. The diminutive and shy lesser spotted woodpecker has also been seen occasionally in the reserve's woodlands.

Nearby Places View Menu

Marbury Country Park

Marbury Country Park is a country park in Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of Northwich Community Woodlands, an integral part of the Mersey Forest. Former industrial land is gradually being transformed to create a rich and green environment stretching from Marbury to Northwich. Many of the features of the Country Park, including the lime avenues and the arboretum, are a legacy of the days when Marbury was a grand estate. The last Marbury Hall, built in the 1850s, was a fine-looking house modelled on the French chateau at Fontainebleau, with an imposing carriage drive entrance. Originally owned by the Smith-Barry family, the hall became a country club in the 1930s, and then a POW camp during WWII. After this the hall served as a hostel for ICI employees during its considerable post-war expansion and some of the POW camp huts persisted as accommodation for the workforce. By the 1960s the hall had fallen into disrepair and was demolished. The history of the hall was told in a community play in 2002. The Friends of Anderton and Marbury (FOAM) are a group involved with looking after both parks and organising walks, talks, conservation tasks and events.

Historic Site National Park

Comberbach

Comberbach , deriving from the late Britonnic, or early Welsh for a "small confluence" is a civil parish and small village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, between Northwich and Warrington. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 953. The village has a new memorial hall (partly Lottery Funded), a bowling club, one pub - the Spinner and Bergamot, (the Drum and Monkey closed in 2013) - and a post office/village shop. There is a county primary school, a Methodist chapel and an old-fashioned red phone box. Older residents and those who have lived in the village for a long time pronounce the name 'comma-batch', the first 'b' being silent. Cartoonist John Geering, the artist behind Bananaman, lived here. Comberbach Mummers perform the traditional Soulcaking Play (a form of mummers play), from 31 October for two weeks. It restarted in the mid-1980s. The mummers meet most Thursday evenings in The Spinner and Bergamot pub.

Community Centre Neighbourhood

Anderton with Marbury

Anderton with Marbury is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It had a population of 582 according to the 2001 census, reducing slightly to 571 at the 2011 Census, and includes the villages of Anderton and Marbury. The eastern part of the parish lies in the Northwich Community Woodlands which includes Marbury Country Park, situated in the grounds of the old Marbury Hall, and Anderton Nature Park. Anderton is known for the Victorian Anderton Boat Lift, which was the model for other European boat lifts. It is fully restored and raises boats 50 feet (15 m) from the River Weaver to the Trent and Mersey Canal.

Landmark Neighbourhood

1.3 km

Dene Cottages, Great Budworth

Dene Cottages consists of a pair of cottages in the village of Great Budworth, Cheshire, England. The cottages are designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building. The cottages were built in 1867–68 for Rowland Egerton-Warburton of Arley Hall and designed by the Chester architect John Douglas. The lower storeys are constructed in brown brick and the upper storeys are timber-framed with plaster panels. The roof is in clay tiles. The plaster panels are pargetted with floral motifs.

Landmark