“ In an hour’s walk you get it all: wet alder woodland, dry oak and hazel, wet meadow and the fens.”

Spouse’s Vale is a fascinating mosaic of ancient woodland alongside fen meadow.
The interesting mix of trees includes oak, ash, field maple, holly and crab apple with some wild cherry, superb large alder and hazel stools. It’s best to visit in spring when you will be greeted with a fabulous display of bluebells accompanied by the magical song of woodland birds.

See and hear Arger Fen in May by viewing a video filmed by Suffolk Free Press

Butterfly to look out for include the speckled wood, meadow brown, orange tip, holly blue and comma. Common lizard and grass snake bask in the summer sun and in winter flocks of siskin can be an unexpected pleasure. Survey work has revealed the presence of the yellow-necked mouse and rare dormouse here.

The meadows are kept wet by spring flushes on the mid slopes. Here sandy gravels meet peat, making them ideal for wetland plants such as purple loosestrife as well as broad-bodied chaser dragonfly, frog and toad.

Suffolk Wildlife Trust is restoring the meadows at Spouse’s Vale to their former glory through a careful programme of scrub clearance, mowing and grazing.

Misses Edith and Frances Vale generously purchased this reserve for Suffolk Wildlife Trust.

In addition to our core work of managing nature reserves and protecting the wider countryside we are constantly developing new projects that will result in further gains for wildlife, such as our new woodland project detailed below.

A new woodland for Suffolk

An arable field nestled between the ancient woodland nature reserves at Spouse's Vale and Arger Fen is the focus of Suffolk Wildlife Trust's exciting new woodland project. 

By linking the ancient woodlands to create one large wooded area the new wood has enormous potential for wildlife. Our aim is to establish the new woodland through natural regeneration, so the mix of species mirrors the ancient woodlands around it.

To do this we need to create the conditions for seeds from the mature trees to grow. This means fencing the area to keep out the rabbits that would otherwise browse off the young seedlings, as well as a 15 year programme of habitat work to help the woodland establish.

As the woodland evolves, a succession of wildlife will benefit from it. In the early years the scrub and grassland will support farmland birds such as skylark and with dormice present in both Spouse's Vale and Arger Fen this is a real opportunity to create new habitat and extend their range.

Help us create new woodland at Spouse's by sponsoring an area of woodland for dormice

Other Trust reserves nearby: Cornard Mere

The yellow-necked mouse is slightly larger than the more common wood mouse

STAR SPECIES
Bluebell
Dormouse