Walking Thurlby Slipe

THE WORD SLIPE has several meanings and is frequently found in Lincolnshire to describe the narrow strip of land which runs between two drains or dykes or the land at the foot of a river bank.

Thus we have Thurlby Fen Slipe, almost 19 acres of marsh and wetland three miles south of Bourne, and the site of a nature reserve administered by Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust which stretches for about 1.2 miles on the north side of the River Glen, a secluded and tranquil spot formed by borrow pits with reed beds, scrub and grassland, all teeming with wildlife.

At the west end, for a short distance, there is an area shaded by trees and hedgerow that is particularly rich in wild flowers with 210 species being recorded and during the spring and summer months these conditions attract numerous species of insects particularly dragonflies with 15 species being recorded together with 23 species of butterfly. Birds are also numerous and some 109 species have been sighted since the reserve opened in 1988.

The images are just a small sample of some of the many species I have managed to photograph at this time of the year.

The access to this part of the reserve can be found by travelling south on the A15 road before turning left down the crossroads by the Horseshoe public house which is signposted Thurlby Fen. This narrow but straight road passes Thurlby church on the right and continues for about 0.9 miles. Then soon after passing the access driveway to a group of farm buildings, take the right turn marked on the OS map as Baston Edge Drove. Extreme care should be exercised by car drivers because the drove track is rutted but there is parking space adjacent to the reserve once you reach the end. Alternatively, parking space is available adjoining the fen road opposite to the track, which can then be accessed on foot. There is also a stile at each end of the reserve giving access to the river bank so that a circular route may be walked.