Pasturefields Saltmarsh
| Pasturefields Saltmarsh | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Location within Staffordshire | |
| Location | Near Stafford, Staffordshire |
| OS grid | SJ 9923 2473 |
| Coordinates | 52°49′12″N 2°00′46″W / 52.82000°N 2.01278°W |
| Area | 8 hectares (20 acres) |
| Operator | Staffordshire Wildlife Trust |
| Designation | Site of Special Scientific Interest Special Area of Conservation |
| Website | www |
Pasturefields Saltmarsh is nature reserve of Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, a salt marsh near Stafford, in Staffordshire, England. It is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation.[1]
Description
[edit]The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) notes that it is the only known remaining natural inland salt meadow in the UK.[2] The site, near the River Trent, is what remains from the former salt marshes in the Trent Valley where there was once brine extraction; there are two old brine wells on the site.[1]
Visitors are advised to keep to the higher ground of the reserve, as there are unfenced wet ditches and boggy areas. There is no parking area.[1]
Habitats and wildlife
[edit]The plants in the marsh are halophytes, normally found in estuaries and coastal marshes. Seeds of these plants may have reached this site on the feet of migrating birds.[1]
Plants to be found here include red fescue, common saltmarsh-grass, lesser sea-spurrey, saltmarsh rush, sea plantain and sea milkwort.[1][2]
It is a habitat for wading birds such as snipe and lapwing; other birds to be seen include meadow pipit, kestrel and grey heron. Visitors are asked not to wander beyond the field gate during the bird breeding season.[1]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Pasturefields Saltmarsh" Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
- 1 2 "Inland salt meadows" JNCC. Retrieved 12 January 2026.