Love Melksham Column

A resident’s love letters to her town

Conigre Mead Nature Reserve

This week, my love letter to Melksham is written from the peaceful leafy loveliness of a bench overlooking the river in the Conigre Mead Nature Reserve. 

This gentle pocket of green gorgeousness, just a couple of minutes’ walk along the river from Sainsbury’s, is a haven of nature, wildlife and wonder. The three-acre plot of land was bought by a group of people and charities led by Dr Ian Cardy in 1988 to be given back to nature. Volunteers planted shrubs and created ponds and with help from the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and later Lottery funding, the space has become a haven for wildlife, with accessible paths and bridges under the trees so Melksham people can enjoy the beauty of the natural world in Melksham.

Today, nearly 40 years after it was created, this abundant green sanctuary is a perfect place to be immersed in the emergence of spring. The rich, earthy smell of new life seeps through everything. Tender new leaves unfurl on every branch, delicate white apple blossom petals flutter in the air and the velvety catkins of the goat willow hang in clusters over the bridge. It’s a wonderful exercise in mindfulness to notice all the colours: bright yellow aconites by the path, tiny purple ground ivy flowers on the footbridge and every possible shade of green all around.   

And the birdsong is incredible. I’ve always enjoyed the sheer volume of chirping delight here but this morning, in order to name them, I’ve downloaded the Merlin bird app (it’s free; I recommend it). Within minutes it identifies the robin, blackbird, blue tit, song thrush and  common chiffchaff and as I’m sitting here, a duck glides across the river quacking and the Merlin app confirms that it is indeed a mallard.   

Avid nature photographer and Reserve Warden Linda De Santiz regularly shares her pictures of the more elusive wildlife here – a range of butterflies, dragonflies, frogs, newts and the magnificent kingfisher. She is one of the regular volunteers who meet on the third Saturday of the month to prune, tidy and manage the space. New volunteers are always welcome – the next session is on Saturday 18th April between 10am and 12.30pm.

For more information find the Conigre Mead Nature Reserve on Facebook or go to wiltshirewildlife.org/conigre and discover another great reason to Love Melksham!

Miriam Zaccarelli

Pictured: Volunteers at the Conigre Mead Nature Reserve at a recent nature reserve work day