Mill Meadows

Mouse over links for pictures; click for detail page.

This large area of old meadows is not far from the centre of Billericay. They lie in rolling countryside cut by streams and ditches with occasional marshy areas. Scrub and young woodland have encroached in places but grazing by cattle is keeping much of the area open.

Stoats and foxes and many birds frequent the meadows, but it is the plant life that makes them special. There is a succession of colour from bluebells and cuckoo flower in spring, then common spotted orchids and betony, through to devilsbit scabious in late summer. It also has some plants that are scarce locally, among them harebell, ragged robin and sneezewort.

Such a range of nectar sources attracts many butterflies and other insects in summer.