Gunpowder Park

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This country park opened in 2004, much of it created on reclaimed land previously used for testing munitions. Meadows have been created on land to the north, with areas of wild flowers and groups of trees, and 80 acres are arable farmland.

Much of the current wildlife interest lies in the former Sewardstone Marsh, now called Osier Marsh. This is wet woodland that regenerated naturally on pulverised fuel ash dumped into holes created by the extraction of sand and gravel. Over the years a tangle of dense woodland has formed, with a variety of willow species. In winter it attracts snipe, and flocks of wintering thrushes and large mixed tit flocks sometimes move through. With lots of dead wood and several shallow ponds it is good for invertebrates and amphibians also.

The Cattlegate Flood Relief Channel flows down the western boundary and to the north the Black Ditch, formerly used to transport goods into and out of the ordnance factory. These are densely vegetated and populated by water voles. Reed buntings, sedge warblers and reed warblers nest here.