Thorndon Country Park

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The area now occupied by Thorndon Country Park first became a deer park in the 15th century, but its present shape was established in the 18th when it was landscaped by Capability Brown for the owner, Lord Petre of Thorndon Hall. It became a country park in the 1950s.

Originally it was in two separate parts, the northern section on a gravel ridge and the southern part on clay soil lower down. These are now connected via a block of small hedged fields known as Old Thorndon Pastures, grazed by English White rare breed cattle.

Ancient trees are a special feature, scattered throughout the woods and also in the former wood-pasture, now called The Deer Park. Notably, there are huge beech trees near the centre in Thorndon North, and some giant former pollard oaks and hornbeams.

Parts of the park used to be heathland, now a scarce habitat, and to restore it sections are being grazed on rotation by goats and sheep.

It has two large ponds: Childerditch Pond in Thorndon North, with a small marsh and an open meadow to its north, and Old Hall Pond in Thorndon South.

The park attracts a wide variety of birds, and sometimes spectacular numbers of winter visitors such as siskins, redpolls and bramblings. It supports many butterflies, including white-letter hairstreak, marbled white and silvert-washed fritillary.