{"id":15882,"date":"2025-08-24T23:00:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-24T22:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15882"},"modified":"2025-08-24T23:00:24","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T22:00:24","slug":"wenvoe-community-orchid-field","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15882","title":{"rendered":"Wenvoe Community Orchid Field"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Wenvoe Wildlife Group<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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Wenvoe Community Orchid Field
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Once known as the Sledging Field, this meadow is now a \"\"Community Nature reserve with over 300 species of flowers, grasses, insects and birds. It is managed as a traditional meadow with an annual mowing to encourage the sort of wildflowers that are fast disappearing from our landscape.<\/p>\n

The 5 acre field is surrounded by hedgerows and woodland and there are fine views from the higher points across the valley. On a clear day you can see Penarth and beyond that England across the Bristol Channel. There are several benches around the field, some in the sun, others in shade.<\/p>\n

Mature trees enclose the site including Oak and Sweet Chestnut. A public right of way runs through the bottom of the meadow but you can follow any of the paths that meander around the field. An information sign near the entrance shows the different routes you can take.<\/p>\n

In Winter look out for Ravens, Buzzards and Wood-peckers with Bullfinches patrolling the hedgerows. The bright red berries of Black Bryony still trail over the shrubs whilst rabbits and moles are in evidence.<\/p>\n

With Spring comes masses of yellow \u2013 Primroses and Cowslips carpet the field.<\/p>\n

From late Spring to early Autumn you can see seven different species of Orchid but the best time is June when the field is covered in several thousand Common Spotted Orchids.<\/p>\n

Unusual plants include Herb Paris and the Spiked Star of Bethlehem. Shrews and Field Voles will be lurking in the undergrowth and Slowworms are common. Ringlet butterflies are on the field and Holly Blues on the hedges. Summer also sees a profusion of insects from small ladybirds and froghoppers through lacewings and \"\"scorpion flies to the larger burying beetles.<\/p>\n

The Elephant Hawk Moth enjoys the big clumps of Rosebay Willowherb. Hoverflies roam
\naround the Brambles and pose on Fleabane.To find out more about insects and to get ideas on building homes for them visit Insectopia at the top of the field.<\/p>\n

From late Summer the Black Knapweed which covers the meadow is host to large numbers of bees. On wet days, wander up to Molluscopolis where many of the secrets of slugs and snails are revealed. As they love damper weather you should find several different species.<\/p>\n

How to find us.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Entering Wenvoe from the A4050 by the Walston Castle Premier Inn.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Turn right and then immediately left and follow the narrow lane to the top.<\/p>\n

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Entering Wenvoe from the A4050 near the church.<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/strong>Turn left by the church in to Walston Road, follow the road to the far end. Parking is on the road; take care not to cause an obstruction for local residents. Follow the marked footpath through the old quarry to the Orchid Field.<\/p>\n

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Want to know more?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Upper Orchid Field is a meadow owned by the Vale of Glamorgan Council and managed by the Wenvoe Wildlife Group. If you need more information or would like to help with conservation, contact us at The Wenvoe Wildlife Group<\/a><\/p>\n

Interested in bringing a group to the field?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We have hosted visits from younger age groups such as Beavers and Cubs and can help with school visits. Students and specialists should be able to find suitable topics for research. Species lists can be found on the main noticeboard on the field.<\/p>\n

There are no facilities on site but there are two pubs nearby, the Horse and Jockey at Twyn-yr-Odyn and the Walston Castle in Wenvoe. Wenvoe has a village shop and Post Office<\/p>\n

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\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wenvoe Wildlife Group Wenvoe Community Orchid Field Once known as the Sledging Field, this meadow is now a Community Nature reserve with over 300 species of flowers, grasses, insects and birds. It is managed as a traditional meadow with an annual mowing to encourage the sort of wildflowers that are fast disappearing from our landscape. The 5 acre field is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[424,48],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-48a","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":712,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=712","url_meta":{"origin":15882,"position":0},"title":"GROUP NEWS","author":"Alan Williams","date":"31st August 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Green Flag Award Ceremony \u00a0 The photo shows Sue Hoddell receiving our Green Flag awards at a ceremony for Vale of Glamorgan winners. We have decided that our fourth entry next year will be the Welsh orchard near Maes y Felin. This is our largest orchard and includes fruit\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wenvoe Wildlife Group"","block_context":{"text":"Wenvoe Wildlife Group","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=48"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6706,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=6706","url_meta":{"origin":15882,"position":1},"title":"Upper Orchid Field","author":"Alan Williams","date":"29th October 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Upper Orchid Field Visitors to the Upper Orchid Field will have noticed that the field has been cut and the cuttings removed which is essential to keep the meadow in the best condition for wildflowers to flourish. It is just over 10 years since some residents expressed concern that the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wenvoe Wildlife Group"","block_context":{"text":"Wenvoe Wildlife Group","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=48"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12347,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=12347","url_meta":{"origin":15882,"position":2},"title":"The Vale Biodiversity Team","author":"Alan Williams","date":"12th October 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Wenvoe Wildlife Group \u00a0The Vale Biodiversity Team At this time of year, you will see a lot of activity around our sites cutting the grass and wildflowers. The Vale Biodiversity team own a seed-harvesting machine, and this is being deployed on the Community Orchard and small meadow at Goldsland Farm.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wenvoe Wildlife Group"","block_context":{"text":"Wenvoe Wildlife Group","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=48"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Picture9.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12174,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=12174","url_meta":{"origin":15882,"position":3},"title":"Collecting Wildflower Seed","author":"Alan Williams","date":"1st September 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Wenvoe Wildlife Group \u00a0Collecting Wildflower Seed September should see some of our sites being cut, mainly the Community Orchard off Station Road and the small meadow at Goldsland Farm. This is done by the Ecology team in the Vale of Glamorgan Council using a special machine which collects wildflower seed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wenvoe Wildlife Group"","block_context":{"text":"Wenvoe Wildlife Group","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=48"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Picture6.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9189,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=9189","url_meta":{"origin":15882,"position":4},"title":"All About Trees","author":"Alan Williams","date":"2nd March 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Wenvoe Wildlife Group Despite wet and then freezing weather this has been a good month for planting trees. Firstly Keep Wales Tidy donated 28 fruit trees to us (4 for every Green Flag Application site). An apple has been planted in a garden close to the St Marys Church and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wenvoe Wildlife Group"","block_context":{"text":"Wenvoe Wildlife Group","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=48"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Old-Oak.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Old-Oak.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Old-Oak.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10345,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=10345","url_meta":{"origin":15882,"position":5},"title":"The Upper Orchid Field","author":"Alan Williams","date":"19th September 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 The Upper Orchid Field Last\u00a0month we discussed Meadows - how important they are and yet how they are fast disappearing. This month we shall give some background on the Upper Orchid Field and how we got to where we are today. The history of the Upper Orchid Field beyond\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=49"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15882"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15882"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15883,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15882\/revisions\/15883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}