Nature features

Watchtree in winter

Visitors to Watchtree aren't sure what they'll see behind the industrial steel gates which surround the 200 acre site near Great Orton.

Six years ago the disused air field became a burial ground for nearly half a million livestock after foot-and-mouth devastated farming in Cumbria in 2001.

Now, Watchtree is the largest man-made nature reserve in Europe. Every inch has been dug up and recycled to turn the land into a trail for visitors navigating their way around reed beds and lakes seeking out 23 types of endangered species.

In the last 12 months the reserve, funded by Defra, has bloomed into a conservation area with 80 000 trees planted including a wood to attract the red squirrel.

Tim Lawrence. Manager of Watchtree.

Reserve manager, Tim Lawrence, who works for the non-profit organisation Watchtree Nature Reserve Ltd says many visitors have misconceptions about what they'll see on the land that once hit the headlines.

The underground network of 13 burial chambers is said to be as complex as a skyscraper, with world leading technology being used to manage the waste from 20 to 50 years of decomposition. 

Foot-and-mouth dies with the animal that carries it, so Tim corrects misconceptions that suggest walking around the site could be hazardous. Once visitors read an information form about the land, they're welcome to return to the site anytime using password access, perfect for searching for nocturnal wildlife. 

With views of Scafell and the surrounding fells, Roe Deer, swans, hares, birds have been among the first species to make Watchtree their home along with less well known names such as the Dingy Skipper or Ruddy Dater.