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North Wessex Downs Walking Festival – Wetlands and regenerative farming around Wilton
8 June @ 10:00 am
Great Green Bedwyn climate action group and Bedwyn Footpaths Group are leading this walk, supported by Wilton Manor Farm and Southern Streams, a local group of landowners working together to enrich and protect the landscape.
We will visit a variety of habitats: the new wetlands, downland and farmland, pausing along the way to learn about regenerative farming methods and to hear about the history of this land which has been farmed since Roman times. The Lemon family have been farming in the area for generations and using regenerative methods for more than 20 years. In 2023, in partnership with ARK (Action for the River Kennet), they created a new wetland area to help filter and purify water running into the chalk streams and to provide a space for wildlife.
We hope to see a range of butterflies, wetland and downland birds and meadow flowers, including cover crops, bug and bird strips, water margins to reduce soil erosion, retained hedges, and coppices to support biodiversity. If you are lucky, rare emus can be spotted in Wilton Village!
After the walk, visitors may wish to book lunch at The Swan in Wilton (see below) or picnic at the Windmill.
The walk is free, but donations are appreciated to support Great Green Bedwyn (details available on the walk).
There is hardly any shade on the walk, so please bring hat and water. Part of the route is on farmland, so the surface may be uneven and have long grass. There is one long, steady incline towards the end of the walk. Ticks and horseflies active in the area.
Walk leaders/organisation: Judy Haynes and Sylvia Wyatt, Great Green Bedwyn