Nature Reserves
Coke's Pit LNR
Coke's Pit was designated as a Local Nature Reserve in 2003 and has established itself as an important site for a vast range of wildlife from bats to breeding buntings.
Key species
- Reed bunting
- Daubenton bats
- Great crested grebe
- Water voles
- Dragonflies
- Lesser bearded stonewort
Coke's Pit Local Nature Reserve
Coke's Pit was excavated for gravel extraction 40 years ago, and was given to the Society in 2002.
Our ranger & biodiversity teams made some improvements, and, in 2003, Gloucestershire County Council declared Coke's Pit a Local Nature Reserve - the first in the Cotswold Water Park.
Visiting Coke's Pit
Cokes Pit is home to breeding reed bunting, tufted duck & great crested grebe; water vole, water shrew and nightingale; vast numbers of dragonflies; and lesser bearded stonewort. In the early summer months it is worth visiting Coke's Pit at twilight, when the bats are flying low over the water catching their supper - if you are lucky you will see both the Daubenton's bat and the smaller Pipistrel.
Improvements
Over the past couple of years the ranger team have installed species information boards around Coke's Pit, placed artificial ‘tern rafts’ in the lake, and positioned a bird hide only a few yards from the road.
All this makes Cokes Pit one of the most interesting, accessible & informative reserves in the Water Park.
Location
Coke's Pit can be accessed on foot from Keynes Country Park - take the footpath along the edge of lake 32 towards Head for Heights and Waterland - there is a wooden gate in the hedgerow - please take care when crossing the road to the Reserve.
