McIlroy Park and Round Copse
| McIlroy Park and Round Copse | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Interactive map of McIlroy Park and Round Copse | |
| Type | Local Nature Reserve |
| Location | Reading, Berkshire |
| OS grid | SU 677 743 |
| Area | 13.7 hectares (34 acres) |
| Manager | Reading Borough Council |
McIlroy Park is a 12-hectare (30-acre) urban park and local nature reserve in Tilehurst, a suburb of Reading in Berkshire. Round Copse is an adjoining 1.7-hectare (4.2-acre) local nature reserve. Both are owned and managed by Reading Borough Council.[1][2][3]
Along with Blundells Copse and Lousehill Copse, they are part of West Reading Woodlands.[4]
Geography and site
[edit]
McIlroy Park is located on a steep hill and features a large species-rich grassland field and a large block of mixed deciduous woodland. It has extensive views over the River Thames and towards the Mapledurham estate and Reading town centre. Round Copse is a small woodland that abuts, and is contiguous with, McIlroy Park.[5][6][7]
There are two ancient sunken paths that pass through the woodland in the south of McIlroy Park and Round Copse, known as Gypsy Lane and Romany Way. Gypsy Lane passes down the hill northwest through the woodland, whilst Romany Way passes up from Pottery Road to the south through the woodland and then east onto the modern Romany Lane (a residential road). Gypsy lane is un-surfaced and is surrounded by an unmade bank with mature beech trees on either side, whilst Romany Way has been surfaced with tarmac.[5]
There are old chalk pits in the west woodland area from the old clay extraction industry and a possible Saxon mound on its eastern edge near Weald Rise.[1]
History
[edit]
The land for McIlroy Park was donated by William Mcilroy, who owned a department store in Reading, and was mayor of the town.[8]
In 1992, McIlroy Park was designated a local nature reserve. In 2002, Round Copse was also designated a local nature reserve.[9][2]
Fauna
[edit]The site has the following fauna:[5][2][10][11]
Birds
[edit]- Red kite
- Common buzzard
- Common kestrel
- Common starling
- Common whitethroat
- Fieldfare
- European green woodpecker
- Dunnock
- House sparrow
- Mistle thrush
- Redwing
- Song thrush
- Willow warbler
- Eurasian sparrowhawk
- Eurasian jay
- European green woodpecker
- Eurasian nuthatch
- Great spotted woodpecker
- Lesser spotted woodpecker
- Eurasian treecreeper
- Common blackbird
Invertebrates
[edit]Flora
[edit]The site has the following flora:[1][5][11][12]
Trees
[edit]Plants
[edit]Fungi
[edit]See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c "McIlroy Park". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
- ^ a b c "Round Copse". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- ^ "Map of McIlroy Park". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
- ^ "UK - McIlroy Park (Part of West Reading Woodlands) Nature Reserve in Reading - Walking". Freedom2explore.com. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ a b c d "WPG Management Plan" (PDF). Forestry Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ "McIlroy Park". Reading.gov.uk. Reading Borough Council. 13 February 2017. Archived from the original on 8 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ "McIllroy Park". Reading Borough Council. Archived from the original on 9 November 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- ^ Mayon-White, Richard; Yorke, Wendy (4 July 2013). Exploring the Thames Wilderness: A Guide to the Natural Thames - Richard Mayon-White, Wendy Yorke - Google Books. ISBN 9781408181126. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ "Friends of McIlroy Park". Econetreading.org.uk. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ 15:06, 24 SEP 2014 (24 September 2014). "Rural Reading: McIlroy Park is one of Reading's hidden gems - Adrian Lawson". Get Reading. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "The Reading Naturalist No. 57" (PDF). Reading and District Natural History Society. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ "Aspects of Suburban Landscapes". Historic England. Archived from the original on 10 April 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2017.