Having seen some of the wildlife to be seen in the London Wetlands Centre, I thought it would be appropriate to look at the wetlands landscape itself.
London Wetland Centre is a wetland reserve managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in the Barnes area of southwest London, by Barn Elms. The site is formed of four disused Victorian reservoirs tucked into a loop in the Thames.
The centre first opened in 2000, and in 2002 an area of 74 acres (29.9 hectares) was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest as the Barn Elms Wetland Centre.
The centre occupies more than 100 acres (40 hectares) of land which was formerly occupied by several small reservoirs. These were converted into a wide range of wetland features and habitats before the centre opened in May 2000. It was the first urban project of its kind in the United Kingdom.
Many wild birds which have now made their home in the centre cannot be found anywhere else in London, and there are nationally significant numbers of gadwall and northern shoveler. Other wild birds include Eurasian bittern, northern pintail, northern lapwing, water rail, ring-necked parakeet, Eurasian sparrowhawk, sand martin, common kingfisher, little grebe and great crested grebe. The centre also holds a collection of captive wildfowl.
The image in the middle of this collage is a rather splendid hide (known as the Flamingo Tower) giving good views over the areas of the site not open to the public. The only view here with public access is bottom right, where there are paths to the Flamingo Tower.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
Of the places I visited while in London visiting Lucy, this was definitely a highlight. It was fascinating to see the variety of wildlife, but also interesting to watch the antics of my grandchildren. There are some nice facilities for children, including an outdoor adventure playground, and an indoor adventure centre with lots of water related activities.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
Of the places I visited while in London visiting Lucy, this was definitely a highlight. It was fascinating to see the variety of wildlife, but also interesting to watch the antics of my grandchildren. There are some nice facilities for children, including an outdoor adventure playground, and an indoor adventure centre with lots of water related activities.
Ian
I can certainly recommend it, we had a lovely time there!
Ian