OS: 121 •
GR: SK 911661 •
Map Ref: 69
Whisby Nature Park: Nature Reserve Information
Whisby Natural World
The Millennium Project Buildings
The three buildings in the project area and the carparks dominate the eastern shore of Thorpe Lake which houses the entrance to Whisby. The carparks accommodate 100 vehicles and there is a special coach park nearest the road. Visitors are drawn to the Whisby Natural World Centre which houses the visitor centre facilities, toilets, the cafe and the exhibition space, and is run by Leisure Connection (retail, information and events) and Leisure Extra (catering) on behalf of North Kesteven District Council. Here you find excellent catering, extensive interpretation of the Nature Park habitats through the seasons with a special emphasis on migration, an interesting selection of gifts, and entrance to the current exhibition in the lower floor. Binoculars and electric wheelchair 'buggies' can be hired from here.
All this overlooks Thorpe Lake through the fully glazed eastern wall of the building. The Whisby Natural World Centre hosts a range of events throughout the year.
The three buildings in the project area and the carparks dominate the eastern shore of Thorpe Lake which houses the entrance to Whisby. The carparks accommodate 100 vehicles and there is a special coach park nearest the road. Visitors are drawn to the Whisby Natural World Centre which houses the visitor centre facilities, toilets, the cafe and the exhibition space, and is run by Leisure Connection (retail, information and events) and Leisure Extra (catering) on behalf of North Kesteven District Council. Here you find excellent catering, extensive interpretation of the Nature Park habitats through the seasons with a special emphasis on migration, an interesting selection of gifts, and entrance to the current exhibition in the lower floor. Binoculars and electric wheelchair 'buggies' can be hired from here.
Natural World Centre
All this overlooks Thorpe Lake through the fully glazed eastern wall of the building. The Whisby Natural World Centre hosts a range of events throughout the year.
Immediately to the south of the Natural World Centre lies the new (2009) 'Little Darters' play zone, containing a large innovative sand pit, a water play feature involving a series of dams leading down to the lake edge, a large elevated climbing frame and a cave with touchy-feely exhibits on underground life. Meanwhile adults and children can limber up on the 'Exercise Trail' units. The lawns are decorated with large wooden carvings and the 'upside down tree'.
Sand pit
Climbing frame
For the birdwatchers there is a floating pontoon connected to an island with a hide overlooking both Dave's Island, the recently developed nesting area for black-headed gulls and shorebirds, and the brand new artificial sand martin cliff on the Pylon Peninsula to the west. This is currently (March 2010) being built.
There are also two buildings run by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust:
Education Centre
The education centre delivers opportunities for a wide range of primary, secondary and further education, and has potential for hosting meetings and courses. It provides a very large classroom area, with excellent equipment, twinned with a laboratory designed with the assistance of the Lincoln University, which combines teaching space and traditional lab benches. A pond dipping platform and adjacent study habitats including grassland and scrub, complete the picture.
Workshop and Office
The workshop and office houses the Trust's Nature Park management staff and volunteers who provide the maintenance essential to both the habitats and the public amenity. It goes without saying that volunteers are always welcome!
Essential phone numbers
Natural World Visitor Centre (NKDC) – 01522 688868
Whisby Nature Park managers (LWT) – 01522 500676
Whisby Education Officer (LWT) – 01522 696926
The Millennium Project in the Nature Park
Leaseholds
In order to help absorb the anticipated growth in visitor numbers and to increase the area of managed habitats, new leases were negotiated with landowners, in particular Robert Teal Ltd.
Willow Lake
One such area is Willow Lake and the associated settlement lagoons, which formerly constituted the Whisby Pits Nature Reserve. This arrangement used to restrict access to members of the Trust but since the establishment of the Millennium Project has been open to all visitors, via a network of pathways off the main Magpie Walk. These paths may be muddy during inclement weather as they arose from the sediment clays from the lagoons. A hide, dedicated to the memory of Lincolnshire naturalist Peter Prince who watched in the area, overlooks Willow Lake from the south.
The Triangle
The Triangle, which separates Grebe Lake from the embankment of the A46, was a completely new addition. Wet rough pasture and a chain of ponds is now mostly enclosed as a sheep grazing area with the aim of encouraging a shorter sward for flowering plants, without losing the tussocks which attract snipe during the colder months. There is a colony of southern marsh orchids in this area.
Newt Pond
North of the railway and west of the A46 embankment lies the track of the former gravel pit conveyor. To the west is dense willow and birch regeneration of the 'non-intervention' area, which stretches right over to the Magpie Walk. To the east, a section of poplar plantation and a large pond, Newt Pond, can be accessed from Willow Lake via the old conveyor track. The poplars have been thinned and underplanted with hazel.
New Developments
Since the completion of the Millennium Project on the Reserve, there has been a further addition to the leasehold, once again on land owned by Robert Teal Ltd.
Teal Lake
Teal Lake lies to the east of thge A46 and is reached by continuing eastwards along the railwayside from Grebe Lake. The large waterbody has extensive heathland restoration on the north shore. The paths encircle the lake but the southern link is outside the leasehold for Whisby Nature Park, and is used by vehicles making extra care necessary. This southern link is not available for wheelchair access.
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