Conservation

The Golden Thread

Sitting in the summer water meadows at Thyme, you can hear the call of the reed warbler. Small, buff-coloured birds, and weighing about 13 grams, they are easily missed unless you are looking for them. Migrating from sub-Saharan Africa, reed warblers form monogamous pairs building their nests rather like hammocks between the reeds that flourish on the banks of the River Leach.

Having lived here for years, we had never noticed our feathery visitors in such detail until we became involved with the British Trust for Ornithology’s bird ringing project. This revealed an astonishing diversity of wildlife and so clearly demonstrated just how important our wild spaces are for nature. The fact that these birds had flown many thousands of miles to spend the summer and breed here in our water meadow enthralled us.

And they are not the only ones: the hobby (one of Britain’s smallest raptors), martins, swallows, swifts, and cuckoos join them on their long journey.

It was a moment when we realised that in conserving wild spaces for nature to thrive at Thyme, we are in turn helping wildlife in far-flung wild lands. There is a golden thread that joins us to Sub-Saharan Africa, the wetlands of the Okavango or the grasslands of South Africa. How wonderful is that?

Caryn Bertioli Hibbert

Founder of Thyme

Thyme is situated in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and our water meadows are a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). They are the flood plains of the River Leach, a chalk stream, rising from limestone bedrock as a spring in the Cotswold village of Hampnett.  From Hampnett, it runs to Northleach and beyond as a seasonal bourn until it reaches the village of Eastleach where it becomes a river, flowing all year round.

Our water meadows have a series of historic ditches and sluice gates that were used to control the flow of water during the summer months. In the winter much of the meadows can be covered with flood waters; every year is different.

Traditionally, the meadow’s rich grasslands are grazed seasonally by cattle. Our meadows have areas that have never been cultivated, displaying a rich tapestry of wild grasses and flowers. Home to an amazing diversity of wildlife and covering over forty acres, the river and wetlands are a source of constant inspiration.