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 Orwell Clunch Pit is an environmental
treasure in the heart of our village. It is an old quarry site of about
4 acres, accessible from the High Street via Quarry Lane or through the
Glebe field above St. Andrew’s church, or via a footpath from Hillside.
The Clunch Pit has been owned by the Parish Council since 1974 and was
designated by English Nature in 1985 as a Site of Special Scientific
Interest (SSSI) in recognition of its valuable chalk grassland flora and
fauna, which are rare in this part of the country. The Clunch Pit
Management Trust has representation from many village organisations.
For the first twenty years or so of
Parish Council ownership maintenance work in the Clunch Pit was achieved
through volunteer working parties. Despite these valiant efforts the
scrub gradually encroached over more and more of the grassland habitat.
Major clearance in 1999, supported
by English Nature, checked the steady encroachment of bramble, hawthorn
and other scrub, and reseeding of the cleared areas with seed gathered
from the site the previous season has resulted in the regeneration of a
superb grassland habitat. The Clunch Pit is managed, in association
with the adjacent Glebe field, with light summer grazing by sheep and an
annual clearance of emerging bramble. This management regime has
achieved tremendous results in terms of wild flowers and ground flora
and the Clunch Pit now produces fine shows of cowslips, wild thyme,
buttercups, orchids and much more. During 2004 both English Nature and
the Butterfly Conservation Trust made a point of congratulating the
Management Trust on the state of the site.
 During 2004 and 2005 the Cambridge
Natural History Society conducted comprehensive surveys of the flora of
the Clunch Pit and the Glebe field. These surveys identified a total of
220 species and compared them to those identified in earlier surveys in
1975 and 1982. A full illustrated list is now available.
Download it Here (.pdf format) will require free
Adobe Reader to view it
The Clunch Pit is appreciated by a
wide section of the community as a place for quiet contemplation (with a
view - rare in these flat lands!), or to exercise dogs, or for children
to play. In addition to its environmental credentials, the Clunch Pit
is also used as a village gathering point and for outdoor celebrations.
For many years the Pit has hosted an annual village barbeque and the
beacon at the top of the pit has been the focal point of a number of
special celebration events: (eg: fireworks at the millennium and a
beacon to commemorate the Queen's Golden Jubilee)
 Access to the Clunch Pit for disabled
people and those with pushchairs was improved in 2005 by the
installation of a new gate and improvement of the access route from the
car park. From the car park on the high street exit via the top
left corner, follow the path up the hill to the wheelchair accessible
kissing gate (if you need the gate unlocked it works on the
RADAR
key system)
The Officers of the Clunch Pit
Management Trust are currently (2005):
Chairman Bob
Bryant 01223 207256
Secretary Clive Pickton
01223 207655
Treasurer Paul Aslin 01223
208035
Clunch Pit Flora survey
Download it Here (.pdf format) will require free
Adobe Reader to view it
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