BlackFan Fen
An area of 5.5 hectares comprising of open fen, scrub and a narrow band of secondary woodland. There are two distinct areas of calcareous fen, known as North and South Fen which are separated at present by a broad band of scrub. Approximately fifty percent of the fen boundary is adjacent to arable farmland and the remainder adjoins urban housing and public open space. Ancient hedgerows are found along all boundaries and are shown on an 1840 map of the area.
Hedgerows have been dated using criteria for numbers of species present which indicates that they are several hundreds of years old. The hedgerow along Fen Brook is considered to be the oldest boundary, most likely around 700 years old and formed the boundary between Ludwick Hide and Holwell Hide.
The history of the fen and how it evolved has until recently been based on several maps of the area, the earliest being Andrew's and Drury's map of 1760 showing showing the area as a block of woodland with wet grassland. Features such as wood banks and the old pollarded trees have also helped us to understand its history.
However, during a recent sewage pollution incident in March 2011 a deep excavation was made to repair the damaged sewer pipe and a layer of peat, up to 900mm deep was discovered below the natural soil layer adjacent to the open fen habitat indicating a much greater timescale in the fens evolution.
The southern area of fen was almost completely lost to scrub when the land was first acquired in 1998; however with intensive management a large area of the original fen vegetation has been re-established. The north fen is the wetter of the two areas; these wet conditions have restricted the establishment of the advancing scrub on the area helping to keep the natural fen habitat from drying out. Habitat management within the fen has been carried out since 1998, additional wetland features such as scrapes and ponds where created during the winter of 1999 and 2000.
Coppicing of selected areas within the scrub and secondary woodland has been carried out annually since 1998 leaving mature oaks as standards. Approximately 300 mature hazel stools have been brought back into management and the timber produced has been used for hedge laying on the reserve and other wildlife sites in the area
Grazing is an important tool in management of the wet fen areas. A flock of Hebridean sheep are used during the winter months as they are suited to these conditions and thrive on the rough vegetation.
