The wildlife of the park is influenced by the rocks which lie beneath it.
Most of the park, including the lake, is underlain by thin-bedded shales and sandstones, technically part of the Millstone Grit formation but very different from the thick-bedded sandstone of the true Millstone Grit of the Peak District a little further to the north. They were originally laid down by mighty rivers, about 300 million years ago in the Carboniferous Period. These rocks have been eroded to form a relatively fertile soil in which a wide range of trees and plants grow.
The higher parts of the Park, on the west side, are made of the Sherwood Sandstones, formed 250 million years ago in the a vast desert which occupied much of what is now Europe. The thin sandy and acid soils formed from these sandstones support a limited array of trees, notably birch, with a ground flora dominated by bracken - a particularly vigorous fern.
Within these two major habitat zones is found a huge array of different plants and animal species, a few of which are pictured here.
An Exposure of Sherwood (Bunter) Sandstone in Big Wood These sandstones were originally laid down as sediment in temporary lakes in a vast desert which covered what is now Britain some 250 million years ago. They contain water-worn pebbles (inset) formed at the same time, during flash-floods. . |
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Big Wood in late April
Big Wood stands on the poor dry soils which were formed over the Sherwood Sandstones. Much of the wood was planted over the last two hundred years, but It probably contains fragments of 'ancient woodland', indicated by patches of bluebells. |
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Stag’s-horn Fungus, Big Wood, November
This spectacular fungus, which grows on dead wood, is one of the many species found in the wood in autumn.
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Ragged Robin, Woodlands Field, June
This striking relative of red campion is found in marshy locations. |
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Yellow Iris or Flag, east end of the Lake, June
This, spectacular flower grows in shallow water at the lake margin |
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Small Copper Butterfly, north of Lake, July
This exquisite insect has become more frequent in the Park recent years as more areas of grassland are spared regular mowing. |
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A party of drake Mallards, Upper Lake, winter
The Mallard is the commonest of British ducks, but one of the most beautiful, especially the male, the drake, looking its best in winter and spring.
Photos by Bill Grange |
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Please note: This is only an introduction to the rich wildlife of Allestree Park. There are several articles on this site on various aspects of the park's natural history. Click on 'articles and special features' tab at the very top of this page.
Articles, observations or photographs on any aspect of Allestree Park's wildlife will be gratefully received for publication on this website.
Allestree Park Nature Trails:
There are now two nature trails in the Park, both marked out by numbered posts and with full leaflet guides with full colour illustrations. For information on these, including how to obtain the leaflets, click on the picture below:
