Hunsdon and Eastwick Meads © Claire Grey
Hunsdon and Eastwick Meads
Location
OS Map Reference
TL 414 105
Know before you go
Entry fee
FreeParking information
There is no official parking, the nearest place to park is Roydon rail station.Walking trails
Between March and July please do not walk across or into the Mead itself until the hay is cut. Trampling damages the plants and also reduces the value of the grass as hay for the farmer. During this period please keep to the towpath or walk in single file along the permissive path beside the River Stort.
Access
Grass paths. The towpath running alongside the reserve can be suitable for wheelchairs and buggies but there are some steps on the tracks around the reserve.
Dogs
When to visit
Opening times
Open at all timesBest time to visit
April to JulyAbout the reserve
The larger site, Hundson Mead, is an area of common land between the River Stort and the Stort Navigation and offers valuable unimproved grassland. In April and May both meadows are yellow with cowslip and marsh marigold, turning pink and purple with ragged robin and black knapweed in the summer. Rare green-winged orchids flourish here.
Seasonal Highlights
Spring: Buttercup, cowslip, cuckoo flower, skylark.
Summer: Green-winged orchid, meadowsweet, ragged-robin, yellow rattle.
Autumn/ Winter: Fieldfare, golden plover, lapwing, redwing.
Environmental designation
Directions
Site entrance: Entrance is via River Stort towpath.
Access by road: From Stanstead Abbotts take B181 Roydon Road for one mile. Park at Roydon rail station and walk for one mile along the Stort Navigation towpath towards Harlow to reach the reserve.
Access by public transport
Bus: 380, 381, 382, 391 – Telephone Exchange, Epping Rd (1.5 miles).
Rail: Roydon (1 mile).