Claybrookes Marsh

Transcript from Coventry City Council notice board published on the site, with updates where needed. 

This is an important wildlife area that has developed on what was once part of Binley Colliery and railway sidings.  In its heyday in the 1950's over 1000 men were employed here.  Since the mine closed in 1963, the spoil, buildings, rail tracks and much of the coal waste have been removed.  Apart from clearing of more of the coal waste, the site has not been disturbed, but has inherited much of its interest from the wet woodland (The Bogs) that was once where the A46 now runs.
  

What makes this site so special is the variety of plants and vegetation and the insects that depend on them for food or nectar.  In early summer you will see splashes of colour from the marsh orchids and many more of the 250 plant species recorded here.  Look out for wild carrot, white clover, weld, ragwort, thistle and black knapweed.  Some of the insects you might see are hover flies, solitary wasps, picture-winged flies or bright green tiger beetles.  Because of the combination of nationally important plants and insects most of the site is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.  The rest is a Coventry Nature Reserve Site.  It is being managed by Coventry City Council and Warwickshire Wildlife Trust to preserve its conservation value and enhance its appeal for informal recreation.  If you would like to help with the management, then contact the trust on 024 7630 2912. Look or listen for birds such as the kestrel, green woodpecker or reed bunting and summer visitors such as the reed and sedge warblers and cuckoo.

The site is named after Jack Clay and James Brookes, two of the miners killed by a roof fall in the mine on July 11th 1947 and it acts as a memorial to all those miners who were killed in accidents at the pit over the years.

End of transcript - other information below

Your walk can be extended by either:

• Include a visit to Binley Recreation Ground to the west.  This was once the Miners' Wefare park, complete with a childrens bathing pool, swings, tennis court and a bowling green, and with its own park keeper who would make sure only mining families could use it.  Now it is little more than an open area of grass.
  
• Include a walk under the A46 near the railway, and then to Redland Meadow, Piles Coppice or Brandon Wood.

Good for Dogs rating:

Worth a visit.  Plenty to explore, and Binley Recreation Ground to the west provides a stretch of open grass.  The A46 however is nearby, and care is needed to avoid disturbing the wildlife.