Chimney Meadows

16 August 2026

I’ve been a bit slow posting this report of the Club’s walk at Chimney, which took place on a blisteringly hot day in this year’s long, hot and very dry summer. Indeed, it was so hot that we brought forward the start time from 2pm to 10am to avoid the worst of the heat. One of the most striking features of the walk for me was the contrast between the lush green vegetation along the river banks and the parched yellow everywhere else. Maggie’s report of the walk is below.

Chimney is the largest BBOWT reserve in Oxfordshire, consisting of 308 hectares. It is located not far from the village of Aston. There is a small hamlet that dates back to Anglo Saxon times.
Thirteen Field Club members met at 10 am one hot August Sunday to walk for about three hours at our usual moderate pace to see what we could. The beautiful hay meadows had been harvested and everything looked as parched as our gardens in the current drought conditions.
The earlier than planned start meant we enjoyed the cooler part of the day. Many butterflies were spotted, including Painted Lady, Blues and Whites. We also saw some of the grazing animals used to manage the hay fields, including Dexter cattle and Hebridean sheep. We walked on the permissive paths past the two main bird hides where there is a boardwalk. Birds are more likely to be seen here in the winter when the ground is wet and often flooded.

We followed the Environment Agency track round to the picturesque Shifford Lock, which allows safe passage for boats on the River Thames. We took a short coffee stop and moved on down the Thames Footpath where we could see the weir. Further along we could just about see where the new cut into the embankment allows water through to Duxford. This was built a few years ago to make it possible for fish to pass through. It also allows the Duxford Fields to be opened up
again as a flood plain in the winter and is popular with many wading birds. Curlew breed here. We didn’t see them, but did see some Little Egrets.

We made our way to the ‘new’ bird hide (Thames Observation Platform) for better views across to Duxford. A brief stop for more coffee was followed by a walk back via a short cut with kind permission from the wardens.

Thank you Brenda for recording the plants found. The list can be seen here.

Maggie Collins