Creech Heath is one of our best Flagship Pond sites.

It hosts an unusually diverse range of freshwater plant and animal species including Pillwort Pilularia globulifera, Marsh Clubmoss Lycopodiella inundata, Pondweed Leafhopper Macrosteles cyane, Medicinal Leech Hirudo medicinalis, Great Crested Newts Triturus cristatus and Common Toad Bufo bufo. In recent history it was also home to another priority species, Penny Royal Mentha pulegium. And that’s not all – the site hosts nationally uncommon acid water plants including Marsh Gentian Gentiana pneumonanthe, Oblong-leaved Sundew Drosera intermedia, Brown Beak-sedge Rhynchospora fusca, and stoneworts, to name a few. The site is also home to abundant dragonflies and damselflies species including the extremely rare Southern Damselfly Coenagrion mercuriale and Small Red Damselfly Ceriagrion tenellum.

Restoration and management of past and present mineral industry sites can produce a wonderful mosaic of terrestrial and freshwater habitats, and can become superb clean water hotspots in an otherwise polluted landscape. Now managed by Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, the number one issue for the site is management of encroaching scrub and maintenance of suitable conditions for the priority species without regular conservation grazing.

Location: Dorset

Accessibility: Some Flagship Pond sites are accessible to the public, and some are not. If in doubt, consult maps for rights of way, look online for site information, or contact the site manager, and follow any instructions on site. It is up to you to check whether you require permission to visit and access the ponds on a site.

Site owners/managers: Owned by IMERYS Minerals Ltd. Managed by The Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust.