An amazing opportunity arose to purchase 900m of land along the Little Ouse in Blo' Norton. This 27acre (11ha) area is another piece of the jigsaw helping to extend the wildlife corridor created by Little Ouse Headwaters Project (LOHP) westwards from Parkers Piece in Thelnetham, to Hopton, and secure it for posterity. Our vision for this area is to restore the meandering course of the old river as well as enhancing the adjoining meadows, woodland and hedges for wildlife.

Wildlife already recorded includes otter, water voles, mandarin duck and a herd of red deer but it has the potential to be much richer.

The meadows are named after Prince Frederick Duleep Singh, who lived at nearby Blo’ Norton Hall from 1909 to 1926. Prince Freddy, was the son of Maharajah Duleep Singh, the last Maharajah of the Sikh Empire who was exiled to Britain and was befriended by Queen Victoria. Prince Freddy took a great interest in Blo’ Norton parish and was passionate about trees in the landscape. This fascinating piece of land would also have been familiar to Virginia Woolf, who stayed at Blo’ Norton Hall in 1906, and who wrote affectionally of the area and even swam in the river.

This is by far the greatest challenge LOHP has taken on. The purchase of this unique area was only made possible by a short-term interest free loan of £120,000 from a benefactor and further fundraising will be essential to carry out much of this restoration.

Ellie Beach, LOHP’s Conservation Manager, warns that “It will require a year of intensive study of the topography and existing flora and fauna before any work on the land is undertaken. Our aim is to eventually restore the old meandering course of the Little Ouse and to bring back the rich biodiversity that the meadows must have once had.”

To help us start to restore the area we must first pay off the loan, then fund the initial baseline surveys of the land so we can see what is already there and what we have to do to restore it.

We are looking for a total of £150,000 to start this process. Can you help us, please donate today!