West Stow Country Park is set on the southern edge of the Breckland 'Environmentally Sensitive Area', in the 'Special Landscape Area' of the Lark Valley. The Park is designed to encourage people to enjoy and appreciate the countryside as a whole, as well as the 125 acres it contains.

The Park has the typical low rainfall and sandy soil of the Breckland, where frost is possible on any night of the year.The wildlife that lives in the Park is specially adapted to these conditions.

Above : The heath is often shrouded in mist at the close of day

The dry Breckland heath has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and has to be managed to promote this special habitat. Sheep-grazing is an important traditional method of maintaining the heath. The sheep destroy young trees and keep the heath plants cropped low enough to attract rabbits. The rabbits were originally introduced into warrens, where they were farmed for their meat and fur in medieval times; they escaped and made the sandy Breckland their home. Rabbits disturb the poor soil so that only specially adapted plants can thrive in these conditions. The open heath is home for low-growing, hardy and sometimes dwarf plants.

Trees can easily invade the open heath and, if left, will destroy it by forming areas of scrub and woodland. Birch and oaks frequently colonise the edges of the heath and sometimes grow too large to be destroyed by sheep or rabbits. The birch spreads using millions of windblown seeds. The oaks are dispersed by jays which collect and bury the acorns undamaged, whilst squirrels destroy the potential of this seed before burying them as food.

Dry birch and oak woods are very different from the planted pine windbreaks and the huge conifer plantations of the forest. The heathland soil is too poor to support much, so conifers were planted upon it to provide timber and to try a new way to use the Breckland. The Park is on the southern edge of Thetford Forest, the largest forest in lowland Britain.

Above : sheep-grazing is an important part of managing the heathland

Wet woodland can be found by the river in the form of alder carr, which gets flooded regularly. Ash, alder, willow and hazel prefer these conditions and can grow very tall. The river and the lake have been shaped to their present forms by man, but still provide a contrasting habitat to the heath.

West Stow Country Park contains a whole host of different habitats in one small area, making it attractive to people and wildlife. Visitors should always respect the wildlife which depends upon the Park for its existence. To see more of the valley or the lakes, follow the Lark Valley Path out from the Park, or explore the forest by following the trails which lead into it from near the Park.