Capstone Farm Country Park

05/06/2026

🦢 So after a long period of waiting we finally have some Cygnets, we think there are 4, but there may be more to come! 🦢

Excuse the terrible photo taken on a phone.

29/05/2026

27/05/2026

The Oxeye Daisy’s 🤩

17/05/2026

🔑 We’ve had some lost keys handed in if you’ve lost any in the top area of the park? 🔑

Please ring 01634 338191
Or come into the visitor centre.

16/05/2026

We had an unexpected little surprise in our compound car park this week — a lone Man Orchid standing proudly in a small patch of grass. It’s not every day you stumble across one of the UK’s rarest wildflowers on your doorstep.

This uncommon and endangered species thrives in short, chalky or limestone grasslands and typically flowers between May and June. Although it is relatively widespread across the Mediterranean–Atlantic regions of Europe, it remains rare in the UK, with the South East forming the northern edge of its range.

The Man Orchid gets its name from its distinctive flowers, each one resembling a tiny, hooded human figure. Seeing one standing alone in such an unassuming spot is a reminder of how resilient — and how vulnerable — these specialised plants can be.
A lovely reminder that nature still finds ways to surprise us, even in the most unexpected places.

06/05/2026

Our Tuesday volunteer team were out in one of our paddocks this week, getting hands‑on with some classic grassland management: cutting back small dog rose and hawthorn that had started to scrub up and push their way into the meadow.

Both species are brilliant in the right place — dog rose provides nectar for early insects and autumn hips for birds, while hawthorn is practically a five‑star hotel for invertebrates. But left unchecked, these thorny pioneers are experts at ecological succession. Give them a few seasons and they’ll march across a meadow, shading out the light‑loving wildflowers that depend on open conditions.

Maintaining a wildflower meadow is really about holding back time. Grasslands like this are what ecologists call a “plagioclimax” habitat — they only stay as meadows because we interrupt the natural progression towards scrub and, eventually, woodland. Without annual cutting or grazing, the paddock would slowly shift through the classic succession stages: scattered thorn scrub, dense thicket, young woodland, mature woodland.

By reducing the dominance of these woody species, we’re giving space back to the orchids, knapweeds, vetches, and all the other sun‑hungry specialists that make these meadows so species‑rich.

And the next phase of the management plan arrives on four legs. In the coming weeks, the cows will be moo‑ving in to apply their own brand of ecological engineering. Their grazing creates micro‑habitats, opens up the sward, and keeps scrub seedlings in check — all while recycling nutrients and shaping the meadow in ways machinery simply can’t replicate.

Huge thanks to our volunteers for helping keep this paddock in that sweet spot where biodiversity thrives.

29/04/2026

Whilst walking around the lake on a sunny day you may have seen the Terrapins basking around the edges of the lake.

They are a non-native species that were imported in massive numbers during the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" cartoon craze in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and sadly Turtles are still being released as unwanted pets today. They have a long life span and can live for 40+ years.

Thankfully there is no scientific evidence to suggest that Terrapins can breed here in the UK.
They require temperatures at 26*C or above for at least 60 days to incubate their eggs.

The most common species seen in UK water bodies are from North America and are: Red-Eared Terrapins, Yellow-bellied sliders and Cumberland sliders, although many other species have been recorded, even the large Alligator snapping turtle has been found living feral in the UK.

In the wild, adult Terrapins are generally opportunistic omnivores
although their diet shifts with age and species. Juveniles are highly carnivorous to support rapid growth but adults consume a higher proportion of plant material.

There is a citizen science research project that is studying released and escaped pet freshwater turtles.

If you see a turtle in a UK water body you can log it with the Turtle Tally https://www.turtletally.co.uk/