New Somerset nature reserve being created as part of key rural cycling route
Volunteers are transforming land beside the Strawberry Line into a two-acre wildlife haven and peaceful stopping point for walkers and cyclists
A brand new nature reserve is being created as part of a key walking and cycling route across rural Somerset.
The Strawberry Line multi-user path currently runs uninterrupted from Yatton railway station to Cheddar, and will eventually reach all the way to Collett Park in Shepton Mallet.
A short extension between the villages of Westbury-sub-Mendip and Easton (halfway between Cheddar and Wells) was completed in the summer of 2023, and is currently used by around 50,000 people a year.
Now the Strawberry Line’s army of willing volunteers (together with Greenways and Cycle Routes) is creating a “new destination” along this stretch in the form of the Hollybrook nature reserve, boosting local biodiversity and providing a space for quiet contemplation.
Mick Fletcher, chairman of the Strawberry Line Society, provided the Local Democracy Reporting Service with a guided tour of the site (named after the local river of the same name) on Tuesday morning (December 30, 2025).
The reserve lies between the existing path and the properties which line the busy A371, and is accessed via an existing archway near Erlon Lane which once carried part of the Cheddar Valley railway line.
Mr Fletcher said: “We dropped our path down because the former railway bridge over Erlon Lane was destroyed – it was taken down by one of the local landowners.
“We dropped down off the embankment – and that gave us the opportunity to do something rather interesting.
“The embankment is full of wildlife – there’s at least one badger sett in there, along with rabbits, foxes and plenty of birds, and there’s a couple of deer that have taken up residence in the area.”
“We can access the reserve via a little ‘accommodation bridge’, which during the days of the railway enabled the farmer to get his cattle from one side of the railway to the other.”
Once through the arch, a path spirals slowly around and upwards onto the top of the bridge, providing visitors with stunning views from two benches over the Somerset Levels towards Panborough and Wedmore.
Mr Fletcher and his fellow volunteers have been hard at work fencing off a key area, ensuring that local species can thrive without being troubled by people, dogs or other unwanted guests.
While this work comes two years after this section of path was completed and opened to the public, it would be utterly wrong to describe the project as an afterthought.
Mr Fletcher explained: “When you install a path, inevitably, if you put stone dust over grass, you lose biodiversity.
“In general, we can reclaim that with planting hedges and ponds, but Greenways has set this aside so that we can say there’s a net gain for nature in everything we do.
“This two-acre plot was acquired specially as a nature reserve. We’re going to be planting a hedge all around the circumference to give a bit more privacy to the animals, and that’s a valuable contribution in its own right.
“We’ve got a planting day for families on Saturday January 3, where people can come and have a picnic and we can plant trees all around, which will break up the view for people from the nearby bungalows.”
In the future, a picnic area will be created near the entrance to the nature reserve, while the viewpoint area will see its muddy, stony surface smoothed out to allow safer access for those with more limited mobility.
Mr Fletcher said: “We’ll be building up the hedge along the walkway as part of phase two, as well as removing all the trip hazards.
“Ideally, we’d like to get a surface here which can be accessed by people with manually operated wheelchairs, pushchairs and Zimmer frames.
“We’ll do a little bit of planting to introduce new species as well. If we’re planting, that can only happen when the trees are dormant – so we have to get things in by the end of February.
“This is not ‘a nice thing to have’ – it’s part of our fundamental purpose.
“The Strawberry Line is about enabling people to get access to the countryside and improving communication between communities – but up there with them is improving opportunities for nature and increasing biodiversity. It’s all tied in together.”
For more information on the Strawberry Line, including how to get involved, visit www.thestrawberryline.org.uk.
The family planting event will be held at the Hollybrook nature reserve on Saturday (January 3) between 10am and 1pm.
Those wishing to participate should either park at Easton Village Hall or Station Road in Westbury-sub-Mendip – with the nature reserve being a ten-minute walk from either end of the path.
Somerset Council’s executive committee is expected to make an announcement within the coming weeks on further “grant funding to support the Strawberry Line and Somerset Circle cycle routes”, according to its forward plan.