Cannop Ponds
Cannop Ponds are two large ponds just north of Parkend in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England. The lower pond was dug in 1825 to supply water to a waterwheel at Parkend Ironworks; because the water flow was unreliable, an upper pond was added in 1829.
Cannop Bridge Marsh, a reed marsh above the top pond, is a nature reserve managed by the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust since 1983. The two ponds plus Cannop Ponds & Woods form a 9-hectare (22-acre) site and are listed as a Key Wildlife Site in the Forest of Dean Local Plan Review. The reserve is open to the public and is part of the Forest Nature Reserve.
Facilities include a large car park, information boards, picnic tables, and a waymarked walk. The site is on the Forest of Dean Family Cycle Trail. Fishing is allowed by the Yorkley Angling Club from 1 May to 31 March each year.
Wildlife and habitats: the area is mixed woodland and marshland. Species include Mandarin ducks, reed warblers, and nesting mute swans. Cannop Brook runs through the marsh and flows into Cannop North Pond. A disused mineral railway line is now a Forestry England road on the eastern boundary, and northern sidings are now woodland with alder and birch. A bridge and causeway separate the marsh from the pond.
The marsh is dominated by club-rush, with bulrush, great willowherb and common reed. Drier areas have alder and birch with grasses, remote-sedge and horsetails; plants include common spotted-orchid, marsh pennywort, common valerian, skullcap and creeping jenny. Wood horsetail is common in damp areas. Grazing helps keep parts of the site as short grassland, with sheep’s fescue common.
Birds include nuthatch, chiffchaff, wood warbler, treecreeper, marsh tit, pied flycatcher, common redstart and great spotted woodpecker. Waterfowl such as moorhen, mallard and coot have been seen, and reed buntings have bred here. Invertebrates include butterflies (common blue, silver-washed fritillary) and damselflies (large red, blue-tailed). The small pearl-bordered fritillary used to be present but is now locally extinct. To prevent drying of the marsh, alder is coppiced in the central area and bracken is removed.
Coordinates: 51°47′33″N 2°34′11″W.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 11:32 (CET).