Pavenham Osier Beds

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Pavenham Osier Beds is a 1.3 hectare nature reserve south of Pavenham, beside the River Great Ouse in Bedfordshire. It is cared for by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. The site is a wet meadow and home to meadow-rue, a rare flower.

Osier means a willow that is cut back to keep growing and to provide material for basket making. The Trust is planting more osiers. An osier bed is an area where willows are planted and coppiced to make withies used for baskets, fish traps, and other items. The willow species commonly used is Salix viminalis. Willows are planted from cuttings and grow easily in moist ground; they are cut every one or two years.

Access is via a footpath on the left of Mill Lane. There are no footpaths inside the small site.