IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Bembridge Drive, NOTTINGHAM, NG5 5TR

It's clear how this urban nature Reserve has got its name; the Bunter Sandstone is very close to the surface. For more about the reserve, see Image

Looking down the site from the shelter at the top. In the foreground is a rough track for ATB cyclists.

A 71 to Arnold climbs Chippenham Road in Bestwood Park estate.

Part of the extensive Bestwood Park development from the 1950s onwards.

Shown as a Nature Area, but recently designated as a Reserve. Sandy Banks is a fortuitous survival of natural landscape, due to it being reserved for a main road that was never built. Its website describes it as follows: "Set in a green valley, it is a wildlife haven that would at one time have formed part of Sherwood Forest. It is situated 4 miles north of Nottingham City Centre in the Bestwood area of the city. The site covers 5.9 hectares and is one of the few remaining wild sites within the City boundary. The high valley sides provide an excellent viewing point looking south towards the city centre. The underlying Sandstone and free draining sandy soils give rise to conditions known as Lowland Dry Acid Grassland; this is a nationally rare habitat important for many kinds of invertebrates including beetles and solitary bees and wasps. The exposed areas of Sandstone and bare ground provide some of these insects with suitable areas for basking and burrowing. There are also plantation woodlands, stands of broom, bracken and areas of neutral grassland which although common habitats, add interest and structural diversity to the site. The woodland and scrub areas provide nesting and feeding sites for a wide range of birds, including Linnet, Chiffchaff and Whitethroat." For full details see http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3347

At this point it was intended that the main road should carry straight on. The land was reserved, but in the end the decision was made that it was not needed. The site remained open space and is now a protected Nature Reserve, Sandy Banks.

Heavy lumps of sandstone placed to prevent motor vehicles being driven onto a Nature Reserve.

Looking down towards Edwards Lane.

Housing on the edge of Sandy Banks Nature Reserve. The reserve survives despite being a major pedestrian route with no particular protection for the vegetation. For more about the reserve, see Image

The reserve has to double as a local recreational area, including a portion set out as a small rough bike track. The shelter appears to have been provided as part of this. For more about the reserve, see Image