

Corfe Mullen Meadows
Know before you go
Entry fee
N/AParking information
Parking in layby close to entranceBicycle parking
NoGrazing animals
Cattle or ponies from mid or late summer through the winter.Walking trails
Circular path around larger hay meadow.
Please click here for more information and guidance about dogs on DWT nature reserves.
Access
Main entrance has RADAR key wheelchair/ buggy accessible gate. Bench by entrance.
Enter the main meadow through the gate to follow a mown grassy path around the edge of the field. Currently no access to the smaller field but we are hoping to add a gate in the near future. Grazing animals will be on site from mid to late summer until the following February.
For more information on visiting DWT Nature Reserves, including more on general countryside hazards such as grazing animals, please see our Visitor Information page.
Dogs
When to visit
Opening times
Open at all timesBest time to visit
May (orchids) & mid summerAbout the reserve
Corfe Mullen Meadows is a beautiful reserve featuring two important wildflower meadows supporting a large population of green-winged orchids.
This reserve, near the village of Corfe Mullen between the A35 and A31, is an important habitat for pollinators, with bees, moths and bugs all thriving in this tranquil environment. The reserve is managed as a traditional hay meadow, with grazing following the cutting of the hay in mid to late summer.
Visitors love to come and see the good population of green winged orchids. These near threatened species flower in May and June and are a lovely pink-purple colour. It is the green-veined hoods of the flowers that give them their name. They are pollinated by bumblebees.
May is a great time to visit Corfe Mullen Meadows as the orchids form a beautifully lush pink carpet across the fields.
In summer the flowers and grasses grow taller and taller, coming alive with butterflies, bees, day flying moths and grasshoppers.
Thick, bushy hedgerows with plenty of large, old oak trees shelter the field and provide additional habitat for birds, mammals and invertebrates of shrubby places.
Useful Information
From the A350 Poole to Blandford Road take the Old Wareham Road at the traffic lights to head east towards Corfe Mullen. Follow the road for just under a mile then turn left onto Waterloo Road by the Naked Cross Nursery. The reserve is about a mile along this road, on the right opposite a row of houses.
Species
Contact us
Environmental designation

Corfe Mullen Meadows Nature Reserve

The Great Heath Living Landscape
Part of The Great Heath Living Landscape