Radley Lakes Trust

If you are planning a walk near the lakes soon please be aware a short section of the Sounding Bridge path is flooded. It is just about passable with determination and wellies, however much of the path is very muddy and slippery, so please take extra care when walking along that section!

A huge thank you to everyone who helped organise the
event — and of course to all the quizzers who took
part!

A busy room of quiz teams look towards the quiz master for the answers to the picture round.

The winning team "The Tyrrables"

We had a fantastic time on Saturday evening at the annual Radley Lakes Trust quiz. Nine teams went head-to-head for the coveted Golden Kingfisher Trophy, with “The Tyrrables” clinching victory by the narrowest of margins on a tie-breaker question.

Join us on Saturday 7th February 2026 for an evening of fun, friendly competition, and community spirit, all in support of the Radley Lakes Trust.

For more information and to book your ticket visit our website: radleylakestrust.org/get-involved...

This project was completed by Abingdon Naturalists with advice from Barn Owl Conservation for Oxfordshire and was funded by a grant from Trust for Oxfordshire's Environment. Great teamwork everyone!

Barton Fields is a fantastic wildlife site, comprising unimproved grassland and lowland fen - an ideal habitat for voles and mice, the main prey of owls. The provision of suitable nest boxes will now allow these species to take advantage of the site, helping to reverse their decline.

Great news, a recent project has installed nesting boxes for raptors such as Barn Owls, Tawny Owls, Little Owls and Kestrels to nest on the Barton Fields Nature Reserve.

Find out more: radleylakestrust.org/news/help-fo...

#BartonFields #Abingdon #Radley #owlconservation

Love birds? Join our winter bird walk, led by local expert Ian Elkins, on Sunday 30th November for your chance to see the variety of birds that frequent the area. To find out more and reserve your spot visit our website: radleylakestrust.org/get-involved...

Fantastic news - our volunteers at the Abingdon Marathon raised a whopping £1,645 for The Radley Lakes Trust! 🥳 A huge thanks again to the marathon organisers and all the marshals for making the event such a success.

'Beautiful' nature reserve near Oxford with 'rare' birds and 'breathtaking' views Rare birds can sometimes be found in the Radley Lakes area in Abingdon, which is said to be "beautiful" with "breathtaking"…

We couldn't agree more, but then again we are biased! 😅 www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/2554800...

Bonus picture of this beautiful Common Blue Butterfly that was spotted. They can sometimes be found into late October, particularly following hot summers.

Some of the area remains to be scythed and we hope to arrange for another group of enthusiastic scythers to finish the job later this autumn. If you are interested let us know in the comments and we will send you some more info.

The plant diversity of the meadow is developing nicely as we continue to scythe it each year. Unfortunately the Lapwing that used to nest there have not done so now for two years, but we are hopeful they will come back soon.

Last Saturday 16 volunteers from Abingdon Green Gym scythed, raked and stacked a large meadow beside the lake at the eastern end of Thrupp Green.

#RadleyLakes #wildflowermeadow

Our Annual Forum is this weekend. We will provide an update on the projects undertaken this year, our future plans, and then discuss your thoughts on how we can do our very best to protect and enhance this special area for the local community. More info: fb.me/e/jJ0XErCYA

#RadleyLakes

Then over drinks and nibbles we'll discuss your thoughts on Radley Lakes and how we can do our very best to protect and enhance this special area for the local community.

Please RSVP to info@radleylakestrust.org so we can organise refreshments appropriately.

Join us at our Annual Forum to learn more about the Lakes, hear what was achieved over the last year, and what we plan to do in the coming year. There will also be a talk on "Barton Fields - past, present and future".

#RadleyLakes #radleylakestrust

The late mowing allows plants to shed seed and insects to complete their life cycles. To maintain low fertility, the cut hay is raked off the grassland and stacked in compost heaps. Heat generated by decomposition of the herbage makes ideal sites for grass snakes to lay their eggs!

Annual mowing keeps the meadow healthy and full of wildflowers. It:
🌼 Stops scrub & trees taking over
🌼 Helps wildflowers outcompete coarse grasses
🌼 Boosts biodiversity for bees, butterflies & birds
🌼 Keeps soil nutrients balanced

The annual meadow cut of Barton Fields was completed today. Big thanks to all the volunteers that helped, including Abingdon Green Gym and Abingdon Naturalists Society.

Want to raise money for the Radley Lakes Trust whilst keeping Abingdon Marathon runners safe and cheering them on?

Choose Radley Lakes Trust as your chosen charity during the sign up process. www.abingdonmarathon.org.uk/volunteer

#RadleyLakes #AbingdonMarathon #radleylakestrust

A bunch of super Radley residents have organised this lovely community event on Sunday 29th June. Looks like a great chance to enjoy the start of summer and meet others in our village. See you there! 🧺🍹🥪
#communityevent
#picnic

We are pleased to report that work to upgrade the Thrupp Lake footpath is going well! We are on track to finish on Friday 13th June as planned 🚛👷

#workinprogress #conservation #underconstruction

The wildflowers at Barton Fields are looking GLORIOUS at the moment! Do take a look if you are walking past Thrupp Lake towards Abingdon, a lovely way to spend a sunny hour or two 😎☀️🌼🌸🌺

#abingdon #oxfordshire #wildflowers #radleylakestrust

Hi Martin nice to see you too! Good point we'll add the Bluesky link to the website. See you at Lakes and Cakes!

This year's Lakes and Cakes event will be taking place on Sunday 6th July! Fix the date in your diary and we'll share more updates soon. We can't wait to see you there!
#radleylakestrust #abingdon #communityevent

Huge thanks to Ian Elkins for leading an excellent bird walk last Sunday. We saw amongst others Black headed gulls, Herring gulls, cormorants, Canada Geese, Greylag Geese, Coots, Great crested grebes, Tufted ducks, Mallards. Flying above the lake were Red kites and a Buzzard and Grey heron!

📢 We have a few spaces left on our spring bird walk on Sunday 27th April! 📢

Meeting at 9.30 at Thrupp lake, the walk will be led by Ian Elkins who led the excellent walk last year (pictured).

Email info@radleylakestrust.org to reserve your a place.

#radleylakes #oxfordshirewildlife

We love it when Manda Hartley goes for runs around Radley Lakes and takes beautiful photos! Here are some recent sunrise snaps 🙏🌞🌸🦢

#radleylakes #running #oxfordshire #abingdon #sunrise #springhassprung #sunrisephotography

Great crested Grebes and Tufted ducks enjoying the spring time water at Thrupp lake! Spotted by Rhona Davie 🦆🪶🪿

#greatcrestedgrebe #tuftedduck #radleylakes #abingdon #oxfordshire