Wildlife

Quarr Local Nature Reserve

The Quarr is Sherborne’s own designated Local Nature Reserve. Find it right next to The Mermaid pub as you go out of Sherborne on the Bristol Road.

The Quarr is supported by a Friends Group and the Town Council is committed to improving its varied habitats to attract and support wildlife whilst providing a community green space.

The area is an old lanfill site and before that was a quarry from which the town’s building stone was extracted.

There is a woodland area which is well stocked with bird boxes made by the Gryphon School which attracts many species of birds. Below that there is a meadow area where the grasses and flowers are left to grow all year round. These attract butterflies, insects and small mammals.

Paths are mown through the grasses to create pleasant walks and to reach the copse where young native trees have been planted to create another woodland in the future.

The Quarr Local Nature Reserve is open to the public all the year round. At the entrance you will find an illistrated information board to help interpet the site, highlighting the wildlife to look out for through thr changing seasons. This provides the background to the Quarr’s geological history and its links to the town and to the wider Dorset landscape.