Location:

Copthorne Park, Off Richmond Drive

Details/Description:

Copthorne Park is a nature reserve in the west of Shrewsbury, about 6 hectares in size. Despite being surrounded by a housing estate, it provides a home for a variety of wildlife and a place for people to get close to nature. Shrewsbury Town Council’s Countryside Unit manages the site using traditional methods, giving opportunities for volunteering and community involvement.

The depression that the park lies in was formed around 10,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age. As ice sheets melted, they left huge blocks of ice on low areas which melted more slowly and made deeper holes filled with peat and water. These are known as ‘kettle holes’ and there are a number of others across Shrewsbury. The park was taken over by the Borough Council in 1945, and designated as a Countryside Site in 1991, in recognition of its importance to wildlife.

SIB Copthorne Park 07-17 AW (Final)