Lickham Common

Ponies amongst bracken at Lickham Common nature reserve

Lickham Common

Wet, boggy and full of wildlife! You'll sometimes meet our Exmoor ponies at Lickham Common.

Location

1 mile south west of Hemyock. Park on the main road, then access the track via foot only leading towards Lickham Cottages.
Taunton
Devon
EX15 3RU gets you close to main entrance

OS Map Reference

ST 128 122
A static map of Lickham Common

Know before you go

Size
4 hectares
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Entry fee

No
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Parking information

Park on the road near the track leading to Glydon and Lickham Cottage (ST 127 123)
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Grazing animals

Yes
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Walking trails

Steep track to the reserve; ground can be very wet and boggy and the going can be very difficult even in dry weather. Allow 45 minutes to explore the reserve.

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Access

Open site that is wet and rough. Steep track to the reserve; ground can be very wet and boggy and the going can be very difficult even in dry weather. Contact the Trust for disabled access information

Dogs

image/svg+xmlOn a lead

When to visit

Opening times

Open at all times

Best time to visit

May to September

About the reserve

A wet heathland area surrounded by woodland. A fascinating mix of heathland plants.

This isn't the easiest nature reserve to find or to explore. Made up of wet and boggy heathland it's a challenge to stay dry, but it is worth the effort!

 

Ash dieback

The disease ash dieback is now widespread in the UK and is present at many of our nature reserves, so we carry out tree felling across our sites in winter months. For your own safety please observe temporary path diversions and closures.

Where possible we will leave affected ash trees in place to decay naturally as an important habitat for wildlife. We plan to only fell diseased ash trees which pose a threat to people or infrastructure. Before trees are felled, we will check whether any rare or protected wildlife is present. If it is, we will postpone or avoid felling these trees. No felling will take place during the bird nesting season.

DWT’s Saving Devon’s Treescapes project are working with communities, landowners and businesses to help make Devon's precious treescapes more resilient in the face of ash dieback. Find out how you can get involved here.

 

NOTICE: If you are visiting our reserves, please note that there have been instances of H5N1 Avian bird flu found in birds in Devon. There is very low risk to public health, but we do ask that if you come across any unusual or unexplained bird deaths on or near our reserves, please do not touch them and avoid allowing your dog to come into contact with dead birds. Please report them to Defra here or call 03459 335577 and also report your findings to DWT by email at contactus@devonwildlifetrust.org.

Contact us

Devon Wildlife Trust
Contact number: 01392 279244

Location map

Adder basking in the sunlight

Adder. Photo, Chris Root

This kind of heathland was once much more common in these parts but now Lickham Common is a rare example. It takes Devon Wildlife Trust a great deal of effort and the grazing of our herd of Exmoor ponies to maintain it.

In amongst the tall purple moor grass grow marsh violets, lesser spearwort and horsetails. Frogs and toads also thrive in the wet conditions, and the dense grassland provides good cover for adders, grass snakes and slow-worms. Tread slowly and you may catch a glimpse.

Explore the Blackdown Hills from here

Lickham Common forms part of a chain of three nature reserves in the Blackdown Hills cared for by Devon Wildlife Trust. Take time to discover the others at Ashculm Turbary and Clayhidon Turbary.

Discover our 50 nature reserves