Harrold-Odell Country Park

The Harrold-Odell Country Park is a 59.3 hectare Country park and Local Nature Reserve between the villages of Odell and Harrold in Bedfordshire. It is owned and managed by Bedford Borough Council, and it has a cafe, toilets and an information room.[1][2]

The area has been settled since at least the 3rd century, and there was a Roman farmstead at what is now the Grebe Lake. [3] A nearby landmark is the former Saint Nicholas church at Chellington, which was deconsecrated in 1975 and can be seen from across the lake. [4]

The site was formerly a sand and gravel quarry, and was converted to a park in the 1980s.[5] It is bordered on its southern and eastern side by the River Great Ouse. It has two lakes, water meadows and woodland, some of which is seasonally flooded. There is a wide variety of birds, and mammals include otters, shrews and bats.[1]

There is access from Carlton Road.

References

  1. ^ a b "Harrold-Odell Country Park". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. 18 February 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  2. ^ "Map of". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  3. ^ "Romano-British Odell". Bedfordshire Archives. Bedford Borough Council. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  4. ^ "River Meadows" (PDF). Friends of Harrold-Odell Country Park. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  5. ^ "Welcome to Harrold-Odell Country Park". Friends of Harrold-Odell Country Park. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
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52°12′21″N 0°35′49″W / 52.20583°N 0.59694°W / 52.20583; -0.59694


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