Harrison's Holme

A new wetland nature reserve is coming to the heart of Lincolnshire.

Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust is excited to be working with East Mercia Rivers Trust to create a new wetland habitat for wildlife in the historic market town of Horncastle. 

The nature reserve will be located immediately to the south of the A158 on land bordered on two sides by the River Bain and River Waring. This is prone to flooding over the winter and in periods of prolonged wet weather, making it unsuitable for grazing or planting traditional crops. Under the new proposals, the area will be relandscaped to allow more natural movement and storage of water, creating a series of microhabitats that will support a diverse range of plants, insects, reptiles and amphibians, small mammals and birds.

Like many wetland sites, Harrison’s Holme will not be accessible except for vital management work, but an elevated viewpoint with seating and interpretation will allow visitors to enjoy the nature reserve without disturbance to sensitive species. This will be reached via the existing pavement along the roadside and will be fenced for safety and screened from the traffic to minimise noise. 

The planned work for the nature reserve includes:

• An area of bank regrading along the River Bain to make it easier for water to flow onto the adjacent floodplain (within the nature reserve site)
• Excavation of scrapes and ephemeral ponds at varying depths and positions
• Planting in different areas to increase biodiversity, improve bank stability and provide habitat
• Construction of shallow swales and earthen bunds
• Creation of hibernacula from on-site materials to provide overwintering and refuge habitat for amphibians, reptiles and invertebrates.

Subject to planning approval, most of the major work with machinery will be completed over the winter months. Inevitably during this process, there will be large areas of bare earth and the site may look somewhat desolate in the short-term. Nature will quickly take over, supplemented by some planting of appropriate native species. 

There will be opportunities for volunteers to help with hands-on tasks from scrub removal to planting and hibernacula creation, but for health and safety reasons some of these may be restricted. We hope there will also be the chance for creative involvement from young people locally, so please do check back here and on social media for more information. This page will be updated as the project progresses.

There will be a drop-in session at Banovallum House, the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust headquarters, at the end of Manor House Street in Horncastle, on Thursday 16 October 2025 from 3pm to 7pm. Please come along to see the plans and chat to representatives of the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust and East Mercia Rivers Trust about Harrison’s Holme, what it will mean for local residents, and how you can get involved if you would like to.  

This project is funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Anglian Water Get River Positive.