Parrot's Drumble
The stream coloured by iron oxide from old mineworkings
Location in Staffordshire
Location	Talke Pits, Staffordshire
OS grid	SJ 818 522
Coordinates	53°4′0″N 2°16′23″W / 53.06667°N 2.27306°W / 53.06667; -2.27306
Area	12 hectares (30 acres)
Operated by	Staffordshire Wildlife Trust
Website	www.staffs-wildlife.org.uk/nature-reserves/parrots-drumble

Parrot's Drumble is a nature reserve of the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. It is an area of woodland next to the village of Talke Pits, and about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Newcastle-under-Lyme, in Staffordshire, England.

Description

Its area is 12 hectares (30 acres). It is an ancient woodland, the area having been woodland for more than 400 years. It was once owned by a family named Parrot, and a "drumble" is a local word for a stream running through a wooded valley.^[1]

There are old mineworkings in the area, from which iron oxide leaches, giving the stream a reddish colour.^[1]

There is a walking trail through the wood, where there is oak, hazel, birch, rowan and ash; near the stream there is willow and alder. Woodland plants include dog's mercury, yellow archangel and wood-sorrel, and in the spring there are notable displays of bluebells. Birds to be seen include great spotted woodpecker, lesser spotted woodpecker, nuthatch and treecreeper.^[1]

Parrots Drumble is the source of the River Waldron which flows through Staffordshire and Cheshire until it meets the River Weaver near Nantwich.

References