Knettishall Heath Nature Reserve is a Site of Special Scientific Interest where wild ponies and cattle graze. It’s located in the Breckland area, which is one of the UK’s biodiversity hotspots, situated in Thetford.
Knettishall Heath Reserve is free to visit and open 7 days a week. The best times to visit between April and October. There are four trails around the reserve which vary in length from one mile to 2.5 miles and include an all-access trail around the river. We visited while in Suffolk, where POD’s grandparents live, on a glorious spring day. It’s dog-friendly so Mungo was could come along too, much to POD’s delight. Not our dog I might add but much loved all the same.
Knettishall Heath has a diverse mosaic of habits with woodland and riverside meadows and large areas of heathland. It’s 430 acres in total and around 12.500 species live in the area – 30% of which are rare. It still retains much of its ancient landscape and little has changed in 4,000 years other than forestry and modern farming which has transformed parts of The Brecks. It’s a beautiful spot for a wander with the added benefit seeing bands of ponies.
We had no idea we were going to see so many ponies while we were at Knettishall Heath. Although they look friendly, they still roam free so we stood well back to admire them from a distance. What an absolute treat watching these beauties while they grazed. It’s said some of the ponies here were originally from Exmoor and released at Knettishall Heath by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.
These Exmoors have grazed the land since 2012, clearing overgrown heathland, resulting in the nature reserve’s revival. The wild ponies that have roamed Knettishall Heath have been fundamental to a project to restore the heathland, creating vital habitat for rare birds and plants that rely on the landscape to survive. Certainly somewhere to pay a visit if you’re in the area.
