Lugg Meadows

The Lugg Meadows are a large, flat area of grassland, which lies alongside the River Lugg near Hereford. They are the largest known surviving example of Lammas Meadow - areas of common land that date back to medieval times.

Lugg Meadows ©Bob Gibbons/Plantlife

Features of Lammas Meadows include the division of ownership into strips marked by dole stones, and an active commoners' association controlling the grazing rights. These are all features of the Lugg Meadows today.

Plantlife owns 105 acres of the Lugg Meadows in four separate parcels. The meadows flood regularly in the winter, but the underlying gravel allows fast drainage so that they do not stay waterlogged.

Plants thriving on the meadows include Oxeye Daisy, Yellow-rattle, Meadowsweet, Bird’s-foot Trefoil and Common Knapweed. Other wildlife present includes wintering birds such as curlew, wigeon and golden plover.

The meadows are still managed in accordance with the medieval system. From 2nd February (‘Candlemas’) to 1st August (‘Lammas’) the meadows are ‘shut up’ to allow for growth of a hay crop. Once the hay crop has been taken, the meadows are then thrown open for grazing by the commoners’ livestock.

Location: Near Hereford, Herefordshire. Grid Reference: SO547 405

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