Broadcroft Quarry facts for kids
Broadcroft Quarry is a special place on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It's both a working stone quarry and a nature reserve for butterflies! You can find it on the eastern side of the island, near the villages of Easton and The Grove.
The nature reserve part is a safe home for many kinds of butterflies. The working quarry is one of the biggest on Portland. It has provided natural Portland stone for buildings in London for many years. Portland Stone Firms Ltd owns the quarry. They also own Perryfield and Coombefield Quarries. The Butterfly Conservation group looks after the nature reserve.
Other nature reserves on Portland include King Barrow Quarry and Perryfield Quarry. Broadcroft also connects to Yeolands Quarry, which is no longer used.
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History of Broadcroft Quarry
Broadcroft Quarry has been used for a very long time, since the early 1900s. Back then, it was many smaller quarries run by different families. Over time, these smaller quarries joined together to form the large one we see today.
In 1951, permission was given for modern quarrying on Portland. This covered a big area of the island. Portland Stone Firms Ltd still has the permission to quarry at Coombefield, Perryfield, and Broadcroft. Today, the quarry is expanding into new areas. This helps them meet the demand for stone, including for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The quarry still has over 20 years of stone left to dig. It is mainly used for a type of stone called Broadcroft Whitbed.
Motorbiking Fun at the Quarry
On November 13, 2011, Portland Stone Firms Ltd hosted a special event. It was called the Track 'n' Trail Enduro Event. This was held in the active part of the quarry. It was the first event of its kind there. Many motorbike fans from all over the UK came to take part. They said it was one of the toughest and most fun events in the UK! Track 'n' Trail aims to create safe and well-organized events for young and adult riders to enjoy.
Broadcroft Quarry Nature Reserve
Years ago, an old, unused part of the quarry started to be taken over by nature. It became a special nature reserve. It's now known as Broadcroft Quarry Nature Reserve or Broadcroft Quarry and Butterfly Reserve. Since 1994, the Butterfly Conservation group has leased this area from the quarry company.
The reserve is about 7.3 hectares (18 acres) in size. The goal was to bring back natural plants and bushes. This helped many local birds, butterflies, and insects return. The reserve now supports a wide variety of wildlife. It shows how old industrial land can be used to help nature. This reserve is part of Portland's Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Broadcroft is one of two nature reserves managed by Butterfly Conservation on Portland. The other is Perryfield Quarry, which became a reserve in 1998.
The team managing the site works to create open grassland. They even use special digging methods to scrape off the surface. This helps create the right conditions for the silver-studded blue butterfly and the black ants it lives with. In 2011, a team spent six weeks cutting and burning unwanted bushes. This helped improve the homes for butterflies and moths. They also used a digger to create bare ground. This is exactly what the rare silver-studded blue butterfly needs to survive. This project was funded by the Big Lottery. Later, Butterfly Conservation held an event to show visitors the butterflies and moths there.
Amazing Wildlife at Broadcroft
The reserve is home to many different plants and animals. Most of them are insects. It also has plants that grow well in limestone soil. You can find plants like bee and pyramidal orchids. Other special plants include cyperus sedge, yellow vetchling, and autumn gentian. The sparse plants in the quarry are perfect for butterflies and other insects.
More than 24 different kinds of butterflies live in the reserve. The most famous is the silver-studded blue butterfly. You can often see them in late June or early July. They have a large group living on the limestone. Other butterflies include the small blue (May/June and July/August) and the chalkhill blue (July). There's also a very strong group of the common blue (May to September). Sometimes, you might even see migrant butterflies like the clouded yellow and painted lady.
Moths found here include the Portland ribbon wave and the four-spotted moth.
Besides insects like the meadow grasshopper, you can also spot migrant birds. They use Portland as a stop on their journeys. The bushes in the reserve give them shelter. Some birds you might see are the whitethroat, lesser whitethroat, meadow pipit, kestrel, and green woodpecker. Sometimes, you might even see roe deer or the wild feral goats that graze on the cliffs. On the eastern side of the quarry, there are some ponds. These ponds are rare on Portland and are home to different kinds of amphibians.
