Bure Park, our most visited site, can be accessed via Bicester North train station, the no.22 bus from the town centre, or a 10 minute walk up from the town centre.
The first houses were built in 1997 (about the time the first Green Gym was formed) on what was Slade Farm. The developers left a “breathing space” in the middle, which has proved very popular for dog walking, exploring, and unfortunately, vandalising. The area was granted Nature Reserve status in 2005. As well as Green Gym, the Residents Association keep a careful eye on it, with regular litter-picks and social events.
The Reserve is a narrow, winding site between the housing estate and the London to Birmingham railway line. Habitats there include grass meadow, young broad-leaved woodland, hedges and scrub. A small river (the Bure) runs through the site, feeding a small pond which is home to great crested newts. A balancing pond at one end of the Reserve is fed by run-off from the area. Bure Ark may be a more appropriate name for the place as it really does host an abundance of wildlife! More pictures can be seen in the Past Events Section.
