Parrot's Drumble

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
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.

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

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.

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