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Rewilding the old golf course
Rewilding the old golf course
by Malcolm Hull, Nature Recovery Officer
Closure of the Abbey View Golf Course in 2024 left a large open space in the south-east corner of Verulamium Park. A great opportunity for recreation, but also an exciting space to improve different features of the site for wildlife.
Grassland
Good species-rich grassland habitats are rare in our area, with 98% having been lost in the last century. The regularly cut fairways and greens hold relatively little value for nature. But letting the grass grow long provides homes and breeding grounds for many species such as voles and hedgehogs.
For the last two years the site has been managed as a Summer Meadow. Paths are mown regularly to provide public access, but most of the grass is left uncut until the end of the summer. This has encouraged butterfly species such as Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper and Marbled White to breed on the site. But there have been relatively few flowers for them to feed on. So one of the interventions carried out in Autumn 2025 was to introduce a mix of native wildflower seeds at several locations around the site covering an area of around 25,000 sq ft. (0.6 acres). The mixture was selected as being particularly good for bees and butterflies. The 27 different wild flower species included favoured nectar sources such as Clovers, Scabious and Knapweeds. It also contained wildflowers essential for some of our butterfly species such as Birds-foot Trefoil, Cuckoo Flower, Cranesbills and importantly included Yellow Rattle, the "meadow maker" which helps other wildflowers by weakening coarse grasses.
Trees and Shrubs
Trees and Shrubs
The golf course was surrounded by well established hedges, with younger woodland in the central area, planted to form breaks between fairways. Over the years the young trees had grown to 60-70 feet tall, leaving a very abrupt wood edge alongside the grassland. Wildlife thrives along woodland edges, but the number of species is greater where the wood edge is graded, with low shrubs and bushes near the grass and taller shrubs further back near the treeline. To achieve this softer "ecotone" a planting scheme was devised to introduce more shrubs and shorter trees along some of the old fairway edges. A mix of 15 different native species was chosen such as Holly, Hawthorn and Hazel. These all have significant wildlife benefits, providing nuts, seeds and berries as well as shelter. Some of the shrubs provide essential caterpillar foodplants, for example Alder Buckthorn for the Brimstone butterfly. A few taller trees such as Oak, our best wildlife tree were included in selected locations. 4,500 trees and shrubs were planted in the winter of 2025/6.
Site Conditions
The planting scheme was designed to fit around several site constraints. The line of the old roman road from Londinium to Verulamium runs across the site and no new planting was allowed within 30 feet of the route. There are splendid views of the Abbey from two of the old fairways and planting was designed so these would remain as the trees and shrubs mature. There are Thames Water pipes which run down the slope towards the river and these were also avoided.
What's next?
The site will be managed as Summer Meadows, with mown paths. This involves a single grass cut at the end of the summer, with arisings removed to prevent soil fertility increasing. This helps wildflowers compete more successfully with the grass. We will be exploring the use of green hay techniques to spread wildflowers around the site.
The Friends are also planning to construct a wildlife pond. There are a few more trees, Elms, to be planted in winter 2026. This species used to be dominant in the park, but was killed off by disease in the 1970's. Now Disease Resistant Elms will be introduced, restoring this tree species to the park landscape.
We also want to record all the wildlife on the site and are keen to hear from anyone who'd like to join in.
Thanks
Many thanks to all those who have contributed to the success of this project. St Albans District Council (staff and councillors), the Countryside Management Service, John O'Conner, the Friends of Verulamium Park, Glencar, St Michaels School and all the members of the public who have joined in with the tree planting work parties. Particular thanks to Adolfo Gonzalez of CMS for managing all the planting
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