Greystones Farm's new development plans unveiled

Plans to develop Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust's nature reserve have been unveiled.

A Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £103,000 will be used to develop ideas for a new visitor centre at Greystones Farm, at Bourton-on-the-Water.

Trust chief executive Roger Mortlock said it would enable people to "get under the skin of the county's wildlife".

"[The] farm has a good claim to be the birthplace of the Cotswolds," he added.

"It has been an important meeting place, a farm and wildlife haven since Neolithic times."

The trust said it hoped the new discovery centre would tell the story of the 6,000-year history of wildlife, people, farming and food in the Cotswolds.

A new milking parlour with a robotic milking system will also be developed alongside Cotswold cheese-maker, Simon Weaver.

Around 60 dairy cows will be based at the farm as part of the conservation grazing of the nature reserve.

Greystones Farm is home to the whole of the Salmonsbury Meadows, a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest, with Salmonsbury Camp Scheduled Ancient Monument to the south.

The trust said the meadows are one of the "richest and largest examples" of unimproved neutral meadows in the Cotswolds, featuring uncommon plants such as southern marsh orchid and early marsh orchid.