The cradle of nature conservation

This is the path through Dancersend Nature Reserve, dropping down into the Crong valley. This valley was in the middle of the great Tring and Halton Rothschild estates and Walter and Charles Rothschild learnt about wildlife here. Later, Miriam Rothschild recalled catching Marsh Fritillary butterflies here as a young girl, being coached in the fieldcraft of entomology by her father and Uncle Walter. In 1941, Miriam and her brother Victor handed over the 78 acre reserve to the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves (SPNR) in memory of their father, Charles, who had founded the society and effectively invented the whole idea of nature conservation. This particular valley has a very special place in the history of conservation and the Wildlife Trusts movement, which I'm now documenting.