A small area of historic common and an area of Surveyor’s Land, Common Road Smee Land is managed by Martham Parish Council as a village amenity for wildlife. Once part of the much larger Martham Common, it is now a tranquil area of neutral grassland bordered by old hedges and mature trees, with damper willow and oak woodland in the north.
Please note this site is not a Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserve.
Habitat description from the Wildlife in Common Survey
Small, rectangular, flat site approximately 1.5 miles west of Martham, off a footpath known as Common Road. The southern half of the site is fenced, and there is a wide, water-filled drainage ditch to the immediate north.
To the south and south-east there is an area of recently mown grass, with occasional coppiced hazel (
Corylus avellana) and a couple of oak trees (
Quercus robur). Tree and hedgerow planting has taken place here in recent years.
Grassland species include oxeye daisy (
Lecanthemum vulgare), creeping bent (
Agrostis stolonifera), hemlock (
Conium maculatum), hogweed (
Heracleaum sphondyleum), cow parsley (
Anthriscus sylvestris), broad-leaved dock (
Rumex obtusifolius), Yorkshire fog (
Holcus lanatus), creeping buttercup (
Ranunculus repens) and common daisy (
Bellis perennis).
A dense, impenetrable stand of nettle (
Urtica dioica) with occasional hazel, elder (
Sambucus nigra) and oak make up the western part of this area.
The northern half of the common is more wooded with scrub and trees including oak, birch (
Betula pendula), willow (
Salix sp.), elder and hawthorn (
Crataegus monogyna). This area is influenced by the water-filled drainage ditch along the north boundary, with common reed (
Phragmites australis) and yellow flag iris (
Iris pseudacoros). There are also damp ditches to the east and west of the northen part of the common.
The southern boundary is a sparse hedge of hawthorn, elder, oak and blackthorn (
Prunus spinosa) with a dense under storey of mainly nettle and cleavers (
Galium aparine). The eastern boundary is a dense mature hedge of hawthorn, elder and blackthorn with hop (
Humulus lupulus) intertwining with cleavers, nettle, hedge woundwort (
Stachys sylvatica) and dog rose (
Rosa canina sp.). The hedge becomes sparser to the north.
The north boundary has a fence and sparse hedge of elder and hawthorn with a few mature oaks and some nettles. The western boundary is a hawthorn hedge with occasional mature oak and nettle.
Other species across the common include remote sedge (
Carex remota), red currant (
Ribes rubrum), marsh thistle (
Cirsium palustre), great willowherb (
Epilobium hirsutum), enchanter’s nightshade (
Circaea lutetiana) and broad buckler fern (
Dryopteris dilatata).