The reserve consists of a series of five small shallow lakes and a marsh, with patches of waterside plants surrounded by a thin fringe of dry land with mature trees. The lakes are generally less than 4m deep, the River Cray runs gently through three of them in turn, and a fourth is fed by springs.

Since gravel working ceased, the pits have been colonised naturally by a variety of waterside and marshland vegetation, which has evolved to a rich variety of vegetation and habitats at the site – open water, swamp, fen, scrub, wooded islands and fringes of mature trees.  This supports a variety of birds and other animals which have evolved with the changing pattern of vegetation.

On the water margins >

Bank side wildlife >

Plant life at Ruxley >

Habitat restoration and management >