page_title: Moor Park, Farnham
section_title: Moor Park Nature Reserve
hierarchical_section_title: Moor Park, Farnham / Moor Park Nature Reserve
caption_attribution_description: English: The River Wey at Moor Park Nature Reserve, Farnham, Surrey, UK
context_page_description: Moor Park and Ivy Cottage, Farnham, Surrey, England are listed, conjoined homes in 60 acres of riverside grounds, in the former chapelry of Compton. The grounds formerly extended to Mother Ludlam's Cave, a cave entrenched in local folklore which faces across the Wey to the ruins of Waverley Abbey.
  Following an early 20th century settlement to a dispute, public access is to a path running the length of the grounds. The building dates from 1630 but has been substantially altered, later that century, and in 1750 and 1800. Former names for it are Morehouse and Compton Hall. It was home to philosophical writer and satirist Jonathan Swift at the end of the seventeenth century; and served as a hydrotherapy retreat in the nineteenth century when it was visited by George Combe, who died here, the leading phrenologist of the day, and by naturalist Charles Darwin.
context_section_description: The footpath through the grounds leads to a 19 acres (7.69 ha) Nature Reserve on the north bank of the River Wey.
  The nature reserve is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). A nationally rare habitat, it is the only example of deep-water alder swamp in Surrey and is mostly deep and inaccessible. A boardwalk and path runs around the reserve. In winter redpoll, siskins and mixed flocks of tits feed on the alder cones. Waterfowl seen here includes mallard, teal and tufted duck, and in the spring, nesting mute swans. A variety of reeds and sedges can be found, together with marsh violets, opposite-leaved golden saxifrage, hemlock and water dropwort. Warblers nest here and water rail may be heard. Kingfishers and grey herons are frequent visitors.
  This reserve is one of the last places that an otter was seen in Surrey in the 1970s when their population was at a low ebb. Active conservation measures have seen otters return to the River Wey at Godalming, a few miles away, recently, so there is optimism that they may soon inhabit this stretch of river again.
caption: The River Wey in Moor Park Nature Reserve
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