A walk around Willoughby Fields

admin
, 14 August 2025
A walk around Willoughby Fields
Kevin Lerwill, Barry Wildish & Laurie Jackson © Tamara Jewell

Kevin Lerwill

Gatwick Greenspace Partnership Officer 

The Gatwick Greenspace Partnership Officers were recently joined by local ecologist Laurie Jackson for a walk around Willoughby Fields Local Wildlife Site (LWS) near Crawley. The site is owned by Crawley Borough Council and is now largely managed for bio-diversity and, although the remnants of the original old farm hedgerows are still evident, they have now encroached into the fields to create a patchwork of scrubby areas and mature woodland that support a diverse range of native plants and animals.

Jersey Tiger Moth © Kevin Lerwill

Although the walk was primarily intended to increase our plant identification skills (which it did) we were also regularly distracted by other things that we saw, heard or found along the way, including feathers from a Tawny Owl, a passing Willow Warbler, a brightly coloured Jersey Tiger Moth and a stunning Clouded Yellow Butterfly (which is a fast flying, late summer visitor to the UK from Europe and are normally very hard to photograph)!

It was great to be able to explore one of our favourite sites like this with a local expert and we recorded at least 59 species of plants (excluding trees) on our walk around just a couple of the fields, but we look forward to being able to work with the council to make it even better than it already is and hopefully we will be able to discover (and record) a lot more species at this important site in the future as well.

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782560742.52780 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1782560742.55420.0264Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782560742.55430.0001Server address: 216.73.216.31
1782560742.55430Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782560742.55430Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/a-walk-around-willoughby-fields
    [s] => a-walk-around-willoughby-fields
    [1] => a-walk-around-willoughby-fields
)
1782560742.55450.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782560742.55550.0009 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782560742.55710.0017 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22347480
1782560742.55770.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22347480
1782560742.55820.0005 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-06-27 11:45:00' AND saleTo>'2026-06-27 11:45:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1782560742.55930.0012 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='a-walk-around-willoughby-fields')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 11:45:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1782560742.5620.0027 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782560742.56250.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3759 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 11:45:00'
1782560742.56340.0009 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782560742.56430.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782560742.56490.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=36 LIMIT 1
1782560742.56550.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=53 LIMIT 1
1782560742.5660.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782560742.56620.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1782560742.56710.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 11:45:00' AND postSlug='a-walk-around-willoughby-fields'
1782560742.58750.0204Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782560742.5880.0005 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782560742.58950.0014Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782560742.58970.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782560742.59040.0007 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1782560742.59180.0014 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782560742.59480.003 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782560742.59530.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782560742.59750.0022Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782560742.59760 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782560742.59840.0008 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782560742.5990.0006 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782560742.60150.0026 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782560742.60260.0011 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782560742.60340.0008 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782560742.60640.003 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782560742.60720.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782560742.60930.0021 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782560742.60990.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782560742.61020.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782560742.6110.0008Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782560742.61140.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='a-walk-around-willoughby-fields')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 11:45:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1782560742.61340.002 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782560742.61390.0005 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782560742.61640.0025Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782560742.61730.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3759 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782560742.66730.0499 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782560742.66750.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782560742.66780.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782560742.66850.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782560742.66910.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782560742.66960.0005 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782560742.67210.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782560742.67260.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782560742.67430.0018 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782560742.67550.0012 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782560742.67610.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782560742.67680.0006 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782560742.67940.0027 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782560742.680.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782560742.6820.002 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782560742.68440.0024 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782560742.6850.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782560742.68550.0005 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782560742.6880.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782560742.68850.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782560742.69090.0024 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782560742.69340.0024 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782560742.69410.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782560742.69460.0006 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782560742.69670.002 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782560742.69730.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782560742.69910.0019 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782560742.70080.0016Request time: 0.1742
1782560742.70080Process time: 0.174
1782560742.70080Memory: 1.624