Wakelam’s Wildlife: Breckland – its links to the humble Rabbit

  • Published
  • By Judith Wakelam
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  RAF Mildenhall is situated on the edge of an area known as Breckland or the Brecks. Breckland stretches from southwest Norfolk to northeast Suffolk and covers an area between 350 and 400 square miles. It is comprised mainly of pine forest and sandy heathland. In medieval times the area was famous for both its flint mines and rabbit farms.

The Brecks has been shaped to a great extent in the past by the humble rabbit. The importance of the rabbit is shown in many names of places in the area. The word 'warren' appears time and again, as in Thetford Warren, Lakenheath Warren and Hockwold Warren, as well as the many warren roads that appear in the villages within Breckland.

Rabbits are said to have originally been introduced to the country by the Normans; though some experts now dispute that and believe they may have come over with the Romans. Either way they're not native to Britain. Rabbits have done extremely well in the Brecks and must be the most commonly-seen mammal - with a gestation period of only one month, a rabbit can produce many young in the course of a year.

For almost a century a large and lucrative rabbit industry thrived in the Brecks. They were kept in special warrens, reared for food and their skins sold to the fur trade. Nearby Brandon had factories providing rabbit skins to the hat trade as late as the 1950s. It was change in fashion and not the introduction of the myxomatosis virus that caused the decline of the industry. (Myxomatosis is a disease of rabbits that is highly infectious and leads to swelling of the mucous membranes and the formation of tumors.)

In the early 19th Century, many men were transported to Australia to serve several years penal servitude, for doing no more than poaching a rabbit to feed their families.

Since the 1920s the area has changed considerably, mainly due to the planting of many square miles of conifer forest by the Forestry Commission. Thetford Forest is Britain's largest commercial lowland forest.

Many species of trees and plants do not grow well in Breckland because of the dryness, the sandy soil does not retain moisture - ask any local gardener with sandy soil!

However, Corsican and Scots pine, Douglas fir and silver birch all grow well and add to the unique landscape. The sandy soil is also ideal for heather and gorse and at certain times of the year the area is a blaze of purple and yellow.

Many Breckland farmers planted rows of Scots pines in exposed sites to try to prevent the strong winds from blowing the light, sandy soil away during what are locally known as Breckland blows. Many of these trees have grown contorted due to the strong winds and give the landscape a unique appearance.

Breckland is also host to many rare plants and birds and the rabbit ensures they continue to survive. They graze the vegetation very low, providing ideal conditions for ground nesting birds, such as the stone curlew, nightjar, woodlark and wheatear. Rare lichens and grasses also grow on the heavily grazed sandy soil and attract many species of butterfly and other insects. The habitat is also home to the common lizard and the elusive Adder; Britain's only venomous snake. Without the rabbits to keep the vegetation low the area would soon revert to scrubland and lead to the loss of many of these rarer species.

The forested areas are home to deer, foxes, badgers, bats and many small mammals as well as the many bird species including, the crossbill. Thetford forest is open to the general public and has many grassy rides with marked walks and cycle tracks. It's advisable not to leave the marked tracks as it's very easy to get lost.

Trying to describe your location on your cell phone - that's if you can get a signal, in the middle of a forest is not an easy task! But don't let that put you off, whatever the weather or time of year, get out and enjoy this unique area.