A KIDLINGTON beauty spot has been given a makeover to improve access for nature lovers.

Over the past decade, volunteers have turned St Mary’s Fields into a haven for birds, bats and butterflies, clearing scrub and planting wild- flowers to encourage new species.

But paths around the Kidlington Parish Council-owned fields, which lead from St Mary's Church down to the River Cherwell, had become waterlogged and were almost impassable after heavy rain.

The Big Lottery Fund gave the village a £9,250 grant to build a new circular walk around the 14-acre nature reserve and lay sturdy paths suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs.

John Brucker, of Yarnton Road, who founded the volunteer group which looks after the area, said: “The fields are very popular with people in Kidlington.

“You can hardly go there without seeing people going that way. It’s extremely pleasant, with a huge area to walk in.”

He added: “We put in some paths in 1999 when we started working down here, but they have long worn out and weren’t brilliant to begin with. That’s why this money is so welcome.

“We have done a hell of a lot of work there to ensure it looks good, not just because of the people but for the wildlife as well.”

Lee Hancox, the parish council’s open spaces manager, said: “This was a project the council was struggling to fund, so the grant meant the project could go ahead now rather than being put on hold.”

The former farmland was untended in the 1990s, and became the home of various breeding and wintering birds.

Mr Brucker set up the volunteer group in 1999 to prevent shrub and tree growth which would change the area into a damp woodland.

The new paths will be officially opened to the public on Wednesday.

Volunteers can help conserve the fields on Saturday, October 16, and Saturday, November 13, at 9.30am.

For more details, call Mr Hancox on 07891 956170.