RISING FROM THE RUINS

Remnants of our built heritage can nurture thriving biodiversity - even in the most unlikely, desolate-looking locations. Here are 10 UK sites where human history meets the wild.

- DAVE HAMILTON

1 Greenham Common

Berkshire

Cold War-era base filled with birdsong

DURING THE COLD WAR, RAF GREENHAM Common was famously the home of NATO's nuclear deterrent: an arsenal of short- to long-range cruise missiles targeted on Soviet Russia. From the early 1980s until 2000, the perimeter fence also became home to the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp. At its height, 30,000 women protesters lived permanently at the site, attracting worldwide media interest and edifying the international peace movement.

Visit today and you won't hear the sound of fighter jets taking off or the melodies of protest songs, rather the shrill calls of larks breaking the silence over this long expanse of grassland. Peppered with egg-yolk-yellow flowering gorse and vibrant pink heather, the site is home to 30 species of butterfly and its open heath attracts birds such as skylarks, woodlarks, nightjars and linnets. Though the runway is now mostly grown over, you can still trace its path with a keen eye. The missile silos are cornered off but can be seen clearly from many parts of the site, and the old control tower is now a visitor centre.

2 Lindisfarne Priory

Northumberland

Great for orchids

HOLY ISLAND IS HOME TO THE RUINS of Lindisfarne Priory, founded by Irish monks in 635AD and abandoned following Viking invasion. Another priory was built after the Norman Conquest, and it is the remains of this that still stand. The surrounding dunes, saltmarsh and mudflats are designated a National Nature Reserve and are a great spot to see migrating birds in autumn, and visiting wildfowl and waders in winter. In summer, look out for the endemic Lindisfarne helleborine in the dune slacks, one of 11 orchid species found here, as well as many other nationally important plants.

3 Candleston Castle

South Wales