Burymead Springs is on the outskirts of Hitchin in Hertfordshire. It has been described as "part of an ancient riverside meadow, sandwiched between the River Hiz, the Hitchin railway flyover and a scrapyard".

 In the mid-90s a spring fed lagoon was excavated to create an area of permanent open water surrounded by reed beds and the wet meadows. The flyover was built alongside the existing railway embankment a decade ago to create a better junction between the East Coast Mainline and the Cambridge line. The ancient seems to co-exist reasonably well with modernity.

 One might also mention the close proximity to an abandoned sewerage works, a functioning sewage works, the Hitchin industrial estate, a large area of allotments and the village of Ickleford. This patchwork is not untypical of urban fringes where town meets country and not without interest to the nature lover.