About the reserve

This picturesque reserve renowned for its rare orchid varieties consists of seven hectares of ancient chalk grassland with scrub and fringing woodland on the east side of a dry valley.

It has attracted many feeding and breeding birds, including green and great-spotted woodpeckers amongst many others. The site is good for adder, common lizard and slow worm. It has a rich flora, including cowslip, primrose, violet, marjoram and salad burnet. It is also rich in orchids such as early-purple, common-spotted, pyramidal, green-veined, bee and monkey.