Lardon Chase, the Holies and Lough Down is a National Trust countryside property in the English county of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

. It is situated on the edge of the Berkshire Downs above the village of Streatley and overlooking the Goring Gap. The property comprises an outstanding area of 27 hectares (67

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

s) of downland and woodland with many attractive walks and views.

Lardon Chase Lardon Chase is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Streatley in Berkshire. It is in the North Wessex Downs, which is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is part of the Lardon Chase, the Holies and Lough Down National T ...

, and a part of the Holies known as Holies Down, are also designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest. The property lies within the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and in an area known for the presence of several Neolithic and Iron Age forts. Lardon Chase and Lough Down comprise a spur of downland which lies to the west of Goring and Streatley. Since it was acquired by the National Trust, the land has been managed by a mixture of scrub clearance and cattle grazing, so as to encourage the growth of chalk-loving plants. The Holies is a woodland fringed grassy coombe which is separated from Lardon Chase and Lough Down by the

B4009 road B roads are numbered routes in Great Britain of lesser importance than A road A roads may be *motorways or freeways, usually where the local word for motorway begins with A (for example, ''Autobahn'' in German; ''Autostrada'' in Italian). * mai ...

from Streatley to Newbury. Before acquisition by the National Trust, the Holies was used for motorbike scrambling and turf stripping, resulting in considerable damage to the ground. The National Trust is encouraging the natural recolonisation of the area by chalk-loving plant species. There are three turf mazes in the Holies. The slopes of the property form one of the largest remaining areas of chalk grassland in the county and support a wide range of flowers and butterflies. Plants found in the grassland include

autumn gentian ''Gentianella amarella'', the autumn gentian, autumn dwarf gentian, or autumn felwort, is a short biennial plant flowering plant in the gentian family, Gentianaceae. It is found throughout Northern Europe, the western and northern United States ...

clustered bellflower ''Campanula glomerata'', known by the common names clustered bellflower or Dane's blood, is a species of flowering plant in the genus '' Campanula'', belonging to the family Campanulaceae. It is the county flower of Rutland, England. Etymology ...

blue fleabane ''Erigeron acer'' is a widespread herbaceous flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Common names include bitter fleabane and blue fleabane. The species is native to Canada, colder parts of the United States, northern, central, and southeastern ...

, vervain,

common rock-rose ''Helianthemum nummularium'' (known as common rock-rose) is a species of rock-rose (Cistaceae), native to most of Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical si ...

, horseshoe vetch, kidney vetch, marjoram,

yellow-wort ''Blackstonia perfoliata'' or yellow-wort is a species of flowering plant in the family Gentianaceae found around the Mediterranean Basin, but extending into northwestern Europe. Description Yellow-wort grows tall, with stiff, branching stems. ...

purging flax ''Linum catharticum'', also known as purging flax, or fairy flax, is an herbaceous flowering plant in the family Linaceae, native to Great Britain, Iceland, central Europe and Western Asia. It is an annual plant and blooms in July and August. It ...

, wild carrot, chalk milkwort, stemless thistle, eyebright, mouse-ear hawkweed, salad burnet, ragwort, wild thyme, hairy violet,

squinancywort ''Asperula cynanchica'', the squinancywort or squincywort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. Its common name is derived from its former use as a medicinal herb to cure quinsy. It is native to much of southern and central ...

, hawkweed ox-tongue, common spotted orchid and pyramidal orchid. Scattered bands of hawthorn scrub provide shelter for insect life and several butterfly species can be found, including chalkhill blue, marbled white,

adonis blue The Adonis blue (''Lysandra bellargus'', also known as ''Polyommatus bellargus'') is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It inhabits the Palearctic realm (Western Europe, Central Europe, Southern Europe, Southern Russia, Iraq, Iran, Caucasus, T ...

grizzled skipper ''Pyrgus'' is a genus in the skippers butterfly family, Hesperiidae, known as the grizzled skippers. The name "checkered" or "chequered skipper" may also be applied to some species, but also refers to species in the genera '' Burnsius'' and '' ...

and

dingy skipper The Dingy Skipper (''Erynnis tages'') is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. Description ''Erynnis tages'' is different from other skippers because of the predominantly monochrome, gray-brown wing coloration and the marbling, which is only ...

. The property is accessible from a car park located on the B4009, or by steeply climbing footpaths from Streatley village. The Holies is also accessible (on foot only) from the A329 road south of Streatley, whilst Lough Down can be accessed from the ancient track of The Ridgeway on its northern boundary. Access is free, and available at all times. The property adjoins the Goring & Streatley Golf Club. File:A Grand View Indeed (geograph 3807254).jpg, Looking down the Thames Valley from Lardon Chase File:Goring Gap in winter.jpg, The Goring Gap seen from Lardon Chase on a snowy January day File:Lough Down - geograph.org.uk - 436000.jpg, Lough Down File:The Holies.jpg, The Holies, looking across to the Chiltern Hills

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lardon Chase, the Holies and Lough Down Hills of Berkshire National Trust properties in Berkshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Berkshire Protected areas of Berkshire