View_West,_Walkers_Hill,_Pewsey_Downs_-_geograph

Pewsey Downs () is a 305.3

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...

biological Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

on the southern edge of the

Marlborough Downs The North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. The name ''North Wessex Downs'' is not a traditional one, the area covered being better k ...

north of

Pewsey Pewsey is a large village and civil parish at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, about south of Marlborough and west of London. It is within reach of the M4 motorway and the A303 and is served by Pewsey railway station on the Re ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, notified in 1951. It includes the Pewsey Downs National Nature Reserve.

Plants

In 1859, the Reverent Alexander Irvine recorded the following species of plants on the Pewsey Downs; ''

Cirsium acaule ''Cirsium acaule'' or ''acaulon'' has the English name dwarf thistle or stemless thistle. It is widespread across much of Europe.

''; '' Carduus nutans''; '' Cirsium eriophorum''; '' Draba verna''; ''

Bunium bulbocastanum ''Bunium bulbocastanum'' is a plant species in the family Apiaceae. It was once used as a root vegetable in parts of western Europe, and has been called great pignut or earthnut. Growth The plant is native to western Europe. It reaches about ...

''; '' Spiraea filipendula''; ''

Medicago sativa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as w ...

''; '' Onobrychis sativa''; ''

Cichorium intybus Common chicory (''Cichorium intybus'') is a somewhat woody, perennial herbaceous plant of the family Asteraceae, usually with bright blue flowers, rarely white or pink. Native to the Old World, it has been introduced to North America and Austral ...

''; ''

Campanula glomerata ''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 T ...

''; ''

Campanula rotundifolia ''Campanula rotundifolia'', the harebell, Scottish bluebell, or bluebell of Scotland, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This herbaceous perennial is found throughout the temperate regions of the northern hemi ...

''; '' Asperula cynanchica''; ''

Polygala vulgaris ''Polygala vulgaris'', known as the common milkwort, is a herbaceous perennial plant of the genus '' Polygala'' in the family Polygalaceae. Description The biological form of ''Polygala vulgaris'' is '' hemicryptophyte'' ''scapose'',Pignatti S. ...

''; ''

Saxifraga granulata ''Saxifraga granulata'', commonly called meadow saxifrage, is a species of flowering plant in the family Saxifragaceae. It is native to Europe and Morocco. Taxonomy ''Saxifraga granulata'' was first formally described by Linnaeus as part of hi ...

''; ''

Anacamptis morio ''Anacamptis morio'', the green-winged orchid or green-veined orchid (synonym ''Orchis morio''), is a flowering plant of the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It usually has purple flowers, and is found in Europe and the Middle East. Description It fl ...

''; ''

Dactylorhiza maculata ''Dactylorhiza maculata'', known as the heath spotted-orchid or moorland spotted orchid, is an herbaceous perennial plant of the family Orchidaceae. It is widespread in mountainous regions across much of Europe from Portugal and Iceland east to R ...

''; ''

Gymnadenia conopsea ''Gymnadenia conopsea'', commonly known as the fragrant orchid or chalk fragrant orchid, is a herbaceous plant of the family Orchidaceae native to northern Europe. Etymology The name of the genus ''Gymnadenia'' is formed from Greek words (', ...

''; and ''

Botrychium lunaria ''Botrychium lunaria'' is a species of fern in the family Ophioglossaceae known by the common name moonwort or common moonwort. It is the most widely distributed moonwort, growing throughout the Northern Hemisphere across Eurasia and from Alaska ...

''.

Pewsey Downs National Nature Reserve

The Pewsey Downs National Nature Reserve is an area of unspoiled chalk downland situated on a steep slope above the

Vale of Pewsey The Vale of Pewsey or Pewsey Vale is an area of Wiltshire, England to the east of Devizes and south of Marlborough, centred on the village of Pewsey. Geography The vale is an extent of lower lying ground separating the chalk downs of Salisbu ...

. It includes the south-facing slopes of Milk Hill, Walkers Hill and

Knap Hill Knap is a surname, and may refer to: * Josef Knap (1900–1973), Czech writer, poet and literary critic * Ted Knap (21st century), American journalist * Tony Knap Anthony Joseph Knap (December 8, 1914 – September 24, 2011) was an Amer ...

. The habitat is mostly grassland and the site includes the Alton Barnes White Horse. The reserve is a

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and a ...

and part of the Pewsey Downs Site of Special Scientific Interest. The main grass species in the community are sheep's fescue (''

Festuca ovina ''Festuca ovina'', sheep's fescue or sheep fescue, is a species of grass. It is sometimes confused with hard fescue (''Festuca trachyphylla''). General description It is a perennial plant sometimes found in acidic ground, and in mountain pastur ...

'') and red fescue (''

Festuca rubra ''Festuca rubra'' is a species of grass known by the common name red fescue or creeping red fescue. It is widespread across much of the Northern Hemisphere and can tolerate many habitats and climates. It is best adapted to well-drained soils in c ...

'') and there is an absence of the dwarf sedge ('' Carex humilis''), which is common at other downland sites nearby. Flowering plants found in the reserve include such rarities as the early gentian ('' Gentianella anglica''), the burnt-tip orchid ('' Neotinea ustulata''), the lesser butterfly orchid (''

Platanthera bifolia ''Platanthera bifolia'', commonly known as the lesser butterfly-orchid, is a species of orchid in the genus ''Platanthera'', having certain relations with the genus '' Orchis'', where it was previously included and also with the genus ''Habenar ...

'') and the frog orchid (''

Coeloglossum viride ''Coeloglossum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae. It has long been considered to have only one species, ''Coeloglossum viride'', the frog orchid. Some recent classifications regard ''Coeloglossum'' as part of the ...

''). These, along with other wildflowers, provide the nectar on which many species of butterfly feed. The butterflies found on the reserve include the internationally rare

marsh fritillary The marsh fritillary (''Euphydryas aurinia'') is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. Commonly distributed in the Palearctic region, the marsh fritillary's common name derives from one of its several habitats, marshland. The prolonged larval s ...

, the adonis blue and the

chalkhill blue The chalkhill blue (''Lysandra coridon'') is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is a small butterfly that can be found throughout the Palearctic realm, where it occurs primarily in grasslands rich in chalk. Males have a pale blue colour, wh ...

References

Natural England citation sheet for the site
(accessed 11 April 2022)

External links

Natural England website
(SSSI information) {{coord, 51.37135, N, 1.83905, W, region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SU113636), display=title Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1951 Special Areas of Conservation in England Hills of Wiltshire