Noar Hill Nature Reserve
Hampshire, UK. 08 June 2006

 

 

My good friend Peter Mowday and I went east into Hampshire to three sites fairly close to each other in the South Downs: Chappetts Copse, a truly beautiful beech wood renowned for its colony of Narrow-leaved Helleborines, Noar Hill, an ancient system of chalk quarries famous for large numbers of Musk Orchids (both owned by the Hampshire Wildlife Trust), and Old Winchester Hill, a historically important “hill fort” owned by English Nature. The three sites could feasibly be covered in just a morning - but that would mean not ’stopping and standing’, which considering how beautiful the environs around all three sites are would be shame…

As it turned out Old Winchester Hill was scenically quite amazing - giving superb panoramic views in all directions - but was florally pretty dull: the grass on reputedly the best orchid areas was long and hid good numbers of Fragrant Orchids and some Common Spotted but not much else (conditions didn’t look right at all for most orchids - but presumably management had decided not to graze this year for some reason?). The two former sites, on the other hand, were just wonderful. I’ve posted a short report on Chappett’s Copse for anyone who may be interested, so here’s a quick look at Noar Hill.

 

Situated just south of the village of Selborne (where Gilbert White wrote The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne), Noar Hill stands out from the surrounding arable countryside and is topped on the northern, eastern and southern flanks by deciduous woodland dominated by beechwoods ( known in East Hampshire as “hangers”). The western flanks and much of the summit are given over to arable fields. A smaller part of the summit, 20 hectares (about 49 acres) known as High Common, is covered with downland grasses and scrub - and it’s here that the Musk Orchids and other plants are found..

The site of mediaeval chalk quarries (chalk was dug out and used as fertiliser on the adjacent fields), High Common is a rich downland which has become one of the best examples of chalk grassland and scrub mosaic in Britain. The excavations here have left an irregular network of pits and hollows of varying size, depth, and steepness and because the ground is so uneven, High Common was unploughed for centuries and only used for grazing. This is the reason for its importance of course - intense agriculture has been the reason for the decline of most of Britain’s orchid species, and where the plough can’t reach, the flowers hang on. It’s also an unusually beautiful and serene place with paths and tracks gently undulating up and down through the quarries and amongst an incredibly varied flora. In early spring there are thousands of Cowslips; other scarce species include Early Gentian and Hairy Rockcress; and during the summer months eleven species of orchids bloom, including the well-known and nationally important colony of Musk Orchid we’d come to see.

On the day we visited, this “nationally important colony” of Musk Orchid was still underground unfortunately and just three spikes were showing: a friend went less than a week later and there were hundreds! Musk Orchids must be the orchid equivalent of that archetypal fast-growing plant Bamboo…but timing is everything with orchids, as we found out…

On the other hand, though, there were very large numbers of Common Twayblade, and Fragrant and Common Spotted Orchids, and three small colonies - or one well-spread out colony - of the rare and striking vetch Dragon’s Teeth Tetragonolobus maritimus.

Where there is a variety of wild flowers there is usually a commensurate variety of insects - and Noar Hill is also well known for its butterfies: 35 breeding species have been recorded and this is an important site with significant populations of such nationally scarce species as Duke of Burgandy and Brown Hairstreak, as well as other downland specials such as Marbled White and Silver-washed Fritillary.

 

Musk Orchid Herminium monorchis - not one of the UK’s most flamboyant plants…

 

Common Twayblade and Fragrant Orchid

 

Dragon’s Teeth Tetragonolobus maritimus

 

 

Directions to Noar Hill:

Noar Hill is just south of the well-known village of Selborne, at Map reference SU 742 319. From Selborne go south on the B3006 towards Petersfield, and take the first right onto a minor road towards Sutton Valence. Take the next left when you see an overgrown old sign to Noar Hill. Shortly after going through the hamlet of Lower Noar and passing “Hill Farm” there is a grass verge on the right opposite an old “green lane” running up towards a beech hangar on Noar Hill. We were advised to park on the grass verge and walk up the lane which we did, but we did find a vehicle parked right by the main entrance to the reserve at the top of the hill - however it’s no more than a 500m walk and not too steep. There are a number of access points into the reserve from about half-way up, but these lower ones wander up through some less interesting downland (though Common Twayblade is very common here) - the main entrance at the top is well sign-posted and will put you close to the diggings where the bulk of the orchids are found.
(Map copyright Wildlife Trusts)