Stockbridge Down wildlife and history walk
Please note that Stockbridge Down is experiencing high visitor numbers at the moment. This is creating hotspots which could put both visitors and local residents at risk, and put local emergency services under pressure. Please park responsibly, and if the area is busy on your arrival please help us keep everyone safe by coming back another time.
Explore this isolated island of characteristic chalk downland set in a sea of farmed land. As one of a number of remnant features in the surrounding landscape, Stockbridge Down offers a gateway to the past that is still relevant today.
Map
Start:
Stockbridge Down car park, grid ref: SU375346
1
Leave the car park, cross the road and enter the site through a gate. Walk to the top of the hill straight ahead.
Bronze Age tumuli and hornet robber fly
The small circular fence in front of you is one of 13 tumuli (burial mounds) found on the site. Each of them is historically and culturally important and is designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. They date from the Bronze Age some 4,000 years ago. Look out for the rare hornet robber fly, one of the many insects that you may encounter on your walk on the Down. It gets its name because of its black and gold colouration and size, which make it look like a hornet.
2
Proceed over the hill and walk to the next adjacent hill. You will come to a bench at the front left of the hill with spectacular views.
Rosalind Hill memorial bench
The Down offers spectacular views over Hampshire, especially from the Rosalind Hill memorial bench which looks north towards Andover in Hampshire and Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. Rosalind Hill donated Stockbridge Down to us in 1947. The site is now managed in conjunction with the Court Leet (a commoners court) and conservation bodies such as Natural England, to ensure the protection of its wildlife (direction 2).
3
From sitting on the bench proceed right along the fence line. Continue straight along the path until the area opens out to expose the hill fort and ramparts with a fence at the top of the hill.
Woolbury Ring and juniper trees
Woolbury Ring is an Iron Age hill fort, with hand-dug ramparts thought to be more than 3,000 years old. At 518ft (158m) above sea level the ring is the highest point on the Down. The ring was used in the Second World War as a lookout post for enemy aircraft. Today the ramparts host a wealth of flora and fauna including some of the 30 species of butterflies that live on the Down. There are also 260 individual juniper trees on the Down which have been logged and mapped though GPS systems by volunteers. Juniper is slow growing as well as being a nomadic tree species (direction 3).
4
From the hill fort proceed straight downhill through several blocks of scrub (you should be able to see the other car park on your left).
Lynchets
Walking down hill from the ramparts you will pass through a series of levelled areas with steep slopes between, these levelled areas are known as lynchets and are believed to be between 3,000 and 4,000 years old. They would have been dug by hand to provide level areas for arable production. These are considered to be some of the best preserved lynchets in the country (direction 4).
5
Follow the path round to the right and back up the hill, through the scrubby areas back out to the open down (this path runs parallel with the road). After a good walk you should see your car park on your left.
The Gallops
You have now walked across the area of Stockbridge Down known as The Gallops. These gallops were the three main raceways for training horses for the Danebury racetrack. During the Second World War much of the Gallop areas were ploughed to provide arable crop for the nearby military hospital. Today the area is one of the richest sites on the Down for butterflies, with species such as meadow brown and marbled whites, found in their hundreds (direction 5).
End:
Stockbridge Down car park, grid ref: SU375346
