Hackpen Hill

8th June 2025

The Club has visited Hackpen Hill and Crowhole Bottom at various times over the years, but our trip this year was timed with a view to finding the rare Early Gentian (gentianella anglica). Would we find it? Read on to find out…

A small but determined group from the Club met our leader, botanist Kathy Warden at the parking area, and we headed down the Ridgeway for a short distance before turning off to enter the wide open spaces of Hackpen Hill. This large area of chalk downland feels a million miles from our more familiar West Oxfordshire landscapes, and has been designated a Special Area of Conservation for its significant population of Early Gentians. The cool, dry weather had held back some of the flowers that we might usually have expected to see, but with Kathy’s help we found good numbers of Chalk Fragrant Orchids, and also Pyramidal and Common Spotted Orchids as well as the uncommon Slender Bedstraw. We finally found our Early Gentians near the far end of the site, mostly in open disturbed areas; without Kathy we might well have passed them by, as the dusty purple flowers are very, very small.

Many thanks to Kathy for sharing her knowledge of this wonderful site, and to Brenda for compiling the plant list, which can be seen here.

Sue Morton