Charlbury Quarry

24th June 2025

Charlbury Quarry has been closed to the public for over 20 years. After the closure of the working quarry following a tragic accident, it was planned as a wildlife area and left with minimal management. 

Under the friendly and knowledgeable  guidance of Gareth, who is the Quarry’s warden, 11 of us entered for a very exclusive experience.  We were warned to keep to the centre of the path to avoid crushing Roman snails.  There had been a light shower earlier, and we saw four of the snails within a minute of entering.  The path from the entrance to the quarry proper is lined with thickets of small trees, and we heard jays, chiffchaffs, song thrushes and greenfinches.  Ringlets and meadow brown butterflies were in abundance and we also saw marbled whites.  We heard an owl which the app Merlin identified as a Little Owl.

As the path ends, it opens out into the quarry proper.  This is a vast flat area of limestone shale, arid from the prolonged drought.  Many plants such as Centaury were thriving on it. The banks were more verdant with one or two Common Spotted Orchids and hundreds of Pyramidals, including a pure white one. Sadly the Bee Orchids were not in evidence this year. In the damper areas there were plants such as Hedge Woundwort.

The Quarry is a haven for deer and not popular with local farmers for that reason. Gareth said he had counted up to 150.  We saw Muntjac and Roe (possibly Fallow) as well as plenty of rabbits and evidence of badgers.

As the far end of the Quarry, there is an exposed area of rock of considerable geological interest. There are layers of different forms of limestone laid down on top of each other. Geologists can consult  https://webapps.bgs.ac.uk/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?pub=CHAR .

We thanked Gareth for allowing us access and being so helpful. Charlbury Quarry is a controversial subject locally. What was originally intended as a nature reserve has now changed its character. It is now I think an intriguing experiment in rewilding. The list of plant species seen can be found here.

Nick Johnson