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MAP REFERENCES

O.S. Explorer 157 Marlborough and Savernake

 

INTRODUCTION

High gently rounded hill tops, steep valleys, ancient grassland, cultivated fields, gallops, isolated farms and copses, all go to make up the patchwork landscape that is the Marlborough Downs. Fyfield Down National Nature Reserve, occupies approximately four square miles of this part of Wiltshire, nestling between Avebury and Marlborough, just to the east of the oldest road in England, the Ridgeway. Fyfield Down when viewed on the map is obviously an ancient and largely unspoilt area. Gothic writing identifies settlements, field systems, earthworks and tumuli. When you actually get there, it becomes a reality, the sarsen stones, or grey wethers as they are known, protrude through the chalk grassland giving Fyfield a unique atmosphere, and you get the impression of stepping back many centuries into the past.

 

ACCESS

Fyfield Down is not easy to get to without quite a lot of walking, but it is approachable from all four points of the compass. My advice is to park at the car park at grid reference SU159699. This can be reached by taking the B class road at map ref SU169688 on the A4 at the western edge of Marlborough. As you drive up to the car park it becomes obvious that this is racehorse country. Please take care, Manton Down stables are nearby, and thoroughbred horses are trained and exercised all year round. Please keep to the paths and bridleways once parked. Leave the car park and head down the marked path to the north east past the 'all weather' track. After about a quarter of a mile (at the first junction) turn to the left at the sign post, and follow the field edge to map ref SU146702, you should see a gate and a NNR sign. Now turn right and follow the path along the valley bottom. All the footpaths are clearly marked.

 

SPECIES TO BE SEEN

I have only occasionally visited Fyfield in the winter. It is very cold and very bleak, but I have had extraordinary views of merlin hunting the meadow pipits and skylarks. Early in the summer, mornings and evenings are excellent times to visit, fence posts will be topped by migratory wheatears and whinchats, and little owls like the valley bottoms. Evidence of breeding for both wheatears and whinchats would be particularly welcomed by the County Recorder! The scrubby areas of hawthorn are attractive to linnets and yellowhammers, and large post-breeding flocks of goldfinches are common. As you walk into the area of sarsen stones pause for a few moments to take in the scene, little has changed here since Neolithic times. The stones usually conceal small coveys of grey partridge. Green woodpeckers abound, as it seems do all the jackdaws, rooks, woodpigeons and stock doves in Wiltshire! Corn buntings can be found in the area, but are more common on the higher ground, particularly in the hedges that bound the Ridgeway itself. Buzzards, kestrels, sparrowhawks and barn owls hunt the area, and Wroughton Copse, although relatively small, has most of the common woodland species including (the last time I visited) three or four pairs of spotted flycatcher. 

Quail can sometimes be found, but there are better areas on the downs, and of course a bit of luck is always needed. Hen harriers are also a possibility. Totterdown Wood has had hawfinch, and even redstarts with young have been recorded. The odd pair of lapwings attempt to raise young each year, as do moorhens and mallards on the isolated ponds. Summer migrants, especially whitethroats and lesser whitethroats, are widespread. The whole Marlborough Downs area can prove very frustrating for bird watching, you may have one of the best days of your life, or you might only see meadow pipits and skylarks. Whatever your luck, enjoy the spectacular views, and drink in the atmosphere of this lovely and secluded part of Wiltshire.

 

TIMING

Spring and summer will be most productive for the largest number of different species. Always go prepared with map, waterproofs, food and drink, as you may want to explore further afield. The area as a whole is very exposed, and there are no facilities once you leave Marlborough or Avebury.

 

OTHER THINGS OF INTEREST

At the main access points, information signs explain how the sarsen stones got where they are today, and the link with Stonehenge some 25 miles away. There are wildflowers and butterflies to distract you if the birds are quiet, although no expert, I would suggest that there are some scarce species of both to be found and identified. There may be the occasional tractor, Land Rover or racehorse to occupy your attention for a few moments, but the overwhelming impression is always of skylarks.

Will Ponting