Hawkley Warren

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Hawkley Warren (grid reference SU730284) is a woodland on the northeast-facing Wealden Edge, near the village of Hawkley, three miles north of Petersfield in Hampshire. The site is situated in a deep chalk combe.

The site is owned by Hampshire County Council and managed as a nature reserve jointly by the council and Hampshire Wildlife Trust. The woodland glades are kept open by coppicing.

[edit] Site description

Beech is the dominant tree at this site although on some of the steeper slopes, Yew dominates; on the deeper soils in the valley bottom the woodland has a more open canopy of Ash and Hazel.

[edit] Botanical interest

The site's primary interest lies in the fact that it is one of three sites in Britain where Red Helleborine Cephalanthera rubra remains; this orchid grows on a north-west facing slope. The others being Workman's Wood in Gloucestershire and a site in the Chilterns in Buckinghamshire. The species was first found here in 1986 by K. Turner and Ralph Hollins (Brewis, Bowman & Rose 1996).

Other orchid species found growing under beech at this site include Bird's-nest Orchid, Early Purple Orchid and Narrow-leaved Helleborine; Spurge-laurel is also found.

Ramsons is found in the valley bottom and Herb Paris is also found here.