Lardon Chase, the Holies and Lough Down

Coordinates: 51°31′17″N 1°09′40″W / 51.52132°N 1.16112°W / 51.52132; -1.16112

Lardon Chase, the Holies and Lough Down
Lardon Chase, looking north along the Chase from the car park

Lardon Chase, the Holies and Lough Down Lardon Chase, the Holies and Lough Down shown within Berkshire
OS grid reference	SU581806
List of places UK England Berkshire

Lardon Chase, the Holies and Lough Down are three adjacent National Trust countryside properties in the English county of Berkshire. They are situated on the edge of the Berkshire Downs above the village of Streatley and overlooking the Goring Gap. Together they comprise an outstanding area of 27 hectares (67 acres) of downland and woodland with many attractive walks and views. Lardon Chase, and a part of the Holies known as Holies Down, are also designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest. The properties lie within the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and in an area known for the presence of several Neolithic and Iron Age forts.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Lardon Chase and Lough Down comprise a spur of downland which lies to the west of Goring and Streatley. Since it was acquired by the National Trust, the land has being managed by a mixture of scrub clearance and cattle grazing, so as to encourage the growth of chalk-loving plants. The Holies is a woodland fringed grassy coombe which is separated from Lardon Chase and Lough Down by the B4009 road from Streatley to Newbury. Before acquisition by the National Trust, the Holies was used for motorbike scrambling and turf stripping, resulting in considerable damage to the ground. The National Trust is encouraging the natural recolonisation of the area by chalk-loving plant species.^[1]^[4]

The slopes of all three properties form one of the largest remaining areas of chalk grassland in the county and support a wide range of flowers and butterflies. Plants found in the grassland include autumn gentian, clustered bellflower, blue fleabane, vervain, common rock-rose, horseshoe vetch, kidney vetch, marjoram, yellow-wort, purging flax, wild carrot, chalk milkwort, stemless thistle, eyebright, mouse-ear hawkweed, salad burnet, ragwort, wild thyme, hairy violet, squinancywort, hawkweed ox-tongue, common spotted orchid and pyramidal orchid. Scattered bands of hawthorn scrub provide shelter for insect life and several butterfly species can be found, including chalkhill blue, marbled white, adonis blue, grizzled skipper and dingy skipper.^[1]^[4]^[5]

All three properties are interconnected and accessible from a car park located on the B4009, or by steeply climbing footpaths from Streatley village. The Holies is also accessible (on foot only) from the A329 road south of Streatley, whilst Lough Down can be accessed from the ancient track of The Ridgeway on its northern boundary. Access is free, and available at all times. The properties adjoin the Goring & Streatley Golf Club.

Looking down the Thames Valley from Lardon Chase
The Goring Gap seen from Lardon Chase on a snowy January day
Lough Down
The Holies, looking across to the Chiltern Hills

References

1 2 3 "Thames & Solent - Places to Visit - Countryside". National Trust. Archived from the original on 2007-11-07. Retrieved 2007-11-04.
↑ "SSSI Information - Lardon Chase". Natural England. Archived from the original on 2016-01-02. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
↑ "SSSI Information - Holies Down". Natural England. Archived from the original on 2016-01-02. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
1 2 "Lardon Chase" (PDF). Natural England. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-02-02. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
↑ "Holies Down" (PDF). Natural England. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-02-03. Retrieved 2016-02-03.

External links

Media related to Lardon Chase, the Holies and Lough Down at Wikimedia Commons

Map sources for Lardon Chase, the Holies and Lough Down

National Trust

National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty England Wales Northern Ireland

National Trust for Scotland Scotland

Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Berkshire

Aldermaston Gravel Pits Ashridge Wood Avery's Pightle Bisham Woods Blackwater Valley Bowdown and Chamberhouse Woods Boxford Chalk Pit Boxford Water Meadows Bray Meadows Bray Pennyroyal Field Briff Lane Meadows Brimpton Pit Broadmoor to Bagshot Woods and Heaths Cannoncourt Farm Pit Catmore and Winterly Copses Chawridge Bourne Chilton Foliat Meadows Cleeve Hill Cock Marsh Cold Ash Quarry Combe Wood, Frilsham Croker's Hole Decoy Pit, Pools and Woods Easton Farm Meadow Enborne Copse Englemere Pond Fognam Chalk Quarry Freeman's Marsh Great Thrift Wood Greenham and Crookham Commons Hampstead Marshall Pit Heath Lake Hog's Hole Holies Down Inkpen and Walbury Hills Inkpen Common Inkpen Crocus Fields Irish Hill Copse Kennet and Lambourn Floodplain Kennet Valley Alderwoods King's Copse Lardon Chase Lodge Wood and Sandford Mill Longmoor Bog Old Copse, Beenham Parkfarm Down Pincent's Kiln Redhill Wood River Kennet River Lambourn Sandhurst to Owlsmoor Bogs and Heaths Seven Barrows Snelsmore Common Stanford End Mill and River Loddon Streatley Warren Sulham and Tidmarsh Woods and Meadows Swinley Park and Brick Pits Thatcham Reed Beds Wasing Wood Ponds Wellington College Bog West Woodhay Down West's Meadow, Aldermaston Westfield Farm Chalk Bank White Shute Windsor Forest and Great Park Winterbourne Chalk Pit Woolhampton Reed Bed Wraysbury and Hythe End Gravel Pits Wraysbury No 1 Gravel Pit Wykery Copse

Neighbouring areas Buckinghamshire Hampshire London Oxfordshire Surrey Wiltshire

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, February 05, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.