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Aston Rowant - Beacon Hill

Nearest town: Watlington

Site type: woodland

Access: Public

Church name: No Data

Diocese: No Data

County: Oxfordshire

Country: England

Grid ref: SU7289996873

Lost yew site: No

Date visited: 3-Apr-14

Recorded by: Peter Norton

Protection & responsibility: Landowner

Yews recorded at this site: Notable

Notes: Wild yews of many ages and sizes have been reported on this chalk downland. Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve sits on the north western scarp of the Chiltern Hills, within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The majority of this National Nature Reserve is also SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) and SAC (Special Area of Conservation). This 128.5 ha site has been an SSSI since 1973 and much of it is on Upper Chalk, while the harder Middle Chalk has eroded to produce the steep slopes of Beacon Hill and Bald Hill. The hill tops are covered with a layer of Clay-with-Flints up to 6 metres in depth. The grasslands on the steep slopes are on shallow rendzina soils, whilst deeper fine calcareous soils are present in the valley bottoms.