Added to your Itinerary Planner below
Distance calculator
Map Filters
Customise your trip with our filters.
Map Filters
Toggle between the options below to show available markers.
General info Equestrian Info Cycling InfoAccommodation
Points of interest
Services
Routes
Accommodation
Points of interest
Transport
Accommodation
Points of interest
Transport
The custom route elevation is created when you use the distance calculator (above) to draw a line.
The custom route elevation is created when you use the distance calculator to draw a line.
Old Winchester Hill has been a famous and popular beauty spot since Victorian times and beyond. The views across the valley to Beacon Hill and down to the sea are superb.
The 63ha (150 acre) National Nature Reserve (NNR) was designated mainly for its chalk grassland, with many orchid species and butterflies. The extensive scrub is good for bird watching and there is also always the chance of seeing a Red Kite or Buzzard overhead. The site is managed largely by sheep grazing so dogs need to be kept under close control. Incidentally kite flying is also prohibited - birds interpret kites as predators and flee or hide.
The area is rich in archaeology from the Mesolithic (stone age hunter gathers living after the end of the Ice Age) up to WW2. Most visible are the Iron Age hill fort and the earlier Bronze Age barrows or burial mounds. There is a fully accessible trail at the southern side of the reserve with allocated disabled parking nearby, which takes you to the hill fort. The trail does not extend to the hill fort itself, however. Much of the site is flat and most popular areas, including the fort, should be accessible to most powered wheelchairs.
The site is situated off Old Winchester Hill Lane to the east of Exton.