Early spider orchid © James Hitchen

Small blue © James Hitchen

Cows at Townsend © James Hitchen

Tony Bates

Townsend

Rare limestone grassland on the site of an old quarry

Location

Townsend

Swanage

Dorset

BH19 2EE

OS Map Reference

SZ0226578004

Know before you go

Size

13 hectares

Entry fee

N/A

Parking information

Roadside parking for three or four cars

Bicycle parking

Yes

Grazing animals

Cattle grazing in spring and summer.
Pony grazing all year round.

Walking trails

Series of pathways across the site. Links to public rights of way to Durlston Country Park and the Priest's Way.

Before you visit, please read our reserve safety and visitor information

Please click here for more information and guidance about dogs on Dorset Wildlife Trust nature reserves.

Access

Unsurfaced but short grassy paths, access through kissing gate at main entry point giving some level access to central part of reserve but elsewhere, the ground is moderately sloping and, in parts, uneven. Pedestrian gates at other entrances.

Although the ground provides fairly easy walking on short grassy paths across the site, the history of quarrying means that there are numerous undulations and some steeper slopes. Old quarry pits may be hidden in scrubby areas though the formal quarry shafts are fenced out. Several sections of dry stone wall have recently been restored on the site - please refrain from climbing or sitting on the walls, some of which are held together by gravity alone. The yellow umbellifer, wild parsnip grows well on this site - contact with bare skin should be avoided as this plant can cause a phototoxic reaction. Sadly people who don't pick up their dog mess is a problem on this nature reserve, so please check the ground before sitting or getting down low to look at any plants or animals.

Cattle graze the site throughout the summer with ponies all year round.

Dogs

On a lead

Please remove all dog mess from site. See above for more information about dogs on nature reserves.

When to visit

Opening times

Open at all times

Best time to visit

spring and summer

About the reserve

Home to the beautiful early spider-orchid that gives Dorset Wildlife Trust its logo, this urban fringe site is surprisingly full of rare wildflowers. An area of calcareous grassland set high above Swanage Bay on the site of old limestone quarries, spring and summer flowers include early gentian, bastard-toadflax and yellow-rattle, whilst great green bush crickets, long-winged cone heads and yellow meadow ants are among the insects to be found.

The site boasts a good display of orchids in most years, with up to seven species flowering on the reserve throughout the season. The shortest areas of grassland support diminutive versions of some of our more interesting limestone grassland plants, easy to miss without getting down close to look. A number of these low-growing plants in turn support some of the rarer butterflies to be found, such as small and Adonis blue. Elsewhere, the mixed scrub and longer grass provides important cover and food source for migrating birds and a host of invertebrates.

The nature reserve is managed by grazing with both cattle and ponies to create a mosaic of longer and shorter grass and to prevent the scrub from invading the open areas. We are currently also removing most of the non-native buddleia and cotoneaster which threatened to smother this internationally important grassland.

Useful Information

Coming into Swanage on the A351, take the first right on the bend. Pass the shop on your left, then take the first right up the hill. Turn left at the top, then next right onto Panorama road. Follow the road round the bend and up the hill, the reserve is on the left hand side. Roadside parking in a layby two thirds of the way up the hill. Easy walking distance from Swanage town centre - follow Townsend Road from the High Street to reach the eastern entrance - with footpath links to Durlston Country Park and towards Worth Matravers to the west.