life
COUNTRYSIDE, WILDLIFE & FARMING
Arreton
Down
A
rreton Down lies along the
southern slope of the main chalk
ridge that runs across the Isle
of Wight from Culver Down in the East
to West High Down and the Needles. It
offers 48 acres of open access over fine
chalk grassland, with a wealth of visible
archaeology, woodland/scrub and old
chalk pits plus views to the South over the
East Yar valley and nearby countryside.
The Trust purchased Arreton in 2000
with the help of the Heritage Lottery
Fund and an appeal to Trust members.
Like other unimproved chalk grassland
across southern Britain, it is one of the
most flower-rich habitats in the country,
at best supporting up to 40 different
flowering species per square metre.
Last year the down looked particularly
good in mid to late summer, the earlier
yellows of the vetches were sadly not
as brilliant as usual because of the wet
spring and early summer, however the
Scabious, harebells, knapweed and many
other taller herbs did very well and put on
a wonderfully colourful display well into
autumn!
The cattle that graze there in low
numbers throughout autumn and winter
help keep the more aggressive herbaceous
plants, grasses and scrub from shading
out and taking over the multitude of
small specialist chalk downland flowers.
As these flowers thrive, they provide
both food and nectar for a wide range of
insects.
Arreton is designated by Natural
England as a Site of Special Scientific
68
Interest. During the spring the woodland
and scrub is alive with birdsong from
Yellow hammers, Lesser whitethroats,
Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs to name but a
few. In summer, insects and butterflies can
be found in great numbers on the warm
grassland and scrub edge.
An insect of note that can be found
here is the Great green bush cricket. This
impressive beast is usually heard well
before it is seen, its powerful call carrying
far across the D own on warm summer
evenings. Search out the weird green light
of the female glow-worm in the longer
grasses near the scrub edge. The short
turf is often dotted with a fine display
of Pyramidal orchid and occasional
Bee orchid, purple mats of fragrant
wild Thyme and the yellow flowering
Horseshoe and Kidney vetch this is also
where the rare Bastard toadflax is found.
The parking here is limited to a couple
of spaces on one side of the Down End
Chalk Pit entrance.
There are five entrances and three public
footpaths crossing it. Use these paths to
explore this fascinating reserve. There are
many ancient earthworks across the Down
including Bronze Age barrows and other
interesting features such as the Holloways.
This is a series of curving sunken paths
which meander up the reserve, created
by the driving of cattle across the Down
towards the coast. The animals would
Island Life - www.isleofwight.net