Reserve Focus: The Devenish

By Alex Atkinson, Conservation Lead South

Located just north of Salisbury, The Devenish offers a wonderful mix of young woodland, mature beech woodland, chalk downland and meadow.

Discover The Devenish nature reserve this summer, a hidden gem within hiking distance from central Salisbury and close to the Iron Age hill fort, Old Sarum.

What can I see at The Devenish?

The walk to the top of the steep chalk downland slope is well worth the effort for the spectacular views of the Woodford Valley below. At the top, visitors will find some lovely old hornbeam, beech, yew and hazel trees.

The beautiful wildflowers reach their peak in early summer and include common spotted orchid, fairy flax, clustered bellflower, harebells and common rockrose, which are important food plants for butterflies. Look for the Adonis blue, speckled wood,marbled white, orange tip, brown argus, and comma butterflies as you wander through the grassy areas of the nature reserve in the summer months.

Harebell

Kieron Huston

Birds to spot include garden warblers and blackcaps, while buzzards wheel overhead.

The large beech trees along the road are more than 200 years old. As these veteran trees age, they create valuable deadwood habitat for many invertebrates, such as the spectacular rhinoceros beetle. The mixed woodland was planted about 40 years ago and we are already seeing secondary growth of our native species.

How is The Devenish being managed for wildlife?

The Devenish is maintained and enhanced with the help of Volunteer Warden, Richard Death, and a regular group of volunteers. They carry out work such as hazel coppicing and ride widening to open up the woodland floor to sunlight, which allows ground flora to thrive and provides a better habitat for insects, birds and mammals.

Blackcap

Amy Lewis

The volunteers also remove dominating species throughout the woodland that inhibit the growth of other flowers, and plant wild garlic and bluebells. Whilst lower in the valley, seedlings and cuttings are spread in the meadows to encourage chalk grassland wildflower species such as orchids to grow.

Sheep also graze the nature reserve throughout the year, keeping the grassland in good condition by eating down the tougher grasses and ash saplings.

Find out more about this nature reserve at: www.wiltshirewildlife.org/devenish

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