St Catherine's Hill features
OS grid reference SU 484 280
A 58 hectare flower-rich chalk grassland with an abundance of wild flowers and butterflies.
This is a great place to enjoy wildlife, ancient monuments and the most spectacular views over Winchester, the Itchen Valley and the surrounding countryside. St Catherine’s Hill is a fabulous place to enjoy a summer walk and picnic.
The site has been owned by Winchester College for about 130 years and has been been managed by the Wildlife Trust for over a decade.
Wildlife features
- Short downland turf rich in wildflowers or herbs such as bird’s-foot trefoil, salad burnet and dropwort. A square metre of turf will contain over 20 different flowers, which are at their best during May – July
- Delicate orchids such as musk orchid, frog orchid and autumn lady’s tresses can be found on the south facing hill slope through the summer
- There are over 25 different butterfly species that breed on the site. Most striking are the marbled white seen in July, and the numerous chalkhill blue and brown argus during July and August.
Other features
- Ramparts of the Iron Age hill fort cut into the hill
- Buried ruins of the Norman chapel that gives the site its name
- Several rectangular burial mounds along Plague Pit Valley mark the location of mass graves
Management
Shetland sheep roam the down throughout the year eating the grass, keeping it short to prevent the flowers being shaded by taller grasses - The sheep browse the hawthorn and bramble to reduce their spread over the open down. Most butterflies like warm sunny places, so some scrub and trees are kept to shelter the ground from the cooling wind.
- Larger areas of trees and scrub are cut down by our volunteer team during the winter to increase the area of flower-rich grass for butterflies
