Wiltshire Tourist Guide

Coombe Bissett Down Nature Reserve | close Stratford Tony and Bishopstone | near Salisbury Wilts - Wiltshire

Coombe Bissett Down Nature Reserve is east of Stratford Tony and Bishopstone in the Ebble valley and ten minutes from Salisbury on the A354 Blandford road.

Should you want to stay nearby look at Evening Hill B&B; or Swaynes Firs B&B; and if you are caravanning Swaynes Firs Camping and Caravan Site




This is a very special place for wildlife and people and a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its wildflowers and insects. The views of the coombe (the old name for a valley) and chalk downland are quite spectacular.



In the summer months the downland is a blaze of colour and sound from cowslips in April through to September when they are a purple haze of devil’s-bit scabious. These are important plant foods for bees and butterflies which include the Green Hairstreak, Chalkhill Blue, Brown Argus, Dingy Skipper and the rare Adonis Blue. Listen out for the sounds of singing grasshoppers and skylarks. The steep slopes are patterned by medieval terraces known as strip lynchets which were deliberately cut into the slopes to create arable fields for farming.



The reserve contains fields that used to be sown with crops but have been restored to downland for the benefit of birds and invertebrates. Wildflowers like the pyramidal orchid are returning. Wildflowers grow best in nutrients poor soils, so the Trust has been continuously reducing the soil fertility to create the conditions best suited to downland wildflowers. This involved the sowing, then the cutting and removal of grasses to gradually remove the excess of nutrients from the soil. Once the conditions were right the area was sown in 2003 with seeds taken from a nearby site and other parts of the reserve and is now grazed by cattle and sheep.



Coombe Bissett Down Nature Reserve is the farm base for Wiltshire Wildlife Trust’s southern reserves. Cattle and sheep are bred here to provide conservation grazing on our nature reserves. Breeds include the hardy native Dexter cattle. These have been specifically selected for being small - because they are lightweight they do not damage the fragile chalk soils. Also Herdwick sheep because they can graze on tougher grasses and help to control scrub and bramble regrowth.

Wiltshire Wildlife Trust reserves are open to the public free of charge and donations make all this possible.

If you would like to support the work of Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, you can do so by texting any amount between £1 to £10 to WILD12 to 70070. The Trust receives 100% of all text donations. All texts are free, with the exception of Virgin Media who charge your standard network rate.

Should you want to stay nearby look at Evening Hill B&B; or Swaynes Firs B&B; and if you are caravanning Swaynes Firs Camping and Caravan Site


Enjoy your visit and keep dogs on a lead where animals are grazing

Coombe Bissett Down Nature Reserve | close Stratford Tony and Bishopstone | near Salisbury Wilts