Looking_towards_Bowerchalke_from_Woodminton_Down_-_geograph

Bowerchalke Downs () (also known as Woodminton, Marleycombe Down and Knowle Down), is a

biological Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

in southern

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, England, notified in 1971. The downs encompass the entire southern outlook of the village of

Bowerchalke Bowerchalke is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about southwest of Salisbury. It is in the south of the county, about from the boundary with Dorset and from that with Hampshire. The parish includes the hamlets of Mead End, M ...

, about south-west of

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

, and are adjacent to both the

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

and

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

county boundaries. The Bowerchalke Downs lie within the

Cranborne Chase Cranborne Chase () is an area of central southern England, straddling the counties Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire. It is part of the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The area is dominated by, ...

and West Wiltshire Downs

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

and are part of the

Southern England Chalk Formation Downland, chalkland, chalk downs or just downs are areas of open chalk hills, such as the North Downs. This term is used to describe the characteristic landscape in southern England where chalk is exposed at the surface. The name "downs" is deriv ...

. The

English Nature English Nature was the Executive agency, United Kingdom government agency that promoted the Conservation (ethic), conservation of wildlife, geology and wild places throughout England between 1990 and 2006. It was a non-departmental public body ...

citation from 1971 states that the site has an extensive area of floristically rich chalk grassland. Among the diverse plant species are sheep's-fescue '' Festuca ovina'', meadow oat-grass '' Avenula pratensis'', and dwarf sedge ''

Carex humilis ''Carex humilis'' (also known as dwarf sedge) is a species of sedge that can be found in Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Eu ...

''.

References

{{coord, 50.9956, N, 1.9957, W, region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SU004218), display=title Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1971 Hills of Wiltshire