#wildflowerhour

3–Hampshire in May

LOCATION: North-east Hampshire, East Sussex.

SPECIES: Sword-leaved and White Helleborine (plus hybrids) Fly orchid including Ochroleuca form, Bird’s-nest orchid, Burnt orchid, plus if you take the extra trip, Greater Tongue and Loose-Flowered orchids.

DIFFICULTY/TIME: Easy walking in woodland at Chappett’s copse, some uphill at Noar Hill, and typical downland walking at Martin Down. Allow a full day as there is much to enjoy at all three sites. Wakehurst Place is easy walking.

WHEN: Third week in May

The reserves of Chappett’s copse and Noar Hill are famous amongst orchid hunters, as each has the largest population in the UK of one of the species -in the case of Chappett’s copse Sword-leaved Helleborine and Noar Hill, Musk orchid- but you will be too early for the latter on this visit.

Starting at Chappett’s copse will bring you a big injection of orchid satisfaction and even if you have already seen Sword-leaved Helleborine at another site in the UK, you will be unprepared for the sheer spectacle of the woodland glades at this wonderful site.

The reserve is managed by the Hampshire and IOW wildlife trust (HIOWWT) and is situated a mile from the little village of West Meon.

A link to the reserve including its location is here;https://www.hiwwt.org.uk/nature-reserves/chappetts-copse-nature-reserve

Go east out of West Meon and turn right into Coombe Lane. The reserve is visible through the trees on your left as you head south, and after roughly 1km you will see the entrance to the reserve and car park just in from the road on the left, announced by a small sign below.

Turn left onto the small track and park anywhere along here leaving room for others to get in and out. A sign announces the entrance to the reserve, the main level track runs parallel to and just in from the road, heading back north. You will start to see Sword-leaved Helleborines very soon after you have set off, but keep walking until a glade opens up on your right, and stop to take in the sheer spectacle of hundreds of stately white-flowered Sword Helleborines littering the woodland floor.

Small paths have been created between the orchids and the Dog’s Mercury, to allow visitors to enjoy the orchids up close and personal. Please stick to these mini-paths, as hidden amongst the ground vegetation’s, Bird’s-nest orchid and Fly orchid lurk, less obvious than the main attraction.

Fly Orchid

The latter two species should be relatively easy to find near the main path and just off it into this glade, but slow walking and careful observation is required to spot them poking out of the Dog’s Mercury in the dappled sunlight. Also in this main glade you might spot one or two much taller plants and closer inspection should reveal that they are the hybrids between Sword-leaved and White Helleborines. The hybrids, apart from being taller tend to show the flower-head like the Sword-leaved, but with leaves like that of White Helleborine and are quite subtle upon first inspection. There are usually a few telltale White Helleborines much smaller nearby.

Taking a walk through the various tracks around the woodland will reveal more examples of all the species, as well as Common Twayblades and a few Common Spotted orchids coming into flower.

Once you have enjoyed the woodland spectacle at Chappett’s copse, take the short 11 mile journey to  Noar Hill National Nature Reserve, just south of Selbourne – former home of the famous Gilbert White. Details of this HIOWWT reserve, including warden’s contact information, can be found on their website https://www.hiwwt.org.uk/nature-reserves/noar-hill-nature-reserve

To get to the reserve, drive south out of Selbourne and turn right onto the lane signposted East Tisted, then bear left after c1/2mile following the sign to Noar Hill. Park safely alongside the road just before Charity Farm as shown below.

Walk along the gravelled track to the left here, and then follow the footpath sign left again and uphill into the trees. There is more than one way into the reserve from this track, but continue uphill until you see access signs on the left.

Taking any of the tracks will bring you up some steep banks onto the disused pits, with narrow pathways running through them. All of the chalk downland here is covered in orchids of three main species; Common Spotted, Chalk Fragrant and Pyramidal Orchid, as well as the site speciality, Musk Orchid. This site has probably the largest population of this latter species in the country, but you will have to have very good and practised

eyes to see them this early, although one or two might just be starting to bud during the

third week of May.

Two other species to look for here are Frog Orchid, which is scattered in small numbers around the old chalk pits – and hybridises with Common Spotted

Orchid occasionally, so look out for those – and Fly Orchid.

The latter can be found about halfway along the southern end of the old chalk workings, especially in newly cleared areas just in from the trees. Among the small population of Fly Orchids, one or two all-green “ochroleuca” forms flower every year.

“Ochroleuca” Fly orchid

Noar Hill is another site that benefits from time spent wandering slowly through its different habitats. Later on in the season, Violet Helleborine can be seen in the woodland of High Wood Hanger, on the north side of the reserve, viewed from the path at the edge of the downland walks.

Third and final site of the day is nearly 60 miles to the west, and only just inside the Hampshire border. Martin Down is a National Nature Reserve on the border with Wiltshire, south west of Salisbury and just south of the main A354.

However, to find its speciality, the Burnt Orchid, it is easier to park in the Lower Car Park, situated at the end of Sillen Lane, just west of the village of Martin itself. The postcode for the car park is SP6 3LP. From here walk west, continuing along the main track, then bear left after approximately 400m. Checking either side of this main path should produce small numbers of Burnt orchids.

Burnt orchid

They can occur almost anywhere between the car park and the edge of the reserve, a further 500m on, however. If you have never seen the species before you will probably be surprised at how small they are! Once you find one, check the immediate area, as they tend to grow in scattered groups. Also in this area are Greater Butterfly orchids. Walking right (north) towards the A354 will also produce Green-winged as well as more Burnt orchids.

This reserve is fantastic for butterflies and birds too, with Adonis, Small Blue and Dingy Skipper and for birds Turtle Dove, Grey Partridge, Cuckoo and Corn Bunting – all species that have declined terribly in the last 50 years. You may even be lucky enough to see a Stone Curlew!

If you are making a weekend visit you could get two extra species that aren’t a 100% “wild” and visit Wakehurst Place near Crawley. Wakehurst is Kew’s “wild botanic garden”, and houses the Millenium Seedbank.

The orchid section of the gardens has a small and

diminishing population of introduced Loose-flowered orchids. In amongst them are some Greater Tongue Orchids which may have come in unintentionally with the Loose-flowered Orchids.

Emailing Wakehurst in advance will get you specific information on how to see these two semi-natives. Email them at [email protected]; this is better than calling, as your enquiry can be passed to someone with specific knowledge. Beware, last entry to Wakehurst gardens is 4pm!

Written by Sean Cole of @ukorchids

Sean has been interested in orchids for over twenty years, and is co-author of the forthcoming book “Britain’s Orchids” from Wildguides.