Walborough Nature Reserve

Situated just south of Uphill village with salt marsh and limestone grassland with rare plants and insects.

Purchased by Avon Wildlife trust in 1996 with help from the heritage lottery fund and others including many local people this 49-acre wildlife reserve is made up of limestone grassland, salt marsh and muddy bank of the Axe Estuary Uphill Pill. Known to many locals as Young’s hill it is similar to Uphill hill and has the same plants.

Walborough is a beautiful limestone grassland and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) with exceptionally rich plants including a number of nationally rare species.

The best areas of grassland are on the steeper slopes, where you will find dozens of butterfly species in summer.   
Wildlife

The grassland flora includes the nationally rare Somerset hair-grass and honewort. Also found here are green-winged and early purple orchid, autumn lady's tresses and abundant cowslips.

Butterflies include brown argus, grizzled and dingy skipper and grayling. The salt marsh has a number of nationally scarce plants including sea barley, slender hare's-ear and sea clover. Patches of sea-lavender add a splash of colour in the late summer.

Good numbers of wildfowl and waders can be seen on the estuary during autumn and winter, including redshank, dunlin, shelduck and black-tailed godwit.

Birds wintering on the salt marsh include skylark, rock and meadow pipit, linnet and, occasionally, twite.

More details at Avon Wildlife Trust