Natural England - Aston Rowant: seasonal highlights

Aston Rowant: seasonal highlights

Aston Rowant is a great place to visit throughout the year, offering a fun day out for all the family as well as peace and quiet for those who seek a tranquil day of wildlife watching, photography or painting.

Chiltern gentian © Robert Silverwood

The seasonally themed Nature Discovery trail features “Children’s Challenges” as well as opening the eyes of all visitors to the hidden wonders of the site. Visitors wanting a good, healthy walk will find that the reserve offers a range of trails highlighted in the leaflet and offers walking routes for all levels of fitness and mobility.

Spring is heralded by the bleating of lambs on the reserve and care must be taken when walking near lambing areas. The drumming of the woodpecker in the woodlands, trying to attract a mate is an early sign that spring is on the way. The chiff-chaff is one of the first migrants to be heard on the reserve, and is names after its distinctive call. The woods come to life with bluebells, wood anemone and celandine and the white blossoms of wayfaring tree, whitebeam, hawthorn and blackthorn light up the reserve.

Summer is the best time to visit the chalk grassland, when the characteristic wild flower and butterfly species are at their brightly coloured best. In August large numbers of Chiltern gentian (picured) can be spotted on Flinty Piece, near Bald Hill. In the summer you may also spot a slow worm on the reserve. This brown snake-like reptile is in fact a legless lizard and can be seen warming up in the sunshine. Grass snakes and common lizard have also been recorded on the site but are rarely seen.

Autumn brings an interesting variety of fungi which can be discovered across the site, including the black, spherical King Alfred’s cakes, the erupting puffball, the pungent stinkhorn, the spongy birch polypore and the shiny poached egg fungus. Many of the elder trees in the sunken ways leading from the car park display the strange and aptly named “Jelly Ear” or “Monkey’s Ear” fungus.

Winter is the best time of year to see birds of prey including sparrowhawk, buzzard and kestrel. The leafless trees mean that the more secretive woodland residents such as deer are easy to spot. The evergreen yew, juniper and holly stand out against the landscape even in the snow, and footprints are also easy to spot, revealing the identity of the species that use the trees for shelter and foraging.