Portsdown Hill is a ridge of chalk
that lies to the north of Portsmouth Harbour on the South Coast
of England. The north side of the hill is farmland, horse
paddocks and public open space, while the south side is a mix of
chalk grassland and scrub, much of it designated as a SSSI (Site
of Special Scientific Interest).
This website describes the open spaces managed by the staff and
volunteers of the Portsdown Hill Countryside Service.
Horses below Fort Widley
Besides the SSSI, there are other areas on nature conservation interest on the Hill, including SINCs (Sites of Interest for Nature Conservation). A variety of landowners and agencies own and manage the rest of the hill including the MoD, local authorities and utility companies. Within these ownerships, fragments of the once widespread chalk downland habitat remain.
Contacts
For matters and requests relating to management of the
hill,
e-mail: Richard
Jones
(rjones@portsmouthcc.gov.uk)
telephone 023 9238 9623
or write to :
Richard Jones MIEEM
Portsdown Hill Countryside Officer
Portsdown Hill Countryside Service
Fort Widley, Portsdown Hill Road
Portsmouth, PO6 3LS
This website is maintained by Alan Thurbon for the Friends of
Portsdown Hill. For comments or contributions,
e-mail: FoPH
(mail@portsdown.hampshire.org.uk)
Latest News
Work on the Top Field, next to the roundabout, is progressing
well. It is being converted from arable land back to chalk
downland, with the aid of a grant from Natural England. Most of
the field will be fenced so that it can be grazed. An area near
the car park will be kept as arable land, for the benefit of
plants which thrive on annual disturbance.
Over-grazing by rabbits is a problem in some areas, resulting in
very short grass and a shortage of flowers. However, the rabbits
don't have everything their own way as myxomatosis is never far
away. One effect of this is conjunctivitis, which in turn makes
the rabbits more vulnerable to predation by foxes and buzzards.
The fields below Fort Widley have a particularly high rabbit
population, with the result that there is no controlled grazing
there this winter. Horses have been grazing other areas to the
west.
See the Places page for some pictures of our trip along the tunnels below Fort Southwick, and more details about Top Field.
About this site
The Wildlife and Management pages make use of a lot of
material which was created by a regular volunteer, Hilma Miles.
She took hundreds, possibly thousands of photographs, and was
keen to help with the various daily tasks such as moving cattle
and scrub clearing. She died in her sleep while on holiday
trekking in the Himalayan foothills of Bhutan.
See Hilma's
website for a wide variety of topics. An
obituary was published in the Southampton Daily Echo on 6th
December 2008.
visitors since 25th February 2009
