Greystones Farm nature reserve

Greystones Farm is a nature reserve of Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust on Greystones Lane, about five minutes' walk from the middle of Bourton-on-the-Water. Its 66 hectares of old meadows and pasture are a Site of Special Scientific Interest, the Rivers Dikler and Eye run through it, and it takes in the Iron Age banks of Salmonsbury Camp. It is free and open all year.

History

Greystones is a farm on ground that people have used since the Neolithic. The Trust describes Salmonsbury Camp as a Neolithic and Iron Age meeting place, and the scheduling records flint flakes and Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age pottery found there as well as the Iron Age settlement and Roman occupation from the later first to the early fourth century. The camp gave its name to the Salmonsbury hundred, whose courts, by tradition, assembled at its northern entrance through the Middle Ages.

The site is a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its wildflower-rich meadows. The Trust now runs the farm for wildlife and for learning, with programmes for schools and a replica Iron Age roundhouse that shows the kind of home people here lived in. In July 2025 the Trust gave a year's notice to the company that ran the farm's dairy herd, planning to bring back a traditional beef herd by autumn 2026 for closer control of the grazing; the rights of way and permissive paths stay open.

What to see

In early summer the meadows are the reason to come. Look for ragged-robin, great burnet, meadowsweet, devil's-bit scabious and common knapweed, and for butterflies over them: orange-tip, brimstone, small copper, meadow brown and ringlet. The Trust says the old farm buildings are used by swallows and house martins, along with owls and bats.

Along the rivers, the Trust records otter and water vole on the banks of the Dikler and the Eye, though both are hard to see. The Trust's list of birds also includes grey heron, little egret, sedge warbler, coot, great crested grebe and hobby, and harvest mice and bank voles live in the grass. In the wetter months the meadows walk is closed, partly to protect birds such as snipe.

The archaeology is on the ground too. A path from the farmyard leads to the replica roundhouse, and the banks of Salmonsbury Camp, each with its ditch outside, still stand up to 2m high on the north, east and south sides. The Trust's named routes are the Wildlife Walk and the Time-Travel Trail, and the Oxfordshire Way also crosses the reserve.

Visiting

Greystones Farm is free and open access all year, on marked paths; please keep to them. The meadows walk is closed through autumn and winter, and into spring if the water is high, to protect birds such as snipe and stop the meadows being damaged. May to September is the best time to visit.

Dogs are welcome on the public rights of way and permissive paths on a lead, and on a short lead of no more than 2m from 1 March to 31 July; cattle graze some fields, and the Trust has put three dog bins on the reserve. The path from the farmyard to the roundhouse is suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs, and the rest of the reserve is gently undulating with no stiles, but it is often wet underfoot after rain. Seats are few: the only bench is by the River Eye. There are no toilets or café at the farm; the nearest public toilets are at the Rissington Road car park.

Getting there

There is no car park at the reserve. Park in Bourton and walk: the Trust names the public pay and display car park on Station Road (GL54 2AA), behind the petrol station, as the nearest, and the council's Rissington Road car park (GL54 2BN) charges from 10am to 8pm, so it is free before 10am. The farm's address is Greystones Lane, GL54 2EN. The Pulhams 801 bus from Cheltenham, Stow and Moreton-in-Marsh station stops in the village.

Two of our walks cross the reserve. Bourton, Salmonsbury and the lakes, an easy 2-mile loop from the High Street, crosses the reserve over Salmonsbury Camp, and Bourton-on-the-Water and Wyck Rissington, a 4-mile walk without stiles, passes the roundhouse in its first mile before following the Oxfordshire Way to St Laurence's Church.

Nearby

Back in the village, the war memorial and Narrow Bridge are on the river about 900m away. The Old New Inn, the Croft and the Willow are the nearest places to eat, and Birdland on Rissington Road makes a pair with the reserve for families. Our guide to the Cotswolds with children has more ideas.