Swift's Hill

Swift's Hill rises steeply on the east side of the Slad valley, above Elcombe and Knapp Lane, about 3km north-east of Stroud, in the Five Valleys. Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust has owned it since 1967; its 10 hectares of limestone grassland are a Site of Special Scientific Interest, with 13 kinds of orchid, and the hill appears in Laurie Lee's Cider with Rosie.

History

Swift's Hill is a steep slope of limestone grassland, which the Trust bought in 1967. Natural England's citation for the SSSI, first notified in 1966, calls it one of a series of unimproved limestone grassland sites in the Cotswolds. The Trust notes that it is immortalised in Cider with Rosie, Laurie Lee's account of growing up in Slad. The old quarry at the north end of the hill, where viper's bugloss now grows, is part of the SSSI too: Natural England calls it a classic geological site, showing layers of the Inferior Oolite limestone, with ammonites from one bed used to date the rocks.

Grazing the hill

Cattle graze the grassland from April to October. Without them, the coarse grasses and scrub would smother the small flowers that make the hill special.

What to see

The flowers are the reason to climb: more than 130 kinds of wildflower, best from April to August.

• Thirteen species of orchid, from early purple orchids in spring and bee orchids in early summer to the rare frog orchid and, at the end of the season, autumn lady's-tresses.
• Wild thyme and knapweed on the slopes, and viper's bugloss around the old quarry.
• Twenty-nine kinds of butterfly, marbled whites and common blues among them.
• Kestrels, skylarks and green woodpeckers; field voles, limestone snails, the rugged oil beetle and the rare rufous grasshopper.
• The view down the Slad valley and, on a clear day, as far as Wales.

Visiting

Swift's Hill is free and open all year. It is steep, with open grass and rough tracks, so wear good shoes, and dogs must be on a lead, particularly from April to October when cattle are grazing. There are no facilities on the hill; the Woolpack in Slad is the nearest pub. The Trust recommends April to August, and a clear evening gives the best of the view.

Getting there

Park in Slad, on the B4070 about 3km from Stroud, or in one of the few laybys on Knapp Lane at Elcombe (nearest postcode GL6 7LA). On foot, the Laurie Lee Wildlife Way, the Trust's 5.3-mile circuit of the valley from Bulls Cross, crosses the hill past its halfway point; the Trust says its paths are uneven and muddy in wet weather.

Nearby

The Trust's other reserves on the walk are Snows Farm, at the head of the valley, and Frith Wood on the ridge, each about 2km away. Laurie Lee is buried at Holy Trinity, Slad, across the valley. For more orchid grassland nearby, Rodborough Common is just south of Stroud, and Cleeve Common on the Cotswold Edge is the largest common in Gloucestershire.