Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve
Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve is located on the north-west escarpment of the Chiltern Hills, in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It has an area of 159.1 hectares (393 acres), and most of it is a 128.5 hectares (318 acres) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is listed as a Grade 1 site in A Nature Conservation Review. The reserve is in several sections, mostly in the parish of Lewknor in Oxfordshire, with smaller sections in the parish of Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire.
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
Aston Rowant NNR view from Chiltern Chalk escarpment in the reserve over Oxford Clay plain, looking west | |
| Location | Oxfordshire Buckinghamshire |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | SU728972 |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 128.5 hectares (318 acres) |
| Notification | 1988 |
| Location map | Magic Map |
The reserve is home to plants and butterflies of chalk grassland. The flowers include at least seven species of orchid and the Chiltern gentian; the butterflies include the silver-spotted skipper and the Adonis blue.
As well as chalk grassland, the reserve contains woodland with beech, yew, and juniper. Overhead, reintroduced red kites are resident.