The Serpent Trail 2 THE SERPENT TRAIL GUIDE THE SERPENT TRAIL GUIDE 3 Contents THE SERPENT TRAIL The Serpent Trail ...........................................3 6. Henley to Petworth, via Bexleyhill, Explore the heathlands of the South Downs National Park by Wildlife ..........................................................4 River Common and Upperton ............. 22 Heathland timeline .......................................8 7. Petworth to Fittleworth ........................ 24 following the 65 mile/106 km long Serpent Trail. Heathland Today ........................................ 10 8. Hesworth Common, Lord’s Piece and Discover this beautiful and internationally The name of the Trail reflects the serpentine Burton Park ........................................... 26 Heathland Stories Through Sculpture ....... 10 rare lowland heath habitat, 80% of which shape of the route. Starting with the serpent’s 9. Duncton Common to Cocking has been lost since the early 1800s, often head and tongue in Haslemere and Black 1. Black Down to Marley Common ......... 12 Causeway ............................................. 28 through neglect and tree planting on Down, the ‘body’ turns west, east and west 2. Marley Common through Lynchmere 10. Midhurst, Stedham and Iping previously open areas. Designed to highlight again along the greensand ridges. The Trail and Stanley Commons to Iron Hill ...... 14 Commons ............................................. 30 the outstanding landscape of the greensand ‘snakes’ by Liphook, Milland, Fernhurst, 3. From Shufflesheeps to Combe Hill hills, their wildlife, history and conservation, Petworth, Fittleworth, Duncton, Heyshott, 11. Nyewood to Petersfield ....................... 32 via Chapel Common ............................ 16 the Serpent Trail passes through the purple Midhurst, Stedham and Nyewood to finally Heathlands Reunited Partnership .............. 34 4. Combe Hill, Tullecombe, through heather, green woods and golden valleys of reach the serpent’s ‘tail’ at Petersfield in Rondle Wood to Borden Lane ............ 18 Take the Lead on the Serpent Trail ............ 35 the Wealden Heaths. Hampshire. 5. Borden, Titty Hill and Woolbeding ..... 20 GETTING THERE WAYMARKERS TAIL ROUTE The purple BY RAIL The railway stations of waymarkers follow the Serpent Haslemere, Liss, Liphook and THE SERPENT TRAIL Trail from Haslemere to the tail Petersfield are all close to the Trail. Visit Serpent Trail in Petersfield. This is the route nationalrail.co.uk to plan your journey. Stage number described in this booklet. Serpent Trail stage start/finish BY BUS Bus services run to Alternative Route HEAD ROUTE The green Heathland site Midhurst, Stedham, Trotton, waymarkers follow the Serpent Countryside site Nyewood, Rogate, Petersfield, Fittleworth, Trail from Petersfield to the Railway Station Petworth and Haslemere allowing easy ‘A’ road head in Haslemere. This is the opposite access to the Trail. Visit traveline.info/se to of the route described in this booklet but plan your journey. the points of interest and public transport information for each stage will still be relevant. Protect the environment COUNTRYSIDE • Leave no trace – take your litter home CODE • Do not light fires or have BBQs outside of permitted sites Respect everyone • Always keep dogs under control and in sight – we are a farmed landscape with Alton • Leave gates and property as you find Bordon Winchester Haslemere them livestock and rare ground nesting birds ssiL • Do not block access to gateways or • Dog poo – bag and bin it, any public Petersfield Petworth Eastleigh waste bin will do Midhurst Pulborough driveways and do not park on verges Southampton Lewes • Keep to marked paths unless wider Enjoy Havant Fareham Chichester • Plan ahead and be prepared Worthing Brighton & Hove access is available Gosport Littlehampton Eastbourne Portsmouth Bognor Regis 4 THE SERPENT TRAIL GUIDE THE SERPENT TRAIL GUIDE 5 WILDLIFE HEATHLAND INSECTS Heaths are a habitat ‘rarer than rainforest’ and are home to some SILVER-STUDDED BLUE BUTTERFLY 1 As caterpillars they feed on the young shoots of bell heather amazing species. and are protected from predators, such as sand wasps, by black ants. The ants even ferry the caterpillar into their nest to HEATHLAND REPTILES pupate, but why? The caterpillars secrete a sweet honeydew which the ants ‘milk’ as payment for their troubles. Adult butterflies can SAND LIZARD then emerge safe and ready to take flight. 1 During the breeding season, male lizards have bright green When: June to July sides. They love the warm bare patches of ground on the heaths, and female lizards lay their eggs in the sandy soil. Sand lizards are much rarer than the viviparous (or common) lizard, Symington Nigel © which give birth to live young instead of laying eggs. On warm days you are quite likely to spot a common lizard basking on the heath. SAND (DIGGER) WASP When: May to June 2 This impressive looking solitary wasp can be found around © Bruce Middleton Bruce © patches of bare soil on heathland. Females hunt for caterpillars, which they paralyse with a sting before carrying them back to their burrow and burying them alive in the sandy soil. Sometimes the SMOOTH SNAKE caterpillar can weigh up to ten times the weight of the wasp herself! The Britain’s rarest reptile, the elusive and harmless smooth snake 2 wasp lays eggs inside the caterpillar, which the larvae will feed on before has a small population in West Sussex. Dependent on well later emerging from the burrow themselves as adult wasps. Middleton SDNPA/Derek © managed heathland the smooth snake is rarely seen as it doesn’t tend When: Spring/summer to bask in the open. Generally grey or dull brown, smaller and more slender than other snakes (60-70cm), their scales are flat and smooth. When: Emerge from hibernation in April/May. Give birth to FIELD CRICKET live young in September. © SDNPA/Bruce Middleton SDNPA/Bruce © 3 Rare black or brown cricket with striking yellow wing bases. They can’t fly but can walk up to 100 metres a day. Two cm long, their wing markings resemble intricate wrought-iron work. ADDER The males make a loud chirruping call to attract a mate using The UK’s only venomous snake. Its secretive nature and 3 ‘harps’, modified veins on their wings. ‘zigzag’ markings along its back mean that despite being When: Singing May to mid June fairly widespread it often goes unnoticed. Adders will retreat from people and dogs but if they feel threatened, they may bite in self- © Bruce Middleton Bruce © defence. See arctrust.org/facts-and-advice-on-adder-bites When: Spring/summer OTHER INSECTS YOU MAY ENCOUNTER ARE: flyers they are black with yellow bands along the • Green tiger beetle – bright green with cream body and bright green eyes. When: on the wing © SDNPA/Bruce Middleton SDNPA/Bruce © spots, these beetles can often be seen sunning from May to September on heathland themselves on the heathland. They move quickly • Black darter dragonfly– a common, small narrow OTHER REPTILES YOU MAY ENCOUNTER ARE: • Slow worm – actually a legless lizard and not a worm and will run or fly if they are disturbed. They are an bodied dragonfly. Almost entirely black they • Grass snake – a large non-venomous snake found or a snake. Shiny appearance, often hides under logs aggressive predator on the heath and have a fierce frequent damp areas of heathland with a skittish throughout England and Wales and favouring ponds and feeds on slugs etc. When: seen through spring/ jaw. When: April to September flight to catch insect prey. When: on the wing June and rotting vegetation where they may lay eggs. summer, ‘give birth’ in late summer • Golden ringed dragonfly– a large dragonfly and to October When: eggs June to July, hatching late summer • Natterjack toad – not a reptile but an amphibian. voracious predator of other insects. Agile and fast • Common (viviparous) lizard – frequently seen on Extremely rare and threatened by habitat loss. Not to heathland, approx. 15 cm in length, usually brown be found on the Serpent Trail but there are small local with spots or stripes. When: give birth to live young populations on sandy heath pond systems. in August 6 THE SERPENT TRAIL GUIDE THE SERPENT TRAIL GUIDE 7 HEATHLAND BIRDS HEATHLAND PLANTS NIGHTJAR HEATHER – bell, cross-leaved 1 A ground-nesting bird that migrates from Africa during the and ling (left to right in photo) summer. They feed on nocturnal insects such as flies, moths and beetles, using the hairs around their mouths to detect their prey’s 1 Can you tell the difference between these three wingbeats. heather species? When: Listen at dusk in the summer for the Cross-leaved heather prefers wetter ground and gets its name otherworldly “churr” of the breeding males. Territory from the way that the pale green leaves are arranged around is also marked by loudly clapping their wings the stem. Ling and bell heather are more commonly found together. and you can tell them apart by the position and colour of © iStock/Jordon Sharp iStock/Jordon © the flowers. Bell heather has dark purple flowers that cluster in groups along the stem, whereas ling has lots of very little DARTFORD WARBLER flowers all the way up the longer stems. The Latin name for 2 A small brown, recently scarce bird. Now recovered in number ling, Calluna, comes from a Greek work meaning ‘to brush’ and often found singing its scratchy song from the tops of gorse Nicholls Beth © which relates to the fact that heather was once used to make bushes. It has a distinctive red eye ring, red breast and long tail. It builds sweeping brooms or ‘besoms’. its nest on the ground amongst dense heather and gorse. Sticking to the When: In flower, late summer to autumn paths helps to protect this species and its young. When: Year round GORSE 2 A common thorny heathland plant with its distinctive yellow © Bruce Middleton Bruce © coconut scented flowers thriving on the nutrient poor land. It is an important dense refuge for birds and invertebrates but does WOODLARK have to be managed carefully so that it doesn’t encroach everywhere.