10 Swindon area attractions with scientific stamp of approval

2 Silbury Hill was a magnet for archaeologists, both professional and amateur, long before being classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest – and long before the classification even existed. Part of the Avebury World Heritage Site, it is the largest earth mound in Europe. In spite of many investigations, including a televised excavation, its purpose is still the subject of debate. More information can be found at www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/silbury-hill/

3 Coate Water, as most people in Swindon know, was originally a reservoir before becoming one of the town’s favourite leisure destinations. It is also, of course, a favourite destination for birds, whether domestic species or exotic foreign visitors blown off course during migration. The sheer variety of this birdlife earned part of the water its SSSI recognition.

4 Clout’s Wood at Wroughton is one of the most beautiful and biologically diverse locations in the Swindon area. According to Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, which runs the wood as a nature reserve, it is a haven for countless species of bats, birds, insects, larger mammals, trees, flowers and fungi. A remarkable fact about Clout’s Wood is that 10 species of bumblebee have been observed there. Trust website www.wiltshirewildlife.org has plenty of information about this and other important natural locations.

5 Cricklade North Meadow is designated a National Nature Reserve as well as an SSSI. Chiefly known for having the country’s largest concentration of rare wild flower the Snakes Head Fritillary, the meadow is home to a large variety of other important species. Such is the significance of the meadow’s ecosystem that visitors, although welcome, are reminded not to stray from marked paths – and to bring binoculars if they want to see interesting plants at close quarters. See crickladeinbloom.co.uk for further information.

6 Savernake Forest dates back well over a millennium and is home to several of the nation’s oldest and most magnificent individual trees in addition to a wealth of different species. Perhaps surprisingly, it owes much of its designation as an SSSI not to this but to the lichens which cluster on the older trees. Full details can be found at www.forestryengland.uk/savernake-forest

7 Bentley Wood, near the border between Wiltshire and Hampshire and close to the village of West Tytherley, has a fair claim on being counted a jewel of the English countryside. A nature reserve run by a charitable trust, it is popular among butterfly enthusiasts who come to see the three dozen or so species recorded there. The wood is home to many tree and plant species, some of them rare.

8 Figsbury Ring - www.nationaltrust.org.uk/figsbury-ring - is an Iron Age hill fort with an inner structure which might date back even further. It commands views of Old Sarum and distant Salisbury Cathedral, although when the original inhabitants gazed from their refuge they would have seen only open countryside.

9 Yarnbury Castle, like Figsbury Ring, is an Iron Age Hill Fort. It lies near the village of Steeple Langford, and is thought to have been constructed well over 2,000 years ago. As with many other historic sites in the county, it has been the subject of extensive archaeological investigation, and the relics recovered include coinage suggesting the site was in use during the Roman occupation. To stroll there is to gain an insight into what life was like for people whose ways were ancient long before what we now think of as civilisation came into being.

10 Pewsey Downs National Nature Reserve, near Marlborough, includes the Alton Barnes White Horse, one of the massive works of art which fascinate visitors to the region. The reserve hosts many wild flower species as well as being an excellent example of original chalk downland.