Roundton Hill National Nature Reserve

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Overview

The volcanic rock that underlies the hillfort-topped Roundton Hill NNR, near Newtown, gives rise to its unimproved acid grassland, an increasingly rare habitat in the UK. Some of the specialised uncommon plants that depend on this type of habitat include shepherd’s cress and upright chickweed. In spring and early summer the hillside is carpeted with a succession of lovely wildflowers such as the common dog violet, wild thyme, tormentil, rock stonecrop, lady’s bedstraw, heath bedstraw and sheep’s sorrel, all of which take their turn as the season progresses. In the shady overhangs there are communities of lichens and mosses. The unimproved acid grassland found at Roundton Hill also harbours rare and interesting fungi such as the date waxcap, pink waxcap, olive earth tongue and violet coral – which is also known as the amethyst fairy club. Among the birds you can expect to see at Roundton Hill are skylarks, green woodpeckers, hen harriers and merlins.

Location

Old Churchstoke

About the area

The largest unitary authority in Wales, Powys covers an area of approximately 2,000 square miles. Much of that is mountainous because it actually has the lowest population density of all the Welsh counties.