The Commons
Hawridge and Cholesbury Commons are a good example of deciduous woodland and grassland mosaic. There are also remnants of once extensive heathland and acid grassland. The area lies about equidistant from Chesham, Berkhamsted, Tring and Wendover, in the Chiltern Hills (see map). It covers an area of about 40 hectares (110 acres) and is privately owned. The public have the right to air and exercise on the Commons and they are covered by the CROW (Countryside and Rights of Way) Act 2000. The Commons Preservation Society, with the permission of the Commons' owner, carries out a significant part of the management of the Commons.
About 70% of the area is covered in secondary woodland
which has developed since the cessation of grazing in the 1950s. In an interview Ron How, an early member of the HCCPS and past Chairman (three times!), describes his recollections of the Commons starting in the 1940s. Of particular interest are the descriptions of how open the Commons then were, with very few trees. He recalls that one of the reasons for founding the Society was to keep the trees in check once grazing had stopped. (The interview file is encoded in "Windows Media Format" which can be played by "Windows Media Player" software. This comes as standard with the Internet Explorer web browser, but if you don't have it you can download it for free from Microsoft.)
Split by Horseblock Lane, the largest open area of grassland, interspersed by bracken with sporadic trees, contains some patches of heather which are flourishing now that a regeneration project is underway. Next to the junction of Cholesbury Road with Cholesbury Lane, the very successful cricket club holds regular matches on a pitch which was upgraded in 2000. There are two ponds on the Commons, both at the Cholesbury end containing a wide variety of plants.
Designated as a County Wildlife Site and lying within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), these Commons follow one of the ridges on the dip-slope of the chalk escarpment, overlain by clay with flints, and are of great ecological importance. A number of studies of the local flora and fauna have been carried out, the most recent in 2003/4. Lowland heathland/acid grassland habitat has a significant role in the Buckinghamshire Biodiversity Action Plan and because of this the Commons have an important part to play on a county-wide scale.
The acidic soils arising from the underlying geology encourage birch, oak and ash woodlands with a hawthorn, elder, holly and bramble understorey. There are many apple and cherry trees on the Commons, as well as a number of mature beech trees near the Smithy in Hawridge. In Spring, there is a good display of Snowdrops followed by Bluebells in the more open woodlands.
The woodland glades and edges of the more open grassland areas provide feeding grounds and reproduction sites for many butterflies,
including
Commas,
Gatekeepers,
Marbled Whites,
Skippers,
Purple and
White-letter Hairstreaks and the occasional
Silver-washed Fritillary and
White Admiral.
The grassland supports a range of acid loving plants including Wavy Hair Grass, Pill Sedge, Heather, Heath Bedstraw and Sheep’s Sorrel. In May large parts of the grassland areas are white with the Heath Bedstraw.
The ponds contain the Pond Water-crowfoot and Water Purslane, which is rare in Bucks, amongst a wide variety of other plants including Water Starwort, Water-plantain, Water Mint, Water Forget-me-not, Yellow Iris, Marsh-marigold, Reedmace, Fool’s Watercress, Curled Pondweed, Reed Sweetgrass, Jointed Rush and Soft Rush.
The public is welcome to walk anywhere on the Commons although there are footpaths, most of which join up with the footpath network on the periphery of the Commons. Cycling is not allowed on the Commons at all and motorised vehicles, whether 2 or more wheeled, are also forbidden. Horse-riding is permitted only on the permissive rides which run along the bottom of the hill near the Hertfordshire border and alongside the road with crossing points below the Full Moon pub and beside Cholesbury Road; also behind Common Ley to avoid Rays Hill. The full Regulations and Bye-laws covering the Commons can be seen here.
Any questions or comments can be emailed to the Society at hccps@cholesbury.com