Thank you very much for booking a place on the Wildlife Walk at Dancersend. I hope that the Google map and directions below will help you to find the reserve, but if you have any difficulty, just give me a ring me on the mobile number above.

Below is a brief introduction to the reserve, which I thought you might find interesting. The site has a few slopes, stiles and kissing gates to negotiate, but the surface is not normally very muddy, so a reasonable pair of walking boots or sturdy shoes should be all the footwear you need. If you have binoculars and/or a magnifier it would be worth bringing them along. Dancersend is a very pleasant place to spend a few hours, so you might also like to bring a packed lunch and make a day of it, but if you fancy something more substantial, the nearest pub is the White Lion at St. Leonards (tel. 01494 758387) and there are various eateries in Wendover.

If you would like any other information, do let me know. Meanwhile, I look forward to meeting you on the day.

Regards

Finding the reserve:

The reserve car park is shown on Ordnance Survey Explorer map 181 and Landranger 165 at grid reference SP898090.

From Wendover: Take the B4009 towards Tring. About half a mile beyond Halton turn right (St. Leonards). After another 1.5 miles, shortly after Chesham fencing on the right, there is a private drive on the left: the reserve car park is down the track immediately beyond that, marked with a dragonfly sign.

From Tring: From the double roundabouts to the west of the town follow the signs to Aston Clinton. Take the first left (Wendover, Halton). After half a mile turn left (St. Leonards). After another 1.5 miles, shortly after Chesham fencing on the right, there is a private drive on the left: the reserve car park is down the track immediately beyond that, marked with a dragonfly sign.

From Aylesbury: Take the A41 eastwards, then follow the signs to Aston Clinton. Go straight through the village and take the next right (Wendover, Halton). After half a mile turn left (St. Leonards). After another 1.5 miles, shortly after Chesham fencing on the right, there is a private drive on the left: the reserve car park is down the track immediately beyond that, marked with a dragonfly sign.

Dancersend

Hidden in a sheltered Chiltern valley, Dancersend is a patchwork of habitats, each supporting its own distinctive mix of plants, animals and fungi. There are areas of scrub and chalk downland, with carpets of wildflowers that include orchids, marjoram, St. John's-wort and Chiltern gentian (now the county flower of Buckinghamshire) and mixed woodland with primroses in the spring and a rich variety of fungi in the autumn and winter, including earth stars and the striking scarlet elf-cup. In all almost 300 plant species have been found at Dancersend, attracting butterflies such as meadow brown, gatekeeper, ringlet, marbled white and the rare Duke of Burgundy. Buzzards, sparrowhawks and red kites are regularly seen overhead and there are often glimpses of muntjac and roe deer in the woods. After dark there are badgers, foxes, glow-worms and edible dormice (the dormice were introduced a few miles away in Tring Park over a century ago and are now marching their way along the Chilterns).

Dancersend is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). You can find out more about the reserve and the Trust on their website (www.bbowt.org.uk), or in their reserve handbook 'Where 2 go 4 Wildlife', available from BBOWT, The Lodge, 1 Armstrong Road, Littlemore, Oxford OX4 4XT.