4Bs Orchid Survey

There are some 50 species of wild orchid in the UK. Many are incredibly rare and can often only be found on nature reserves. The chalky soils found on parts of the North Downs in Surrey provide ideal habitat for a number of species.  In the 4Bs area, the North Downs run east-west from Box Hill in the west to the hills north of Buckland in the east. This landscape contains woodlands and chalk grasslands that are home to several nature reserves and SSSI’s containing wild orchids.  Below the chalk, the soils on the Greensand and Gault Clay are also rich in calcium as a result of rainwater percolating through the soils from the hills creating good soil conditions for orchids.
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In June several members of the 4Bs Nature WhatsApp group undertook a survey of orchids and we have created a map from the results and a short movie using some of the photos that were taken. Not surprisingly, the greatest diversity of species is found in the chalk grasslands in the Fraser Down and Betchworth Quarry (Brockham) nature reserves but there are also abundant orchids on the southern slopes of the hills. The commonest orchids are the pyramid and spotted orchids but bee and man orchids are also fairly common in the hills north of Betchworth. Isolated occurances of orchid can be found as far south as Gadbrook.

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