Chosen Hill

Chosen Hill rises above the village of Churchdown in Gloucestershire. It is a modest summit commanding wide views over the Severn Vale and the Cotswold scarp. The hill carries an 11.5-hectare nature reserve managed by the Woodland Trust. Beneath the main reservoir lies an Iron Age fort known as Churchdown Hill Camp. A network of paths crosses the reserve, including the old ‘coffin way’ that once linked St Bartholomew’s Church with Hucclecote. The hill has drawn creative visitors for a century. Early twentieth-century composers Ivor Gurney and Herbert Howells found inspiration here; Howells wrote his Piano Quartet in A minor after walking its slopes. Gerald Finzi spent New Year’s Eve 1925 at Sexton’s Cottage and composed two works in response. In 2010 the artist Willard Wigan carved a tiny model of St Bartholomew’s Church on a grain of sand taken from the churchyard. Visitors follow paths through mixed woodland and unimproved grassland. Ancient oaks and hazels stand beside Scots pine and coast redwoods planted a century ago. Spring brings carpets of bluebell and wood anemone, while limestone-loving plants grow near the summit. Breeding birds include great spotted woodpecker, linnet and yellowhammer, and woodcock have been seen on the northern ride. At the top, St Bartholomew’s Church overlooks the Severn Vale and the scattered houses of Churchdown.