Fish Hill Picnic Place occupies the site of an old quarry on the Cotswold escarpment. Over decades, nature has softened the quarry's angular cuts into gentle, stepped terraces known locally as the Giant's Steps. These south-facing limestone ledges have become a haven for wildflowers: pyramidal orchids, bee orchids, wild thyme, and marjoram flourish in the thin, chalky soil. Common blue and chalkhill blue butterflies feed on the horseshoe vetch that grows on the steeper slopes. The site is managed as a nature reserve, with careful grazing by sheep keeping the grassland open and preventing scrub from taking over. In autumn, the surrounding beech woods turn a spectacular gold — Fish Hill is one of the best places on the northern Cotswolds to see the autumn colour change. From the picnic area, you can see Broadway Tower standing on the adjacent hilltop, just a mile along the escarpment. The contrast between the wild quarry landscape and the manicured tower grounds captures two very different sides of the Cotswolds.
“The site is managed as a nature reserve, with careful grazing by sheep keeping the grassland open and preventing scrub from taking over.”
