Management in Action: The Custodians of Salcombe Hill

Theme:	ECOLOGY NETWORKS
Current Topic:	Nature Recovery Plan
Thread Title:	Management in Action: The Custodians of Salcombe Hill
Thread Number:	4 of 7
Learning Focus:	Discover how the National Trust, SVA, and local councils manage the Salcombe Ecology Network. From GPS cattle grazing to ancient woodland protection.

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1. Introduction: The Secret Life of Our Local Landscape

To the casual observer, the emerald slopes flanking Sidmouth offer little more than a picturesque, static frame for the Jurassic Coast. We are accustomed to "managed" green spaces being synonymous with manicured lawns and tidy borders. However, look closer and you will find the Salcombe Network, a sophisticated "living laboratory" where the future of British conservation is being redesigned in real-time. Moving beyond mere preservation, Sidmouth has emerged as a vanguard for active, high-tech restoration. Here, the landscape is not a museum piece but a dynamic engine of recovery, fuelled by community science and innovative ecological engineering.

2. The "Invisible Fence": How GPS Cattle are Engineering the Hill

On the windswept heights of Salcombe Hill and East Cliff, the National Trust has dismantled the traditional concept of a paddock. In place of wooden posts and wire, they utilise "Virtual Fencing." Cattle here wear electronic GPS collars, managed via the "No-Fence" app, allowing rangers to draw invisible boundaries across the terrain.

These animals are far more than livestock; they are "eco-engineers." By directing their grazing to specific "target areas," the Trust uses their hooves and appetites to create a complex vegetation mosaic. This structural diversity, patches of short grass interspersed with scrub, is vital for ground-nesting birds and the rare Cliff Furrow Bee. This technology keeps the horizon line clear for walkers while providing the precise ecological disturbance required for rare species to reclaim the cliffs.

The Heaths to Sea Initiative:  

Salcombe Hill serves as the coastal anchor for a bold, 20-year landscape recovery plan. This "nature highway" aims to create "butterfly corridors", linear woodlands and restored hedgerows, linking the Pebblebed Heaths directly to the sea, allowing species to migrate as the climate shifts.

3. Protection by Difficulty: Why "Messy" and Steep is Better

In the shadowed combes of Page Wood and Bluebell Wood, the management philosophy leans into a brilliant psychological hook: "Protection by Difficulty." At Page Wood, the National Trust maintains steep, lung-bursting steps and resists the urge to "urbanise" paths with tarmac. This is a deliberate strategy to limit heavy foot traffic, rebranding "neglect" as "sanctuary" for the wood’s interior.

The air here is heavy with the scent of fermenting leaves and the humid breath of moss-coated slopes. The aesthetics are intentionally "untidy." Fallen deadwood is left where it lands to support saproxylic beetles, while thickets of bramble provide impenetrable fortresses for dormice. This "Minimal Intervention" approach protects the delicate acidic soil chemistry required for the wood’s most sensitive inhabitants.Woodland Indicators of the Salcombe Network:

• Native Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta):  Their deep violet carpets signal soil that has remained undisturbed for generations.
• Lichens and Mosses:  Thriving in the cool, damp microclimates of the steep, north-west facing slopes.
• Red Campion and Greater Stitchwort:  Flourishing in "light windows" created by selective halo thinning of the canopy.

4. The 12th-Century Time Capsule in the Mud

Milltown Lane is not merely a path; it is a "Relict Forest Corridor." While the surrounding woods were cleared for timber and pasture between the 12th and 15th centuries, the lane itself has preserved a sliver of the ancient world.

The primary witness to this continuity is  Mercurialis perennis  (Dog’s Mercury). Because this plant expands its territory by only a few centimetres each year, its dominance here confirms the soil hasn't been ploughed since the Middle Ages. This single track hosts a staggering 98 species, a higher density of life than many modern fields. Adding to its historical weight is the 9-foot Salcombe Hill Standing Stone. Though this chert boulder was moved to the lane’s edge in the 1960s to protect it from encroachment, it remains a powerful archaeological relic overseen by the Sid Vale Association.

Did You Know?  The presence of Dog's Mercury acts as a biological time stamp. Its slow-motion crawl across the forest floor serves as proof that the mud beneath your boots is a millennium-old ecological survivor.

5. Dark Skies as a Wildlife Superhighway

Nature recovery in the Sid Valley does not sleep when the sun goes down. At the Norman Lockyer Observatory (NLO), habitat restoration is inextricably linked to "Dark Sky" preservation. The NLOS Estates Team is currently engaged in a systematic campaign to eradicate invasive  Rhododendron ponticum, which once smothered the native heathland.

This restoration is dictated by the ground itself; the underlying Otter Sandstone and Upper Greensand define the soil acidity required for the gorse and heather of the Coastal Lowland Heath. By restoring this habitat and maintaining unlit buffers, the NLO acts as a demonstration site for nocturnal ecology. These "Dark Corridors" are essential for Nightjars and bats, such as the Lesser Horseshoe and Common Pipistrelle. Unlike urban parks, the trees along the neighbouring Milltown Lane are managed for "structural density," providing the thick, dark canopy cover these mammals need to navigate safely away from predators.

"By integrating heathland recovery with astronomical preservation, the Observatory ensures that nature’s recovery happens at night just as much as during the day."

6. The Community Nature Lab: More Than Just a Field

Alma Field, managed by the Sidmouth Town Council, proves that community utility and wilding are not mutually exclusive. This "Community Nature Lab" is engineered as a "nectar bridge", a seasonal relay of blossoms designed to keep Sidmouth’s community hives humming from the first frost of spring to the golden decay of autumn.

The "Life on the Verge" philosophy is in full effect here. While paths are mown for access, the perimeter is left in thick, "tussocky" grass. This is not a lack of maintenance, but a deliberate effort to provide overwintering sites for insects and shelter for voles. The initiative is deeply rooted in citizen science; town residents collect data that feeds directly into the town's Environment Audit.

• Perimeter Margins: Thick "tussocky" grass for vole shelter and overwintering insects.
• Apiary Forage Zones: A continuous supply of nectar from early spring to late autumn.
• Targeted Mowing: Maintains public access while protecting ground-nesting invertebrates.
• Chemical-Free Soils: Acts as a natural sponge, slowing runoff and protecting the River Sid.

7. Conclusion: A New Map for the Sid Valley

The Salcombe Network represents a paradigm shift. It is a new map for the Sid Valley, where high-tech GPS grazing, ancient botanical indicators, and dark-sky corridors converge to form a vital "stepping stone" in the Devon Nature Recovery Plan. These sites are no longer isolated pockets of green; they are the heart of a "nature highway" that allows the wild to move through our human landscape.

As these plans evolve toward 2026 and beyond, they pose a challenge to our perception of the everyday. If a single ancient lane can harbour 98 species and a GPS collar can restore a cliff side, what hidden wildness is waiting to be rediscovered in the spaces you walk every day?

Now watch the video: