Ankerdine Hill

An unexpected but thriving colony of Dingy Skipper at the foot of a modest Worcestershire hill

February 2026

 Orchids in bloom right beside the busy A44

 To the west of Worcester, at the junction of the A44 and B4197 roads at Knightwick, is a roadside nature reserve, marked with a red marker post by the county council. The reserve includes Ankerdine Hill which, although only 149m above sea level at its summit, has surprisingly steep slopes - the picnic area on the hill provides lovely views of the surrounding countryside.

A landslip at the bottom of the hill, which is rich botanically due to its calcareous make up, is home to a small but thriving colony of Dingy Skippers. I've been familiar with the site for over 28 years, well before the butterfly was there. I don't believe it to be a natural colonisation as there are no other sites nearby but, hey ho, they're doing ok.

For the last ten years or so our volunteers, in partnership with the county council, have had an annual work day to keep the site clear of rampant vegetation and also to increase its size slightly.

The resulting flora includes many orchids (green-winged, spotted, pyramidal, bee and southern marsh, plus their hybrids), lots of bird's-foot trefoil (Dingy Skipper's usual food plant) and also dyer's greenweed. Ant hills are another key feature, curiously including wood ants, as are glow worms.

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 Our volunteers at work - bee orchids were already showing at our work party last November (marked to avoid accidental strimming!)