Beacon Hill, Warnford, Hampshire

Beacon Hill, Warnford, Hampshire is a chalk hill in the South Downs on the boundary of the parishes of Warnford and Exton. Part of the hill is a national nature reserve and 44.8 hectares (111 acres) biological SSSI, first notified in 1979.

The hill lies to the west of the village of Warnford, to the west of the Meon Valley and opposite Old Winchester Hill. It gives a commanding view over the Hampshire Basin to the south, from the lower Itchen Valley and New Forest, the Solent and Isle of Wight and round to Portsdown Hill (over which the top of Portsmouth's Spinnaker Tower can be seen). On the western side the view takes in the Meon Valley including Meonstoke and West Meon, and the South Downs including Old Winchester Hill and Butser Hill. The spire of Privett church can be seen to the north.

The hill is crossed by two long distance footpaths, the South Downs Way and the Monarch's Way. Due to the fragile nature of the thin chalk soils there has been much controversy over routing. At present there are temporary routes to the north of the main summit via Warnford, and to the south via Exton.

The site consists of the steep slopes of a chalk spur on the western side of the Meon valley, covered by chalk grassland, beech / ash / hazel woodland and chalk scrub. There are two separate parts, which are not joined to each other. The main section centred on grid reference SU603227 consists of two divisions: 16.2 hectares (40 acres) of Beaconhill Beeches (mixed broadleaved and yew woodland), and 23.54 hectares (58.2 acres) of chalk grassland. The smaller, separate northern section (centred on grid reference SU604234) is a strip of grassland on a north-facing slope of the northern of the hill's two eastern spurs.

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