Leith Hill Surrey

Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Beauty (AONB) covers a quarter of the county of Surrey. The AONB was designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value in 1958 and enjoys levels of protection from development.

The woodland at Leith Hill is awash with primroses and bluebells every spring and should provide several species of butterflies and other insects.

There are a wide variety of birds living in the woodlands and heathland. Buzzards and red kites are often seen high in the sky. Goshawks are also thought to breed in the woods on the hill, but they are very secretive birds so spotting one is particularly difficult.

The heathland on Duke’s Warren is home to ground-nesting birds such as the nightjar and woodlark. Nightjars arrive on the heath, usually in April and normally leave in August once they have reared their young.