Fire Beacon Hill



Fire Beacon Hill is a significant natural area in the Sid Valley, known for its lowland heath habitat. This habitat is considered rarer than rainforest in Britain, with 85% of it having been lost since 1800. It is owned by Sidmouth Town Council.


Here's a breakdown of information about Fire Beacon Hill:

Location and Landscape

  • Fire Beacon Hill is situated approximately two miles north of Sidmouth.
  • Access is via Core Hill Road, a single-track, no-through road off the A3052 west of Sidford.
  • It offers breathtaking views across Sidmouth and the Jurassic Coast on a clear day.
  • The site is criss-crossed with bridleways, footpaths, fire-breaks, and the East Devon Way, making it easy to explore on foot, though paths can be uneven and muddy.
  • It has small layby parking or visitors can park at White Cross car park.

Habitat and History

  • Historically, the entire East Hill escarpment, including Fire Beacon Hill, was covered in lowland heath vegetation.
  • The hill was once a site for one of the beacons used to warn Elizabethan London of the approaching Spanish Armada.
  • Lowland heath was formed around 2000 BC through the clearance of woodland and the introduction of livestock, which kept vegetation low and allowed a distinctive range of plants to establish.
  • The sandy soils of heathland are typically acidic and nutrient-poor, supporting specialist species adapted to these conditions.
  • The vegetation was traditionally cut for livestock feed and fuel.

Biodiversity Fire Beacon Hill is home to a wide variety of wildlife and flora, including:

  • Plants: Dominant plants include low-growing shrubs like heather (ling), bell heather, cross-leaved heath, and gorse, which provide spectacular colour. Bilberry (whortleberry) can be found in the ground flora, especially where conifers have been cleared.
  • Birds: It is a breeding ground for Yellowhammers and the nationally scarce Dartford warbler. Other resident birds include stonechats, and visitors like nocturnal nightjars arrive in late spring to breed. Merlins and crossbills are also seen on Fire Beacon Hill.
  • Insects: Grayling butterflies breed on the reserve. Heathlands support a distinctive vegetation, though few rare plant species, but they are important for reptiles.
  • Reptiles: Adders and common lizards can be seen basking on the bare sandy earth, particularly in late spring after awakening from hibernation.
  • Mammals: Fire Beacon Hill is a great place for badger watching, with a vast sett in the sandy soil.

Management and Conservation

  • The site is a Local Nature Reserve (LNR).
  • The Countryside Team works in partnership with the RSPB Aylesbeare team to maintain the heathland.
  • Grazing by small herds of cattle (with electronic collars) and Exmoor ponies has been reintroduced to counteract bracken and scrub encroachment. This practice is essential for supporting rare species and maintaining the heathland.
  • There's an ongoing Fire Beacon Hill Grazing Project with the aim to create linked areas of lowland heath and wood pasture to enhance biodiversity. A baseline plant survey was completed in 2022, with plans to repeat it in 2024 to monitor the impact of grazing.
  • Heathlands are plagioclimax communities, meaning their natural succession to woodland is interrupted by human activities such as grazing, cutting, or burning. On lowland heaths, problems often arise from insufficient management.
  • While burning is sometimes used for management, it's not recommended in areas with Juniper or rich floras of mosses, liverworts, and lichens, or on very steep slopes.
  • The site is open to the public free of charge year-round. Dogs are welcome but must be kept under close control.