Grazing sheep settling in well at Mill Hill nature reserve in South Downs
October 8, 2025
More than 50 ewes have taken up residence for the winter months at a nature reserve to help wildlife flourish.
Herdwick sheep are now happily grazing Mill Hill Local Nature Reserve, near Shoreham, a 28-acre site which is owned by Adur and Worthing Council and managed in partnership with the South Downs National Park Authority.
The sheep are needed to improve the condition of the chalk grassland, known as “Europe’s rainforest in miniature” because of the wealth of wildflowers, butterflies and other insects in a small patch of grass.
Without grazing, the chalk grassland deteriorates and overgrows with scrub and many indigenous flowers and animals will be lost.
Phillippa Morrison-Price, Lead Ranger for the Eastern Downs, said: “Mill Hill is an incredibly important site for wildlife in particular butterflies that are associated with chalk grassland as well as reptiles, such as adders. Numbers of specialist chalk species, such as Chalkhill Blue and Adonis Blue butterflies, have reduced significantly over the past five years and this is largely be due to the lack of grazing, which is imperative for keeping chalk grassland in good condition.”
Mill Hill has a 500-metre easy access trail, which enables those less mobile to enjoy this site.
Responsible dog walking is encouraged at the site as part of the National Park’s Take the Lead campaign. This includes keeping dogs on leads around livestock to avoid sheep worrying and making sure gates are shut properly. Find out more about Take the Lead here.
In addition to the grazing, the Friends of Old Shoreham and members of Butterfly Conservation joined forces this month to tackle an encroaching privet on the steep bank of the reserve. Sixteen volunteers joined Lead Ranger Phillippa Morrison-Price to help with tree popping and mattocking bramble, privet and cotoneaster, which is starting to invade the important chalk grassland.
Friends of Old Shoreham also joined the graziers, Charlotte and Tom on Mill Hill, to learn about lookering. These local volunteers will be going up to the hill regularly to check on the wellbeing of the sheep – and communicating with the graziers if there is an issue.
