Sands Bank Local Nature Reserve

Sands Bank is a 27 acre site, leased to Buckinghamshire Council from West Wycombe Estate. It is managed for the Council by the Chiltern Rangers Community Interest Company.

This nature reserve, comprising good quality chalk grassland, scrub and woodland, is a haven for wildlife. It also links with other nearby open spaces and the wider countryside to form an important wildlife corridor into the western side of High Wycombe.

The woodland at the top of the reserve contains a mix of tree species, and there are open glades, which increase the biodiversity. At the end of April or early May, a carpet of bluebells can be seen at the eastern end of the wood.

The chalk grassland below the woodland is rich in flower species. The list of plants recorded here includes orchids and the Chiltern Gentian. Some 30 species of butterfly have been recorded on the reserve.

From the north side of the wood, it is possible to look over the valley towards West Wycombe, with views of West Wycombe Hill and Church and the river Wye flowing through West Wycombe Park and Park Farm. The chalk grassland on the south side of the reserve overlooks the busy Sands Industrial Estate, but beyond that, there are views from right to left of Hellbottom Wood, Sunters Wood, Round Wood and Castlefield and Rowliffe Woods.

Although there are footpaths leading to the reserve from Towerage, Sands, and Hellbottom and Sunters Woods, it is not an easy reserve to visit by car, because of parking restrictions both within the industrial estate and nearby residential roads due to the presence of Adams Park football ground. The frequent 32 bus service stops in Sands by the Hour Glass and the less frequent 48 bus service stops in Lane End Road.


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