Blow's Down

Blow's Down (or Blow's Downs) is a 33.1-hectare (82-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Dunstable in Bedfordshire. It was notified in 1989 under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the local planning authority is Central Bedfordshire Council. The site forms around half of the 62.3-hectare (154-acre) Blow's Downs nature reserve, which is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. It has a maximum elevation of 212 m. The site has varied habitats with a large area of unimproved grassland, a scarce survival of this important habitat. Cattle help to maintain the pasture. Features include a disused quarry and medieval cultivation terraces. A rare plant, Bunium bulbocastanum, and beetle Odontaeus armiger can be found at the site. Dunstable is built around Blow's Down, from the south around clockwise to the east. The A5 road follows a valley between the Blow's Down and the neighbouring Dunstable Downs, which together make up part of the Chiltern Hills range. There is access from Jeans Way in the north, from Jardine Way and Half Moon Lane in the west, and from Skimpot Road in the east.