Our verdict
A proper wildflower reserve rather than a big walk — go in June for the meadows at their peak, and expect wet, uneven ground underfoot rather than a made path. Not suitable for pushchairs or wheelchairs. Quiet even by Braydon Forest standards.
Eight unimproved hay meadows on the edge of the Braydon Forest, three of them part of the Cloatley Manor Farm Meadows SSSI. Medieval ridge-and-furrow still ripples across some of the fields, and the reserve is a rare chance to see what a Wiltshire hay meadow looked like before modern farming flattened most of them.
Wiltshire Wildlife Trust reserve — free to explore on foot; many are dog-free to protect wildlife.