Our verdict
Come in late April for the fritillaries and you'll see why it's a National Nature Reserve; come any other month and it's a quiet flat meadow walk with decent birdlife and not much else going on. Keep dogs on a short lead here — it's genuinely enforced, not just a suggestion — and don't expect anywhere to park right at the gate.
A 44-hectare traditional hay meadow on the edge of Cricklade, unimproved for centuries and home to around 80% of Britain's snake's-head fritillaries. A 20-minute walk from town on public footpaths, with no car park — just a roadside layby near the A419.
National Nature Reserve — one of the country's finest wildlife sites. Open, but stick to marked trails.