Our verdict
Smaller and much quieter than North Meadow, with the same fritillaries in April but a fraction of the visitors. The trade-off is a fiddly approach down a minor road past Manor Farm and no real path surface — wellies only, not pushchairs or wheelchairs.
A three-hectare Thames-floodplain meadow a mile out of Cricklade, bought by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust in 1970 to protect its snake's-head fritillaries — unusually, mostly the cream-coloured form rather than the more common purple. Grazed by cattle in autumn, cut for hay in July.
Wiltshire Wildlife Trust reserve — free to explore on foot; many are dog-free to protect wildlife.