Hawthorn trees are very characteristic of a downland landscape and very important to wildlife.

In the spring time they are covered by creamy flowers full of pollen and in the Autumn full of ruby-red berries.

These are eaten both by local birds and those that have migrated here to escape cold winters elsewhere.

To the left is the meadow area of the Downs.

In the summer this is knee-deep in grasses full of flowers and butterflies.

The air is full of singing birds early in the morning and butterflies such as the common blue, marbled white, and meadow brown in the late afternoon.

Overall there are 22 different species here so it is a good place to go spotting.

Ladies Mile is not quite a mile long.

In late July the grass is cut to keep the wildlife interest.

We cross Ladies Mile, possibly so called because 'ladies of the night' touted for business along here in Victorian times...

The trees along Ladies Mile are mostly Lime trees - planted after the English elm trees were destroyed by Dutch elm disease.

The huge elm trees had been very popular with nesting birds before the trees had to be destroyed because of Dutch Elm disease.

Head over to the two large ash trees - these are home to green woodpeckers. Look for the black hole on the bark which is the entrance to their nest.

Their favourite food are ants and they are licked up by their 15cm-long "tongue" There are two families of green woodpeckers living in this part of the Downs and they are very tame and quite often walk up to you if you're sitting quietly.

They have an olive-green body, yellow rump and a red crest.

Head towards the left hand end of the row of trees to you right, heading towards the ranger's pound.

You'll notice ridges in the ground - these mark the walls of the Iron-Age field system where perhaps they walled off areas to grow crops and keep the grazing animals out.

They show up particularly when there is a light flurry of snow.

In days gone by stray or illegal animals would be rounded up and taken to the ranger's pound until their owner claimed them.

At the height of grazing there were around 2,000 animals grazing on the Downs.

To the left of the pound is a tall tower which provides ventilation for the Severn Beach railway.

Lookout for the monkey tree to the right of the path.

Behind the tower is the top of Pembroke Road which used to be called Gallows Acres Lane which was the site of a gibbet.

Extensive records from the 1500s to the 1700s show people being hung for robbery and murder on the Downs.

You'll also notice ditches which are the remains of old lead workings.

There was a lot of mining on the Downs in the past looking for lead, calamine, iron and limestone.

Walk along the woodland edge (in the direction of the gorge). Head down the gravelled path to Zoo Banks. When this meets the road, cross over at the traffic lights.