Horseshoe Vetch Beachy Head Fileds

Horseshoe Vetch (Hippocrepis comosa)

Horseshoe Vetch is a low-growing, sun-loving wildflower found on chalk and limestone grasslands across Britain and Europe. It forms neat mats of fine, fern-like foliage and produces clusters of small, bright yellow flowers from late spring into early summer. Each seed pod develops into a distinctive curved shape—like tiny horseshoes—giving the plant its name.

This plant is ecologically significant: it is the primary caterpillar food plant of the Chalkhill Blue and Adonis Blue butterflies, making it a key species for wildlife conservation and grassland biodiversity. This butterfly features on my print Butterfly Art Royal Pavilion Crystal Blue. Horseshoe Vetch thrives in thin, well-drained soils with full sun and prefers habitats that are grazed or managed to stay open and low.

Cow Gap, Below Beachy Head

Cow Gap sits just east of Beachy Head, where the chalk cliffs begin to fold low and the land meets the sea in a quieter, more sheltered way. Here the coastline opens into sloping chalk grass meadows that run down towards a narrow rocky shore. The ground is thin and sun-bleached, shaped by wind, salt spray, and centuries of grazing. Because of these conditions, the turf stays short, open, and full of specialised plants adapted to chalk soils.

You find Horseshoe Vetch, Thrift, Rock Samphire, Sea Campion, and other low-growing species that cling to the steep slopes, each holding its place against weather and erosion. These meadows are also home to blue butterflies and day-flying moths, whose lifecycles depend on the plants rooted here. Above, kittiwakes and fulmars circle the cliff faces, riding the updrafts.