May Hill is a prominent English hill between Gloucester and Ross-on-Wye. Its summit, on the western edge of Gloucestershire and its northern slopes in Herefordshire, is distinguishable by a clump of trees on its summit, which forms an official Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is reached by three public footpaths, two as parts of the Gloucestershire Way and Wysis Way. Toponymy There is an unverified story that May Hill was named after a certain Captain May who used it as a landmark when navigating the Severn estuary, but documents from a couple of hundred years ago relate that the hill was known as Yartleton Hill and was renamed because of the May Day events held there. Each May Day, morris dancers dance in the new dawn on the top of May Hill and hundreds of observers join in the celebration. A ceremony on May Day morning has been carried out for several centuries; originally it included a mock battle between youths. Geography May Hill forms part of a low range of hills separating the River Severn from the River Wye. The summit is above sea level. Among the trees there are several benches from which the views in all directions can be seen. They include views to the Welsh borders, and the lower reaches of the River Severn, bypassed for shipping by the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. Geology May Hill is formed of sandstones and siltstones known as the May Hill sandstone, consisting of the Huntley Hill and Yartleton formations. These rocks date from the Early Silurian period and are formed into a dome, cut through by several faults. The most significant of these is the Blaisdon Fault, which forms the eastern boundary of May Hill and separates it from the younger rocks of the Severn Vale. Ecology and SSSI status The summit of May Hill () is a biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1954. May Hill is listed in the Forest of Dean Local Plan Review as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS). Much of May Hill is wooded, both coniferous and deciduous, but the summit area is grassland and heath, with a small amount of heather and gorse. The immediate summit is topped with mature Corsican pines, planted in 1887 to mark Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. One very old Scots Pine is a generation older, but which regrettably suffered badly in