[3] Beacon Hill is a calcareous grassland chalk downland habitat and as such is scarce and home to some unusual and rare species.

The site includes an extensive stand of juniper Juniperus communis, privet Ligustrum vulgare, buckthorn Rhamnus catharticus, rose Rosa spp., bramble Rubus spp., wayfaring tree Viburnum lantana and hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) and whitebeam Sorbus aria, which covers circa 20 ha to the west-facing slopes.

Abundant herbs include ladys’ bedstraw Galium vernum, hedge bedstraw Galium mollugo, creeping thistle Cirsium acaule, fairy flax Linum catharticum, bird's-foot trefoil Lotus corniculatus, horseshoe vetch Hippocrepis comosa, kidney vetch Anthyllis vulneraria, chalk milkwort Polygala calcarea and felwort Gentianella amarella and several species of orchids.

It is one of a number of hillforts, which are strung out along the north-facing scarp of the Hampshire Downs, overlooking the Kennet valley to the north.

Within the ramparts of the fort are some fifteen contemporary hut sites comprising horseshoe shape scoops and circular enclosures,[6][7] some of which can be seen by the casual visitor.

The south-facing entrance is still well defined and a track would have led southwards towards an area of fields which are still apparent at the far end of the hill.

North of Beacon Hill there is a Bronze Age Bowl Barrow (scheduled ancient monument number 290)[5] sited in a fir plantation and covered with trees.

It is also where Sir Geoffrey de Havilland made his first successful test flight on 10 September 1910, commemorated by a memorial stone situated in the Seven Barrows field to the south of Beacon Hill.