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Kent Downs
The Kent Downs is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in Kent, England. They are the eastern half of the North Downs and stretch from the London/ Surrey borders to the White Cliffs of Dover, including a small section of the London Borough of Bromley. The AONB also includes the Greensand Ridge, a prominent sandstone escarpment which lies south of the chalk escarpment of the North Downs. It was first designated as an AONB in July 1968 and covers 878 square km (326 square miles). The AONB's highest point is Toy's Hill, at 250m above sea level, and its boundaries include three main rivers: the Darent, Medway and Stour. To the west, Surrey Hills AONB adjoins the Kent Downs AONB, and includes a continuation of the North Downs chalk ridge which runs through the Kent Downs, stretching from Farnham to the English Channel and reappearing within the Parc Naturel Régional des Caps et Marais d’Opale in France. High Weald AONB lies to the south east, separated by a distance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ranscombe Farm
Ranscombe Farm, in Cuxton in North Kent, is a Plantlife Nature Reserve and working farm. Part of the site is included in the Cobham Woods Site of Special Scientific Interest, and the whole farm is within the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Ranscombe Farm Reserve works in partnership with five other sites in the local area. They are Shorne Wood Country Park, Jeskyns, Cobham Park, Ashenbank Wood and the Cobham Leisure Plots. It has been a source for flower collectors for centuries. Nationally rare species, Hairy Mallow and Meadow Clary, were both collected from Ranscombe Farm, in 1699 and 1792 respectively. Other rarities include Ground Pine and Broad-leaved Cudweed and at least six species of orchid including Fly, Lady ('Fair Maidens of Kent') and Man Orchid. Plantlife Website May 2007The Independent, 7 Sept 2006, The Wild bunch by Peter Marren, reprinte/ref> The chalk grassland hosts a rich suite of plants including Astragalus glycyphyllos, Wild Liqu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
High Weald AONB
The High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is in south-east England. Covering an area of , it takes up parts of Kent, Surrey, East Sussex, and West Sussex. It is the fourth largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in England and Wales. It has an attractive landscape with a mosaic of small farms and woodlands, historic parks, sunken lanes and ridge-top villages. The area consists of 99 parishes and a total population of approximately 120,000 persons. The main communities are Tunbridge Wells, Crowborough, Hastings and Haywards Heath. Designation and administration The High Weald AONB was designated under the National Park and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 in October 1983. Designation as an AONB gave official recognition to the unique landscape of the High Weald, strengthened the ability of government agencies and local authorities to conserve and enhance the landscape, and provided priority for financial support for these objectives from the principal gov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Detling Hill
Detling Hill is a hill forming part of the North Downs in Kent, north-east of Maidstone, and is situated in the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The typical southern escarpment of the North Downs is found here, and produces dramatic views over the Low Weald. The North Downs Way passes along the hill just south of the summit. The area around the summit has recently become the White Horse Wood, where over 20,000 trees (oak, ash, silver birch, wild cherry and crab apple) have been planted, and five hectares have been seeded to create an area of open grassland. The trig point has been made the centrepiece of a view-finder; the highest point is a few hundred metres away to the north-west. Nearby are located the remains of the medieval Thurnham Castle, as well as traces of an Iron Age settlement. The name, taken from the village of Detling that sit at the foot of the hill, derives from Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Denge Wood
Denge Wood is a wood located 8 miles southwest of Canterbury in Kent, England. The wood is owned by the Forestry Commission and the Woodland Trust. Part of the wood is also privately owned. Much of Denge Wood is classified as ancient semi-natural woodland suggesting it has been in existence since at least 1600AD and probably longer. Location and geology Denge Wood is situated on the dip slope of the North Downs and within the Kent Downs AONB. The wood is located on clay with flints over chalk bedrock at a maximum altitude of 140 metres. Two dry valleys run northward on the eastern side of the wood whilst the western side is located on a plateau. The westernmost fringes of Eggringe Wood and Down Wood form part of the eastern Stour Valley escarpment. Ecology Flora The wood consists largely of chestnut coppice and conifer plantations. There are also areas of beech (''Fagus sylvatica''), hazel (''Corylus avellana''), ash (''Fraxinus excelsior'') and oak (''Quercus robur'') wood ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chartham And Stone Street
Chartham is a village and civil parish in the Canterbury district of Kent, England. It is situated on the Ashford side of the city, and is in the North Downs area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, south west of Canterbury, England. The Great Stour Way path passes through the village. A paper mill in the village has specialised in the production of tracing paper since 1938. There are numerous arable farms and orchards in the parish. The village has an unstaffed station, Chartham, and a staffed level crossing. It has an outlying locality sharing in many of the community resources, Chartham Hatch. Nearby communities are Harbledown and Rough Common, Blean, and to the north Thanington. History Toponymy The earliest recorded form of the name is ''Certham''. The name ''Chartham'' literally means 'Village on rough ground', and the word "Chart" is also found in other villages in Kent with this meaning. The Stone Street part of the name comes from Stone Street, a road and small hamlet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Castle Hill, Folkestone
The Folkestone Downs are an area of chalk downland above Folkestone, where the eastern end of the North Downs escarpment meets the English Channel. Part of the Downs is the Folkestone to Etchinghill Escarpment Site of Special Scientific Interest, designated for its geological and biological interest. Topography Folkestone Downs stretch for 5 kilometres from East Cliff and Warren Country Park in the east to Peene Quarry in the west. The downs rise steeply above the town of Folkestone to heights in excess of 150 metres. The highest point is Dover Hill at 170 metres. The Channel Tunnel, Channel Tunnel Terminal lies at the foot of the downs and the British portal is directly below the slopes of Castle Hill. The downland is classified as Calcicolous grasslands in the British National Vegetation Classification system, CG4 ''Brachypodium pinnatum'' and Calcicolous grasslands in the British National Vegetation Classification system, CG5 ''Bromus erectus - Brachypodium pinnatum'' calcareous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burham Down
Burham Down is a nature reserve between Maidstone and Chatham in Kent. It is managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Wouldham to Detling Escarpment Site of Special Scientific Interest and Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the North Downs Woodlands Special Area of Conservation.ndsac> Location Burham Down lies west of the A229 (Maidstone to Chatham Road) adjoining the KCC picnic site ( O.S. Map 188) on Common Road, Blue Bell Hill. Bus 101 Maidstone and Chatham/Gillingham stops in Blue Bell Hill village (1/4 mile). The reserve is accessible via a network of public footpaths with parking at two main areas - the KCC Bluebell Hill Picnic Site and roadside parking near the Windmill Pub in Burham. For safety reasons, entry to the two chalk pits within the reserve is by permit only, available from Kent Wildlife Trust. Being on a hillside, some paths are steep and uneven and there are some stiles. Descriptio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Bell Hill
Blue Bell Hill is a chalk hill between Maidstone and Rochester in the English county of Kent. It overlooks the River Medway and is part of the North Downs. Settlements on the hill include the Walderslade suburb of Chatham and the villages of Blue Bell Hill and Kit's Coty. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries much of the hill was quarried for chalk. The hill is a nature reserve which is managed by Kent Wildlife Trust. It is also part of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Wouldham to Detling Escarpment Sites of Special Scientific Interest and is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. A picnic area serves as a rest point for walkers on the North Downs Way which runs along the top of the hill, whilst the prehistoric trackway of the Pilgrims' Way skirts its foot. A modern crematorium also surmounts the hill. The A229 dual carriageway follows the route of a former Roman road and climbs the hill, today linking the M2 and M20 motorways. High Spee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Westerham
Westerham is a town and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located 3.4 miles east of Oxted and 6 miles west of Sevenoaks, adjacent to the Kent border with both Greater London and Surrey. It is recorded as early as the 9th century, and was mentioned in the Domesday Book in a Norman form, ''Oistreham'' (compare Ouistreham in Normandy, ''Oistreham'' in 1086). ''Hām'' is Old English for a village or homestead, and so Westerham means a ''westerly homestead''. The River Darent flows through the town, and formerly powered three watermills. Electoral Area Westerham Hill, Berry's Green, Luxted, Single Street, Cudham, Downe, and Leaves Green combined form the Darwin (ward), Greater London's largest electoral Ward. History There is evidence that the area around Westerham has been settled for thousands of years: finds such as a Celtic fortification (c 2000 BC) and a Roman road are close by, along with the remains of a Roman encampment just past the ruin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Betsom's Hill
Betsom's Hill is a hill on the North Downs, and the highest point in the county of Kent at . Situated between Westerham and Tatsfield, at the western edge of the county, it lies close to where the A233 crosses the Downs en route to Biggin Hill. This is the highest part of the North Downs, with Botley Hill the highest point, nearby to the west. The hill lies at the western end of the Kent Downs, an area of outstanding natural beauty. History The crest of the hill was the location of a Victorian defence fort, one of twelve locations along the North Downs built to protect London in case of attack by foreign invaders crossing the channel. Known as Betsom's Hill Fort or Westerham Fort, it was part of the London Defence scheme, and was intended to act both as a mobilisation centre for volunteer troops, and as an ammunition store. The fort which consisted of ramparts, casemates and a magazine has been partially demolished and converted for use as workshops, with private houses app ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dover
Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. The town is the administrative centre of the Dover District and home of the Port of Dover. Archaeological finds have revealed that the area has always been a focus for peoples entering and leaving Great Britain, Britain. The name derives from the River Dour that flows through it. In recent times the town has undergone transformations with a high-speed rail link to London, new retail in town with St James' area opened in 2018, and a revamped promenade and beachfront. This followed in 2019, with a new 500m Pier to the west of the Harbour, and new Marina unveiled as part of a £330m investment in the area. It has also been a point of destination for many illegal migrant crossings during the English Channel migrant crossings (2018-present) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alkham Valley
thumb The Alkham Valley is in the Kent Downs (the eastern part of the North Downs), an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in South East Kent, England. The valley lies between Folkestone and Dover. The Valley is a dry valley A dry valley may develop on many kinds of permeable rock, such as limestone and chalk, or sandy terrains that do not regularly sustain surface water flow. Such valleys do not hold surface water because it sinks into the permeable bedrock. There ..., typical of many others on the chalk downs. References External linksReference to the walks/rides available in the Valley* Dover District {{Kent-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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