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High Halstow National Nature Reserve is on the 
The reserve may be visited either from (grid ref TR220606) the carpark off Northwood Avenue, to the South-of the woodland. Or from Buckland Farm (the RSPCA Farm and carpark), to west of the woodland. The reserve has a nature trail with attractive sea views and long distance views of the
Hoo Peninsula
The Hoo Peninsula is a peninsula in Kent, England, separating the estuaries of the rivers Thames and Medway. It is dominated by a line of chalk, clay and sand hills, surrounded by an extensive area of marshland composed of alluvial silt. The n ...
north of Chatham
Chatham may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions Canada
* Chatham Islands (British Columbia)
* Chatham Sound, British Columbia
* Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi
* Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...
. It is also part of the Northwood Hill Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment throug ...
Reserve (which is 270 hectares of grazing marsh, woodland and farmland). It was declared a National Nature Reserve in 1951.
The reserve and the woodland lies on the hill to the north of the village of High Halstow
High Halstow is a village and civil parish on the Hoo Peninsula in the unitary authority of Medway in South East England. It was, until 1998, administratively part of Kent and is still ceremonially associated via the Lieutenancies Act. The par ...
.
The woodland, is situated on London Clay
The London Clay Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 56–49 million years ago) age which crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for its fossil content. The fossils from t ...
, comprises large oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
trees and hawthorn
Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to:
Plants
* '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae
* ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...
scrub, with several sycamore
Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the ancient Greek ' (''sūkomoros'') meaning "fig-mulberry".
Species of trees known as sycamore:
* ''Acer pseudoplata ...
trees. English elm
The field elm (''Ulmus minor'') cultivar 'Atinia' , commonly known as the English elm, formerly common elm and horse may, Republished 1978 by EP Publishing, Wakefield. and more lately the Atinian elm was, before the spread of Dutch elm disea ...
was formerly abundant but has largely been killed by Dutch elm disease
Dutch elm disease (DED) is caused by a member of the sac fungi (Ascomycota) affecting elm trees, and is spread by elm bark beetles. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease was accidentally introduced into Americas, America ...
. The woodland has a diverse flora with over 200 plants recorded, including trees and shrubs.
It is also noted for its diversity of butterflies. A number of rare moths have been recorded at the site. The sloe carpet ('' Aleucis distinctata''), least carpet ('' Idaea vulpinaria'') and a colony of the white-letter hairstreak
The white-letter hairstreak (''Satyrium w-album'') is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.
Appearance and behaviour
A dark little butterfly that spends the majority of its life in the tree tops, feeding on honeydew (secretion), honeydew, making ...
butterfly have been noted on the reserve. Also nine species of dragonfly
A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...
have also been recorded in the reserve.
The reserve is also home to a flock of nightingales. Also the UK's largest and most famous colonies of little egrets, they have been nesting at the site since 2000, reaching approximately 93 pairs by 2007.
The reserve may be visited either from (grid ref TR220606) the carpark off Northwood Avenue, to the South-of the woodland. Or from Buckland Farm (the RSPCA Farm and carpark), to west of the woodland. The reserve has a nature trail with attractive sea views and long distance views of the River Medway
The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald AONB, High Weald, East Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a to ...
.
The Saxon Shore Way
The Saxon Shore Way is a long-distance footpath in England. It starts at Gravesend, Kent, and traces the coast of South-East England as it was in Roman times as far as Hastings, East Sussex, in total. This means that around Romney Marsh the ...
long distance path passes through the reserve between Cooling
Cooling is removal of heat, usually resulting in a lower temperature and/or phase change. Temperature lowering achieved by any other means may also be called cooling.ASHRAE Terminology, https://www.ashrae.org/technical-resources/free-resources/as ...
and High Halstow.
Smuggling
The wooded hill has been used bysmugglers
Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.
There are various ...
in the early 18th century. One documented tale was recorded in 1728. A couple of men from Medway crossed the English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
in February 1726. The men smuggled over of tea from Ostend
Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...
, as well as a few yards of calico
Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...
and a few silk handkerchiefs on a small ship called ''The Sloweley''. Once they landed on the Kent shore, they hid the goods in the woodland on Northward Hill before later moving it to Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...
church.
References
{{reflist, 30em National nature reserves in England Nature reserves in Kent Hills of Kent