Park Gate Down or Parkgate Down is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-east of Stelling Minnis in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. It is also a

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and a ...

and is managed by the

Kent Wildlife Trust Kent Wildlife Trust (KWT) is a conservation charity in the United Kingdom that was founded in 1958, previously known as the Kent Trust for Nature Conservation. It aims to "work with people to restore, save and improve our natural spaces" and t ...

Topography

Park Gate Down is located at (Ordnance Survey reference ) and covers seven hectares on the eastern slopes of a dry valley on the dip slope of the

North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills a ...

. The reserve is predominantly chalk grassland although the eastern fringes consist of a mixture of woodland and scrub which is partially situated on a layer of clay with flints that caps the chalk. In the south eastern corner of the reserve is a disused chalk pit and the western and northern area of the reserve borders on Elham Park Wood. To the south of the reserve is an area of land managed under the

Countryside Stewardship Scheme The Countryside Stewardship Scheme was originally an agri-environment scheme run by the United Kingdom Government set up in 1991. In its original form it expired in 2014. It was relaunched for the Rural Development Programme England (RDPE) 2014-2020 ...

which is being reverted from arable land to chalk downland.

Ecology

Flora

The dominant chalk grassland community at Park Gate Down is CG4 ''Brachypodium pinnatum''. However, fine, less vigorous grasses are also common such as

sheep's fescue ''Festuca ovina'', sheep's fescue or sheep fescue, is a species of grass. It is sometimes confused with hard fescue (''Festuca trachyphylla''). General description It is a perennial plant sometimes found in acidic ground, and in mountain pastur ...

(''Festuca ovina''). The reserve supports a rich flora including many

calcicole A calcicole, calciphyte or calciphile is a plant that thrives in lime rich soil. The word is derived from the Latin 'to dwell on chalk'. Under acidic conditions, aluminium becomes more soluble and phosphate less. As a consequence, calcicoles grown ...

s such as common milkwort (''Polygala vulgaris''),

small scabious ''Scabiosa columbaria'', called the small scabious or dwarf pincushion flower, is a widespread species of flowering plant in the genus '' Scabiosa'', native to Europe, Africa, and western Asia, from Sweden to Angola. In the garden it is a short-l ...

(''Scabiosa columbaria'') and

marjoram Marjoram (; ''Origanum majorana'') is a cold-sensitive perennial herb or undershrub with sweet pine and citrus flavours. In some Middle Eastern countries, marjoram is synonymous with oregano, and there the names sweet marjoram and knotted marj ...

(''Origanum vulgare''). Notable species include slender bedstraw (''Galium pumilum''), adder's tongue (''Ophioglossum''),

horseshoe Vetch ''Hippocrepis comosa'', the horseshoe vetch, is a species of perennial flowering plant belonging to the genus ''Hippocrepis'' in the family Fabaceae. Description The overall appearance depends on its habitat: sometimes it forms upright clumps ...

(''Hippocrepis comosa'') and columbine (''Aquilegia vulgaris''). Fourteen species of orchid are known to grow at the reserve including some of the UK's rarest species. Park Gate Down is one of only three sites in the UK for the nationally rare monkey orchid (''Ochis simia''). The orchid was introduced to the site during the twentieth century from another Kentish site and has since flourished with over 100 plants. Park Gate Down also supports the nationally rare

late spider orchid ''Ophrys holosericea'', the late spider orchid, is a species of flowering plant in the family Orchidaceae, native to western and central Europe and the Mediterranean region. There has been considerable confusion about the identity of this species ...

(''Ophrys fuciflora'') that in the UK is limited to the North Downs in East Kent as well as the nationally scarce

lady orchid ''Orchis purpurea'', the lady orchid, is a herbaceous plant belonging to the genus ''Orchis'' of the family Orchidaceae. Description ''Orchis purpurea'' reaches on average of height. The leaves are broad and oblong-lanceolate, forming a ros ...

(''Orchis purpurea'') and

musk orchid ''Herminium monorchis'', the musk orchid, is a commonly occurring species of orchid. It is widespread across much of Europe and northern Asia from France to Japan, including China, Siberia, Mongolia, Ukraine, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, etc. It ...

(''Herminium monorchis'') of which 72 were counted in 2007.

Fauna

The chalk downland provides an important habitat for insects. Many butterflies thrive at the reserve including the

chalkhill blue The chalkhill blue (''Lysandra coridon'') is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is a small butterfly that can be found throughout the Palearctic realm, where it occurs primarily in grasslands rich in chalk. Males have a pale blue colour, wh ...

(''Polyommatus coridon''), brown argus (''Aricia agestis'') and marbled white (''Melanargia galathea''). The woodland and scrub within and surrounding the reserve attract many feeding and breeding birds including the

nightingale The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (''Luscinia megarhynchos''), is a small passerine bird best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is no ...

(''Luscinia megarhynchos''),

European green woodpecker The European green woodpecker (''Picus viridis'') is a large green woodpecker with a bright red crown and a black moustache. Males have a red centre to the moustache stripe which is absent in females. It is resident across much of Europe and the ...

(''Picus viridis''), great spotted woodpecker (''Dendrocopos major''),

yellowhammer The yellowhammer (''Emberiza citrinella'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family that is native to Eurasia and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia. Most European birds remain in the breeding range year-round, but the eastern ...

(''Emberiza citrinella''),

linnet The common linnet (''Linaria cannabina'') is a small passerine bird of the finch family, Fringillidae. It derives its common name and the scientific name, ''Linaria'', from its fondness for hemp seeds and flax seeds—flax being the English n ...

(''Carduelis cannabina''), whitethroat (''Sylvia communis''),

garden warbler The garden warbler (''Sylvia borin'') is a common and widespread small bird that breeds in most of Europe and in the Palearctic to western Siberia. It is a plain, long-winged and long-tailed typical warbler with brown upperparts and dull whit ...

(''Sylvia borin''),

hawfinch The hawfinch (''Coccothraustes coccothraustes'') is a passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Coccothraustes''. Its closest living relatives are the Chinese grosbeak (''Eophona migratoria'') ...

(''Coccothraustes coccothraustes''),

sparrowhawk Sparrowhawk (sometimes sparrow hawk) may refer to several species of small hawk in the genus ''Accipiter''. "Sparrow-hawk" or sparhawk originally referred to ''Accipiter nisus'', now called "Eurasian" or "northern" sparrowhawk to distinguish it f ...

(''Accipiter nisus'') and

hobby A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing oth ...

(''Falco subbuteo'').

Management and access

The reserve is divided into three compartments by wire fences. The chalk grassland is maintained through annual grazing by Highland cattle and Konik ponies from September to December and scrub cutting in winter. This prevents tall and vigorous species from dominating, thus creating the species rich grassland characteristic of chalk downland. The woodland is regularly coppiced to provide a range of habitats for insects and birds. There is road side parking opposite the entrance on the south of the reserve. Although access is unrestricted, visitors must keep to the paths to avoid damage.

References

{{ Kent Wildlife Trust Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Kent Kent Wildlife Trust Special Areas of Conservation in England