White Horse Wood is a recently created
English country park
A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment.
United Kingdom
History
In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a special meaning. There are around 250 recognised coun ...
near
Thurnham to the north of
Maidstone,
Kent. Located within the Kent Downs
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the park is a
Site of Nature Conservation Interest.
Overview
White Horse Wood is Kent's newest country park, created as a Millennium project to replace the ancient woodland on top of the
North Downs.
It is managed by
Kent County Council
Kent County Council is a county council that governs most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council h ...
.
The site hosts the medieval ruins of
Thurnham Castle and also traces of an
Iron Age settlement. The 26-hectare site was purchased by Kent County Council specifically to create the park.
Over 20,000 trees have been planted at the site including oak, ash, silver birch, wild cherry and crab apple. Five hectares of land has been seeded to create an area of open grassland. The Kent County Agricultural Society has a plot in the wood where it has planted 1,200 specifically Kent-grown trees, including oak, ash, hornbeam and crab apple.
In 2009,
EDF Energy replaced an overhead electricity cable running through the park with underground cabling to help restore the natural look of the area.
The
North Downs Way passes through the southern border of the park, between Detling and Broad Street.
References
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External links
KCC White Horse Wood pageKent Downs Area of Natural Beauty White Horse Wood siteGuide to walking the North Downs Way
Country parks in Kent