Wye and Crundale Downs is a biological and geological

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

in a number of separate areas east of

Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom * Ashford, Kent, a town ** ...

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 a Special Area of Conservation and a

Nature Conservation Review ''A Nature Conservation Review'' is a two-volume work by Derek Ratcliffe, published by Cambridge University Press in 1977. It set out to identify the most important places for nature conservation in Great Britain. It is often known by the initial ...

site, Grade I. and it is part of Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Some areas are part of a National Nature Reserve, and another area is listed on the Geological Conservation Review. The most well-known part of the SSSI, usually known as "Wye Downs," is a stretch of chalk downland and woodland located on 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 and ...

near the village of Wye. The site is a national nature reserve (NNR) owned and managed by Natural England, and comprises a chalk

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...

dissected by several coombes, which were formed by

frost weathering Frost weathering is a collective term for several mechanical weathering processes induced by stresses created by the freezing of water into ice. The term serves as an umbrella term for a variety of processes such as frost shattering, frost wedg ...

in the period following the last ice age. The most spectacular coombe is known as the Devil's Kneading Trough. The field containing Wye Crown is also within the NNR but is privately owned. Originally the Crown was carved in the chalk but is now made of white-painted stone gabions. Crundale is a valley situated a few kilometers north of Wye Downs, the main part of which is Winchcombe Down, another chalk escarpment, owned and managed by Natural England, although it is not publicly accessible except along the

North Downs Way The North Downs Way National Trail is a long-distance path in southern England, opened in 1978. It runs from Farnham to Dover, past Guildford, Dorking, Merstham, Otford and Rochester, along the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty ...

footpath.

Wildlife

The sites have a variety of habitats, including grassland, calcareous fen meadow, scrub, dry woodland on chalk and wet alder woodland. Over 21 species of orchids have been recorded at the reserve including one of the UK's rarest species, the late spider-orchid. Many uncommon species of animals are also found here, including the

Duke of Burgundy butterfly ''Hamearis lucina'', the Duke of Burgundy, the only member of the genus ''Hamearis'', is a European butterfly in the family Riodinidae. For many years, it was known as the "Duke of Burgundy fritillary", because the adult's chequered pattern is s ...

and black-veined moth.

Access

There are two public car parks at the top of Wye Downs, along Coldharbour Lane. They are free to use, but a donation is requested (to be paid by mobile phone app). Marked trails extend around Pickersdane Scrubs and Broad Downs, including the Devil's Kneading Trough. The rest of Wye Downs is open to the public, but there are few formal paths. Crown Field has is a popular view point and can be accessed via a public footpath from Coldharbour Lane.

In popular culture

Author Russell Hoban repurposed The Devil's Kneading Trough as "Mr Clevvers Roaling Place" in his 1980, post apocalyptic novel '' Riddley Walker''. Withersdane became "Widders Dump"; Wye, "How"; Pet Street , "Pig Sweet", and the Crundale Downs themselves, "Bundel Downs".

References

External links

Wye Downs NNR on Natural England website
{{SSSIs Kent Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Kent Geological Conservation Review sites Hills of Kent National nature reserves in England