Blue Bell Hill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Blue Bell Hill |
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| Type | Nature reserve |
| Location | Aylesford, Kent |
| OS grid | TQ743621 |
| Area | 5 hectares (12 acres) |
| Managed by | Kent Wildlife Trust |
| Blue Bell Hill | |
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The High Speed 1 tunnel entrance, under the North Downs at Blue Bell Hill
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 160 m (520 ft) |
| Prominence | c. 30 m |
| Geography | |
| Location | North Downs, England |
| OS grid | TQ740625 |
| Topo map | OS Landranger 188 |
Blue Bell Hill is a hill made of chalk in Kent, England. It is located between the towns of Maidstone and Rochester. The hill looks over the River Medway and is part of the North Downs, a range of hills. Some villages and parts of towns found on the hill include Walderslade, Blue Bell Hill, and Kit's Coty. A long time ago, in the 1700s and 1800s, people dug up a lot of chalk from the hill.
Blue Bell Hill is also a special nature reserve that is about 5 hectares (12 acres) big. The Kent Wildlife Trust looks after it. This area is part of the Kent Downs which is a protected "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty." It's also a "Site of Special Scientific Interest," meaning it's important for its plants, animals, or geology.
There is a picnic area on the hill where people can rest. This spot is popular with walkers using the North Downs Way, a long walking path that goes along the top of the hill. An ancient path called the Pilgrims' Way runs along the bottom of the hill. A modern building for cremations is also located on top of the hill.
The A229 road, which is a big dual carriageway, goes up the hill. This road follows an old Roman road and connects the M2 and M20 motorways. The High Speed 1 train line goes under the hill through the North Downs Tunnel. Before the tunnel was built, archaeologists found an ancient house from the Stone Age on the hill's slopes. The Bluebell Hill transmitting station, which sends out TV and radio signals, is also on the hill.
Ancient Discoveries on Blue Bell Hill
Blue Bell Hill is famous for its ancient tombs, which are part of a group called the Medway Megaliths. These are very old stone structures. Two well-known ones are Kit's Coty House and the Countless Stones.
Another ancient tomb, called the Blue Bell Hill Dolmen, used to be on the hill but is now gone. It was also thought to be one of the Medway Megaliths. We don't know exactly where it was, but it was somewhere on Blue Bell Hill, north of Kit's Coty House. We only have old notes and drawings from people who saw it a long time ago.
One drawing from the Maidstone Museum shows that three tall sarsen stones, about 7 feet high, were still standing. These stones formed the walls of a burial room. Another stone, which might have been the roof of the tomb, lay nearby. People found a human skeleton inside the tomb, along with pieces of red pottery. Sadly, these items have not survived.
Smaller stones formed a circle around the larger ones. Underneath the standing stones, there was a large round pit dug into the chalk. This pit was filled with many flint stones. Local people told the old explorers that many such pits were found on the hill. They said the flints were used to build new roads. From these old records, we think that one, or maybe even more, ancient stone tombs once stood on Blue Bell Hill, in addition to the ones we can still see today.
Later, during the Roman times, a Roman temple was also built on Blue Bell Hill.
See also
In Spanish: Colina Blue Bell para niños
