List of local nature reserves in Kent facts for kids

South Bank of the Swale

Kent is a county in the south-eastern corner of England. It is bounded to the north by Greater London and the Thames Estuary, to the west by Sussex and Surrey, and to the south and east by the English channel and the North Sea. The county town is Maidstone. It is governed by Kent County Council, with twelve district councils, Ashford, Canterbury, Dartford, Dover, Folkestone and Hythe, Gravesham, Maidstone, Thanet, Tonbridge and Malling and Tunbridge Wells. Medway is a separate unitary authority. The chalk hills of the North Downs run from east to west through the county, with the wooded Weald to the south. The coastline is alternately flat and cliff-lined.

Local nature reserves are designated by local authorities under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. The local authority must have legal control over the site, by owning or leasing it or having an agreement with the owner. Local nature reserves are sites which have a special local interest either biologically or geologically. Local authorities have a duty to care for them and can apply local bye-laws to manage and protect them.

As of May 2018, there are 42 local nature reserves in the county. Thirteen are Sites of Special Scientific Interest, five are Ramsar internationally important wetland sites, three are Nature Conservation Review sites, five are Special Protection Areas under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds, two are Special Areas of Conservation, one is a Geological Conservation Review site, one includes a scheduled monument, one is a national nature reserve, five are managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust and one is owned by Plantlife.

Key

Other classifications

• KWT = Kent Wildlife Trust
• GCR = Geological Conservation Review
• NCR = Nature Conservation Review site
• NNR = National nature reserve
• Plant = Plantlife, a wild plant conservation charity
• Ramsar = Ramsar site, an internationally important wetland site
• SAC = Special Area of Conservation
• SM = Scheduled monument
• SPA = Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds
• SSSI = Site of Special Scientific Interest

Sites

Site	Photograph	Area	Location	Borough	Other classifications	Map	Details	Description
Ambley Wood		7005140000000000000♠14.0 hectares (35 acres)	Gillingham 51.361°N 0.573°E / 51.361; 0.573 (Ambley Wood)	Medway		Map	Details	The site has ancient woodland with typical woodland flora.
Ashford Community Woodland		7005138000000000000♠13.8 hectares (34 acres)	Ashford 51.136°N 0.834°E / 51.136; 0.834 (Ashford Community Woodland)	Ashford		Map	Details	Most of this broadleaf wood was planted in 1985, and there is also rough grassland and scrub. Birds include the endangered skylark and yellowhammer and there butterflies such as marbled whites and small skippers.
Ashford Green Corridors		7005474000000000000♠47.4 hectares (117 acres)	Ashford 51.141°N 0.875°E / 51.141; 0.875 (Ashford Green Corridors)	Ashford		Map	Details	This site has a lake, ponds, pollarded trees, a meadow and parkland. Birds on Singleton Lake include kingfishers.
Barnett's Wood		7005124000000000000♠12.4 hectares (31 acres)	Tunbridge Wells 51.158°N 0.278°E / 51.158; 0.278 (Barnett's Wood)	Tunbridge Wells		Map	Details	This site has ancient, semi-natural woodland and unimproved grassland. The meadows are grazed by cattle, and wildflowers include bird's-foot trefoil, common spotted orchid, cuckooflower, sneezewort, oxeye daisy and common knapweed.
Baty's Marsh		7005104000000000000♠10.4 hectares (26 acres)	Rochester 51.377°N 0.484°E / 51.377; 0.484 (Baty's Marsh)	Medway		Map	Details	This is one of the few remaining salt marshes in the Medway area, and it has a rich fauna, especially wading birds.
Berengrave Chalk Pit		7004950000000000000♠9.5 hectares (23 acres)	Rainham 51.373°N 0.613°E / 51.373; 0.613 (Berengrave Chalk Pit)	Medway		Map	Details	There is a small lake in a disused chalk pit, and other habitats are scrub, woodland and reedbeds, which flood an area of willow carr.
Bishopstone Cliffs		7005674000000000000♠67.4 hectares (167 acres)	Herne Bay 51.376°N 1.177°E / 51.376; 1.177 (Bishopstone Cliffs)	Canterbury	Ramsar, SPA, SSSI	Map	Details	This is a grassland site on the top of cliffs, and it has some rare insect species. Sand martins nest in holes in the cliffs, and other birds include skylarks, meadow pipits and corn buntings.
Boxley Warren		7005830000000000000♠83.0 hectares (205 acres)	Maidstone 51.315°N 0.527°E / 51.315; 0.527 (Boxley Warren)	Maidstone	SAC, SM, SSSI	Map	Details	This site is yew woodland with a diverse fauna and flora. It includes the White Horse Stone, a Neolithic standing stone which is a scheduled monument.
Bus Company Island		7004110000000000000♠1.1 hectares (2.7 acres)	Canterbury 51.283°N 1.080°E / 51.283; 1.080 (Bus Company Island)	Canterbury		Map	Details	This is important as a reptile monitoring site. It was formerly a watermill, and then a bus park. It is now a meadow and orchard.
Crane Valley		7003800000000000000♠0.8 hectares (2.0 acres)	Cranbrook 51.093°N 0.532°E / 51.093; 0.532 (Crane Valley)	Tunbridge Wells		Map	Details	Much of this site is wet woodland with lush vegetation, including the locally rare large bitter-cress. There is semi-natural woodland in drier areas, with oak, hornbeam and field maple.
Curtis Wood		7004530000000000000♠5.3 hectares (13 acres)	Herne Bay 51.345°N 1.127°E / 51.345; 1.127 (Curtis Wood)	Canterbury		Map	Details	This wood has a diverse ground flora including early purple and greater butterfly orchids. There is also a semi-improved meadow.
Darland Banks		7005291000000000000♠29.1 hectares (72 acres)	Gillingham 51.362°N 0.565°E / 51.362; 0.565 (Darland Banks)	Medway	KWT	Map	Details	This area of grassland, scrub and woodland has diverse fauna and flora, including the largest population of man orchids in Britain. There are birds such as willow warbler, yellowhammer, linnet and lesser whitethroat.
Ditton Quarry		7004560000000000000♠5.6 hectares (14 acres)	Aylesford 51.291°N 0.458°E / 51.291; 0.458 (Ditton Quarry)	Tonbridge and Malling		Map	Details	This former quarry has grassland and scrub, with diverse fauna including butterflies, foxes, rabbits, frogs, toads and newts. The meadow is rich in wild flowers.
Dryhill		7004940000000000000♠9.4 hectares (23 acres)	Sevenoaks 51.276°N 0.149°E / 51.276; 0.149 (Dryhill)	Sevenoaks	GCR, SSSI	Map	Details	This former quarry exposes rocks dating to the Aptian stage in the early Cretaceous, around 120 million years ago. It is famous for its rich and diverse brachiopod and bivalve fossils, which are important for palaeoecological research.
Farningham Wood		7005693000000000000♠69.3 hectares (171 acres)	Dartford 51.391°N 0.212°E / 51.391; 0.212 (Farningham Wood)	Sevenoaks	SSSI	Map	Details	This wood has a variety of soil conditions, resulting in a diverse ground flora and invertebrates, some of which are typical of ancient woodland. Ponds in the middle support several species of amphibian, and the nationally rare hoverfly volucella inanis has been recorded on the site.
Foal Hurst Wood		7005129000000000000♠12.9 hectares (32 acres)	Paddock Wood 51.172°N 0.373°E / 51.172; 0.373 (Foal Hurst Wood)	Tunbridge Wells		Map	Details	This site is mainly coppiced woodland and there is grassland at the northern end. Birds include green and great spotted woodpeckers, and there are flora such as orchids.
Folkestone Warren		7005836000000000000♠83.6 hectares (207 acres)	Folkestone 51.091°N 1.203°E / 51.091; 1.203 (Folkestone Warren)	Folkestone and Hythe	SSSI	Map	Details	These chalk cliffs have several nationally rare plants and they provide a location for cliff nesting and wintering birds. The SSSI also contains two internationally important reference sites for study of the Cretaceous period.
Foxburrow Wood		7004610000000000000♠6.1 hectares (15 acres)	Rainham 51.350°N 0.599°E / 51.350; 0.599 (Foxburrow Wood)	Medway		Map	Details	This is a remnant of a much larger historic wood, and it has flora which are indicators of ancient woodland such as herb paris and bluebells.
Foxes Cross Bottom		7004400000000000000♠4.0 hectares (9.9 acres)	Whitstable 51.332°N 1.003°E / 51.332; 1.003 (Foxes Cross Bottom)	Canterbury		Map	Details	This site has diverse habitats of grassland, scrub, broadleaved woodland, ponds, ditches and hedges. The meadows are grazed by ponies and highland cattle.
Haysden Country Park		7005640000000000000♠64 hectares (160 acres)	Tonbridge 51.192°N 0.247°E / 51.192; 0.247 (Haysden Country Park)	Tonbridge and Malling		Not available	Details	The River Medway goes through this site and there are two lakes. Other habitats are marshes, woods and grassland, and flora include Dyer's Greenweed and narrow leaved water dropwort.
High Meadow		7005213000000000000♠21.3 hectares (53 acres)	Dover 51.129°N 1.289°E / 51.129; 1.289 (High Meadow)	Dover		Map	Details	This hilltop meadow has views in all directions. It is grazed by konik horses, which help to preserve the variety of plants and animals. Flora include fragrant, common spotted and pyramidal orchids.
Hilbert Woods		7005143000000000000♠14.3 hectares (35 acres)	Tunbridge Wells 51.143°N 0.276°E / 51.143; 0.276 (Hilbert Woods)	Tunbridge Wells		Map	Details	This gently sloping wood has oak, hazel and beech on the dry upper slopes, and alder on lower and wetter areas running down to a stream. The insect fauna is rich and diverse, including rare species.
Hothfield Common		7005566000000000000♠56.6 hectares (140 acres)	Ashford 51.178°N 0.814°E / 51.178; 0.814 (Hothfield Common)	Ashford	KWT, SSSI	Map	Details	This site has areas of heath and the best valley bog in the county, both habitats which are uncommon in Kent. Over a thousand insect species have been recorded, several of which are nationally rare, such as the bee Lasioglossum semilucens and the cranefly Tipula holoptera.
Jumping Downs		7004570000000000000♠5.7 hectares (14 acres)	Canterbury 51.194°N 1.136°E / 51.194; 1.136 (Jumping Downs)	Canterbury		Map	Details	Adders, viviparous lizards and slow worms have been recorded on this chalk downland site. Mammals include wood mice and pygmy shrews.
Larkey Valley Wood		7005444000000000000♠44.4 hectares (110 acres)	Canterbury 51.257°N 1.044°E / 51.257; 1.044 (Larkey Valley Wood)	Canterbury	SSSI	Map	Details	This wood has a diverse ground flora with some uncommon plants and many breeding birds, such as tree pipits, nuthatches and hawfinches. Flora include the scarce lady orchid.
Levan Strice		7004280000000000000♠2.8 hectares (6.9 acres)	Gillingham 51.344°N 0.586°E / 51.344; 0.586 (Levan Strice)	Medway		Map	Details	This site is a fragment of ancient woodland and associated flora surrounded by houses.
No Man's Orchard		7004410000000000000♠4.1 hectares (10 acres)	Canterbury 51.275°N 1.021°E / 51.275; 1.021 (No Mans Orchard)	Canterbury		Map	Details	"No man's land" means an area which straddles two areas of ownership, in this case the boundary between the parishes of Chartham and Harbledown. It is one of the few remaining traditional orchards in the Stour Valley.
Oare Marshes		7005714000000000000♠71.4 hectares (176 acres)	Faversham 51.344°N 0.886°E / 51.344; 0.886 (Oare Marshes)	Swale	KWT, NCR, NNR, Ramsar, SPA SSSI	Map	Details	This site has salt marshes, fresh water dykes and reed beds. It is of international importance for migratory, overwintering and breeding wetland birds, such as avocets, marsh harriers and shovelers.
Poulton Wood		7005102000000000000♠10.2 hectares (25 acres)	Ashford 51.090°N 0.937°E / 51.090; 0.937 (Poulton Wood, Aldington)	Ashford		Map	Details	This is a woodland of coppiced oak, hornbeam and ash, and spring flowers include bluebells. It is managed as a conservation project providing training in subjects such as coppice management and woodcrafts.
Prince's Beachlands		7004600000000000000♠6.0 hectares (15 acres)	Ramsgate 51.299°N 1.374°E / 51.299; 1.374 (Prince's Beachlands)	Dover	KWT, NCR, Ramsar, SAC, SPA, SSSI	Map	Details	This site has diverse habitats and it is internationally important for its seabirds. It is also notable for its butterflies, fungi and reptiles.
Queendown Warren		7005222000000000000♠22.2 hectares (55 acres)	Rainham 51.336°N 0.623°E / 51.336; 0.623 (Queendown Warren)	Swale	KWT, NCR, Plantlife, SAC, SSSI	Map	Details	This site has dry grassland and woodland on a south facing slope. It has two rare plants, early spider orchid and meadow clary, and a rich variety of insects.
Rede Common		11.2 hectares	Strood 51°23.7157N 0°28.3164E TQ71946920	Strood			Details	Known locally as Sandy Banks due to the underlying geology of sandstone, Rede Common was formerly farmland used for grazing, arable and market gardening and is now an area of open acid grasslands surrounded by scrub and trees.
Rectory Meadow		7004220000000000000♠2.2 hectares (5.4 acres)	Longfield 51.393°N 0.303°E / 51.393; 0.303 (Rectory Meadow)	Dartford		Map	Details	This site has chalk grassland and woodland. 193 species of flora have been recorded, including man orchids and cornflowers.
River Len		7004170000000000000♠1.7 hectares (4.2 acres)	Maidstone 51.271°N 0.533°E / 51.271; 0.533 (River Len)	Maidstone		Map	Details	This small site in an urban area next the River Len has some uncommon species such as water voles and soldier beetles.
Romney Warren		7005109000000000000♠10.9 hectares (27 acres)	New Romney 50.997°N 0.960°E / 50.997; 0.960 (Romney Warren)	Folkestone and Hythe	KWT, Ramsar, SSSI	Map	Details	This site is formed from ancient sand dunes which have been left behind as the sea has retreated over the last two thousand years, and it has plants such as sea spurrey. There are also ponds left by gravel extraction, some permanent and others which dry out in the summer.
Seasalter Levels		7005714000000000000♠71.4 hectares (176 acres)	Whitstable 51.338°N 0.991°E / 51.338; 0.991 (Seasalter Levels)	Canterbury	Ramsar, SPA, SSSI	Map	Details	This freshwater grazing marsh is important for wildfowl and wading birds such as wigeons, redshanks, lapwings, mallards and shelducks.
South Bank of the Swale		7006410500000000000♠410.5 hectares (1,014 acres)	Whitstable 51.350°N 0.938°E / 51.350; 0.938 (South Bank of the Swale)	Canterbury	KWT, Ramsar, SPA, SSSI	Map	Details	This coastal site has wetland and grassland, with mudflats which attract a large population of waders and wildfowl in winter. Flora include yellow horned-poppies, sea-lavender, golden samphires and wild carrots.
South Wood		7004660000000000000♠6.6 hectares (16 acres)	Gillingham 51.346°N 0.566°E / 51.346; 0.566 (South Wood)	Medway		Map	Details	This wood was formerly used for timber, and it is now managed as a nature reserve. It has a population of dormice, which are rare in Britain and continental Europe.
Tyler Hill Meadow		7003800000000000000♠0.8 hectares (2.0 acres)	Canterbury 51.308°N 1.065°E / 51.308; 1.065 (Tyler Hill Meadow)	Canterbury		Map	Details	The site has unimproved grassland, woodland and scrub. Reptiles include slow-worms and lizards, and eleven species of butterfly have been recorded.
Vinters Valley Park		7005302000000000000♠30.2 hectares (75 acres)	Maidstone 51.278°N 0.545°E / 51.278; 0.545 (Vinters Valley Park)	Maidstone		Map	Details	This park has diverse habitats with grassland, woods, marshes, scrub, a lake and a stream. Birds include ducks, geese and kingfishers.
Western Heights		7005517000000000000♠51.7 hectares (128 acres)	Dover 51.117°N 1.296°E / 51.117; 1.296 (Western Heights)	Dover		Map	Details	This green area surrounds Dover Western Heights, fortifications dating to the Napoleonic Wars. It consists of chalk meadows which provide a habitat for wild flowers, butterflies and birds.
Whinless Down		7005193000000000000♠19.3 hectares (48 acres)	Dover 51.127°N 1.280°E / 51.127; 1.280 (Whinless Down)	Dover		Map	Details	Dover Castle can be viewed from the down, which has rare plants such as cypress spurge, horseshoe vetch and crown vetch. There are also uncommon butterflies and moths.
Whitehall Meadows		7005116000000000000♠11.6 hectares (29 acres)	Canterbury 51.276°N 1.065°E / 51.276; 1.065 (Whitehall Meadows)	Canterbury		Map	Details	This wet meadow has typical damp loving wildlife including snails, butterflies, damselflies, dragonflies and reptiles.