Parking and main access: from
Wye village, go east towards Hastingleigh. The car park and main entrance
are 2 miles out of the village, on the left. GR 078454.
What first strikes most visitors to this unique reserve
is the fantastic view and the spectacular landscape.
Who could fail to be impressed by the Devil's Kneading Trough - a
steep-sided 'coombe' carved into the chalk escarpment by melt waters from
the last ice age?
Turn your eyes from the view to the ground, and you will
be looking at one of Britain's best examples of chalk grassland - a rare
and very valuable habitat, noted for its rich plant life. It may not look
much at first, but closer examination reveals a great many different
plants - up to 40 species in a square metre! In all the reserve boasts
approximately 4000 different plant species! In addition to 19 orchids,
there are many more familiar wild flowers, including fragrant herbs such
as wild marjoram, basil and thyme - you only have to walk on the grass in
summer to smell their presence. Summer is also the best time to see the
wide variety of butterflies, many of which depend on the special flora of
chalk downland.
Looking back at the view again, it is worth realising
that what is sadly now a scarce and fragmented habitat was once widespread
across Kent. The steepness of the landscape is what saved Wye Downs, and
many other surviving downlands, from the farmer's plough, while flatter
chalk grasslands were cultivated or improved with fertilisers, as
agriculture modernised. Even where downland was not improved it was often
no longer grazed, leading to the spread of much less valuable scrub. This
reserve is now grazed, as it would have been traditionally, to conserve
the plant rich downland and its other wildlife.
For disabled access details, site leaflets and other
information: English Nature 01233 812525
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