Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
Location | Kent |
---|---|
Grid reference | TR 260 437 [1] |
Interest | Biological |
Area | 228.3 hectares (564 acres) [1] |
Notification | 1986 [1] |
Location map | Magic Map |
Alkham, Lydden and Swingfield Woods is a 228.3-hectare (564-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Dover in Kent. [1] [2] Alkham Valley Woods is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. [3]
This site is composed of several steeply sloping woods on chalk soil, together with an area of chalk grassland. The ground flora is diverse, including some unusual plants such as lady orchid in the woods and burnt orchid in the meadow. [4]
Public footpaths go through some of the woods but other areas are private land. Part of the land designated as Alkham, Lydden and Swingfield Woods SSSI is owned by the Ministry of Defence [5] .
Kent Wildlife Trust (KWT) is a conservation charity in the United Kingdom that was founded in 1958, previously known as the Kent Trust for Nature Conservation. It aims to "work with people to restore, save and improve our natural spaces" and to "ensure that 30% of Kent and Medway – land and sea – is managed to create a healthy place for wildlife to flourish". In 2023, they have reported over 30,000 members and an annual income of £8 million. KWT manages over ninety nature reserves in Kent, of which thirty-seven are Sites of Special Scientific Interest, three are national nature reserves, five are Special Areas of Conservation, four are Special Protection Areas, six are local nature reserves, thirty-eight are in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and one is a scheduled monument.
East Blean Woods is a 151.4-hectare (374-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Herne Bay in Kent. It is also a National Nature Reserve a Special Area of Conservation and a Nature Conservation Review site. An area of 122 hectares is managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust.
Queendown Warren is a 22.2-hectare (55-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-east of Rainham in Kent. It is a Local Nature Reserve, a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2, and a Special Area of Conservation. It is in the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust, and part of it is owned by Plantlife.
Westfield Wood is a 5-hectare (12-acre) nature reserve north of Maidstone in Kent, which is managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Wouldham to Detling Escarpment Site of Special Scientific Interest and Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. It is also in the North Downs Woodlands Special Area of Conservation and the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Burham Down is a 110-hectare (270-acre) nature reserve between Maidstone and Chatham in Kent. It is managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Wouldham to Detling Escarpment Site of Special Scientific Interest and Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the North Downs Woodlands Special Area of Conservation.
Lydden and Temple Ewell Downs is a 63.2-hectare (156-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Dover in Kent. It is a Special Area of Conservation and Nature Conservation Review site. It is also part of the 78.5-hectare (194-acre) Lydden Temple Ewell National Nature Reserve and the 90-hectare (220-acre) Lydden Temple Ewell nature reserve, which is managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust. It is in the North Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Wye and Crundale Downs is a 358.3-hectare (885-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in a number of separate areas east of Ashford in Kent. It is a Special Area of Conservation and a Nature Conservation Review 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.
Folkestone to Etchinghill Escarpment is a 263.2-hectare (650-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the northern outskirts of Folkestone in Kent. It is a Special Area of Conservation. An area of 205 hectares is a Nature Conservation Review grassland site, Grade 2, and the 70-hectare (170-acre) Asholt Wood at its western end is a Grade 1 woodland site. The reserve has a Geological Conservation Review site.
Lewes Downs is a 165-hectare (410-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Lewes in East Sussex. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I and a Special Area of Conservation. Part of it is a national nature reserve, part is Malling Down nature reserve, which is managed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust, and part is Mount Caburn, an Iron Age hill fort which is a Scheduled Monument.
Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve is located on the north-west escarpment of the Chiltern Hills, in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It has an area of 159.1 hectares, and most of it is a 128.5 hectares biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is listed as a Grade 1 site in A Nature Conservation Review. The reserve is in several sections, mostly in the parish of Lewknor in Oxfordshire, with smaller sections in the parish of Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire.
Church Woods, Blean is a 526.7-hectare (1,302-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Canterbury in Kent. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, a National Nature Reserve, a Special Area of Conservation and part of it is a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds nature reserve.
Folkestone Warren is a 316.3-hectare (782-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which runs along the coast between Folkestone and Dover in Kent. It is a Nature Conservation Review site and it contains three Geological Conservation Review sites and part of a fourth. An area of 83.6 hectares is a Local Nature Reserve,
Halling to Trottiscliffe Escarpment is a 600.6-hectare (1,484-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest which runs from Cuxton to Wrotham, west of Rochester in Kent. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. and a Special Area of Conservation.
Purple Hill is a 14.9-hectare (37-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Gillingham in Kent. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2.
Wouldham to Detling Escarpment is a 311.2-hectare (769-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest which stretches from Wouldham to Detling, north of Maidstone in Kent. Part of it is a Geological Conservation Review site, and it is part of the North Downs Woodlands Special Area of Conservation and the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I and it includes three Kent Wildlife Trust nature reserves and a Local Nature Reserve,
The Larches is a 25-hectare (62-acre) nature reserve north of Detling, which is north of Maidstone in Kent. It is managed by Kent Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Wouldham to Detling Escarpment Site of Special Scientific Interest and Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I It is also part of the North Downs Woodlands Special Area of Conservation, and Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty,
Malling Down is an 85-hectare (210-acre) nature reserve on the eastern outskirts of Lewes in East Sussex. It is managed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust. It is part of Lewes Downs, which is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. Special Area of Conservation and Site of Special Scientific Interest.