List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Kent

This article is about SSSIs in Kent. For other counties, see List of SSSIs by Area of Search.

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.^[1] 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.^[2][3] 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.^[1]

The River Beult north-east of Paddock Wood

In England, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) are designated by Natural England, which is responsible for protecting England's natural environment. Designation as an SSSI gives legal protection to the most important wildlife and geological sites.^[4] As of May 2018, there are 98 sites designated in Kent.^[5] There are 21 sites which have been designated for their geological interest, 67 for their biological interest, and 10 for both reasons.

Sixteen sites are Special Areas of Conservation, eight are Special Protection Areas, twenty-three are Nature Conservation Review sites, thirty-three are Geological Conservation Review sites, eleven are national nature reserves, nine are Ramsar internationally important wetland sites, eleven are local nature reserves, thirteen are in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, one is on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England and two contain scheduled monuments. Seventeen sites are managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust, four by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and seven by the National Trust.

Key

Interest B = site of biological interest G = site of geological interest Public access FP = access to footpaths through the site only NO = no public access to site PP = public access to part of site YES = public access to all or most of the site

Other classifications AONB = Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty KWT = Kent Wildlife Trust GCR = Geological Conservation Review site LNR = Local nature reserve NCR = Nature Conservation Review site NNR = National nature reserve NT = National Trust Plant = Plantlife, a wild plant conservation charity Ramsar = Ramsar site, an internationally important wetland site RHPG = Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England RSPB = Royal Society for the Protection of Birds SAC = Special Area of Conservation SM = Scheduled monument SPA = Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds

Sites

Contents: 

• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• I
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• Q
• R
• S
• T
• U
• V
• W
• Y

Site name	Photograph	B	G	Area[a]	Public access	Location[a]	Other classifications	Map[b]	Citation[c]	Description
Alex Farm Pastures		Y		4.5 hectares (11 acres)[6]	NO	Ashford 51.097°N 0.806°E / 51.097; 0.806 (Alex Farm Pastures) TQ 966 368[6]		Map	Citation	This site has unimproved neutral grassland, which is a nationally rare habitat. Some of it has been lost to scrub, but in other areas it is maintained by rabbit grazing. There are several uncommon butterflies, including the nationally scarce pearl-bordered fritillary and small pearl-bordered fritillary.[7]
Alkham, Lydden and Swingfield Woods		Y		228.3 hectares (564 acres)[8]	PP	Dover 51.148°N 1.23°E / 51.148; 1.23 (Alkham, Lydden and Swingfield Woods) TR 260 437[8]	NCR[9]	Map	Citation	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.[10]
Allington Quarry			Y	0.8 hectares (2.0 acres)[11]	NO	Maidstone 51.29°N 0.498°E / 51.29; 0.498 (Allington Quarry) TQ 743 575[11]	GCR[12]	Map	Citation	This Pleistocene site has an extensive section through gulls (cracks in the rock) which are filled with loess. These were probably produced by seasonal freezing and thawing during the last ice age.[13]
Aylesford Pit			Y	1.5 hectares (3.7 acres)[14]	NO	Aylesford 51.308°N 0.481°E / 51.308; 0.481 (Aylesford Pit) TQ 730 595[14]	GCR[15]	Map	Citation	This Pleistocene site in the terrace of the River Medway has yielded many mammalian bones and paleolithic artefacts, but its geographical isolation from the main Thames sequence makes precise correlation of Aylesford rocks with those laid down at the same time in Thames sites uncertain.[16]
Baker's Hole			Y	6.9 hectares (17 acres)[17]	NO	Swanscombe 51.444°N 0.317°E / 51.444; 0.317 (Baker's Hole) TQ 611 742[17]	GCR[18]	Map	Citation	This internationally renowned site has yielded the largest number of stone tools and flakes in Britain dating to the Early Middle Paleolithic (325,000 to 180,000 year ago). Most of them were produced by Neanderthals using the Levallois technique.[19][20]
Bourne Alder Carr		Y		13.5 hectares (33 acres)[21]	PP	Sevenoaks 51.271°N 0.301°E / 51.271; 0.301 (Bourne Alder Carr) TQ 606 549[21]		Map	Citation	The River Bourne runs through a shallow valley, and frequent flushing of the woodland on the banks with water rich in nutrients creates a rich ground flora. There is also an area of swamp around a fish pond.[22]
Brookland Wood		Y		10.9 hectares (27 acres)[23]	PP	Tunbridge Wells 51.124°N 0.371°E / 51.124; 0.371 (Brookland Wood) TQ 660 387[23]		Map	Citation	This site has diverse types of woodland and ground flora. Alder is dominant in wet areas and hazel, ash and field maple in drier ones. Small streams have a variety of mosses and liverworts.[24]
Charing Beech Hangers		Y		52.6 hectares (130 acres)[25]	PP	Ashford 51.201°N 0.831°E / 51.201; 0.831 (Charing Beech Hangers) TQ 979 484[25]		Map	Citation	This steeply sloping site has mature beech and oak, and the ground flora is varied with some uncommon species. Invertebrates include the rare slug Limax tenellus and several scarce moths.[26]
Chattenden Woods and Lodge Hill		Y		351.0 hectares (867 acres)[27]	PP	Rochester 51.432°N 0.525°E / 51.432; 0.525 (Chattenden Woods and Lodge Hill) TQ 756 734[27]		Map	Citation	This site has diverse habitats, including ancient semi-natural woodland, grassland and scrub. There are nationally important numbers of nightingales in the woods and scrub during the breeding season, and invertebrates include nationally scarce moths.[28]
Chequer's Wood and Old Park		Y	Y	106.9 hectares (264 acres)[29]	NO	Canterbury 51.285°N 1.115°E / 51.285; 1.115 (Chequer's Wood and Old Park) TR 173 586[29]	GCR[30]	Map	Citation	This site includes Fordwich Pit, which has yielded a large collection of early Acheulian handaxes, between 550,000 and 300,000 old. Habitats include alder wood in a valley bottom, acidic grassland on dry sandy soil, oak and birch woodland, scrub and a pond.[31][32]
Church Woods, Blean		Y		526.7 hectares (1,302 acres)[33]	YES	Canterbury 51.301°N 1.015°E / 51.301; 1.015 (Church Woods, Blean) TR 103 601[33]	NCR,[34] NNR,[35][36] RSPB,[37] SAC[38]	Map	Citation	This broadleaved coppice with standards wood has a diverse range of trees, a rich ground flora, a wide variety of birds and many uncommon invertebrates, including the nationally rare heath fritillary butterfly.[39]
Cobham Woods		Y		242.7 hectares (600 acres)[40]	YES	Rochester 51.388°N 0.439°E / 51.388; 0.439 (Cobham Woods) TQ 698 683[40]	AONB,[41] NT[42]	Map	Citation	These woods are partly on acidic Thanet Sands and partly on chalk soils. There is also an area of arable land which has some uncommon plants, including the very rare and protected rough marsh-mallow, which has been recorded on the site since 1792.[43]
Combwell Wood		Y		110.6 hectares (273 acres)[44]	FP	Cranbrook 51.081°N 0.434°E / 51.081; 0.434 (Combwell Wood) TQ 706 341[44]	AONB[45]	Map	Citation	Much of this ancient wood has traditionally been coppiced, but there has probably been undisturbed woodland on steep slopes, and uncommon bryophytes here are thought to be survivors from the Atlantic warm period around 5,000 years ago. There are also several nationally scarce water beetles.[46]
Cowden Meadow		Y		1.1 hectares (2.7 acres)[47]	FP	Edenbridge 51.153°N 0.115°E / 51.153; 0.115 (Cowden Meadow) TQ 480 414[47]		Map	Citation	This site has flora which are found on grassland sites which have not been cultivated for many years, such as quaking grass, oxeye daisy and pepper saxifrage. Wetter areas are dominated by hard rush.[48]
Cowden Pound Pastures		Y		5.9 hectares (15 acres)[49]	NO	Edenbridge 51.169°N 0.086°E / 51.169; 0.086 (Cowden Pound Pastures) TQ 459 432[49]	KWT[50]	Map	Citation	This is unimproved neutral grassland, which is a nationally rare habitat, and it is grazed to prevent scrub invading the pasture. Grasses include crested dog's tail and common knapweed, and an area of wet grassland by a stream has jointed rush and water mint.[51]
Dalham Farm			Y	8.8 hectares (22 acres)[52]	PP	Rochester 51.449°N 0.557°E / 51.449; 0.557 (Dalham Farm) TQ 778 753[52]	GCR[53]	Map	Citation	The farm shows mass movement of rock and soil on a shallow 8% slope of London Clay, which is seen in ridges across the site. It may be the lowest angled slope failure in Britain, and is important in demonstrating slope degradation where there is no coastal erosion.[54]
Darenth Wood		Y		122.9 hectares (304 acres)[55]	YES	Dartford 51.426°N 0.267°E / 51.426; 0.267 (Darenth Wood) TQ 577 721[55]		Map	Citation	This ancient semi-natural wood has many rare invertebrates, including thirty-two which are nationally scarce and two which are nationally rare: these are beetles which live in dead and dying oak timber, Grilis pannonicus and Platypus cylindricus.[56]
Dover to Kingsdown Cliffs		Y	Y	207.7 hectares (513 acres)[57]	YES	Dover 51.146°N 1.371°E / 51.146; 1.371 (Dover to Kingsdown Cliffs) TR 359 439[57]	GCR,[58] NT,[59] SAC[60]	Map	Citation	The cliffs expose fossiliferous rocks dating to 99 and 86 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous, which are historically important as many geological principles were tested there. The cliffs have many breeding sea birds, and there are diverse algae on the foreshore.[61]
Down Bank		Y		5.9 hectares (15 acres)[62]	FP	Canterbury 51.23°N 0.982°E / 51.23; 0.982 (Down Bank) TR 083 521[62]		Map	Citation	This sloping chalk meadow has the nationally endangered black-veined moth and twenty-eight species of butterfly, including the nationally scarce Duke of Burgundy. Grassland flora include two nationally scarce species, small bedstraw and man orchid.[63]
Dryhill			Y	11.7 hectares (29 acres)[64]	YES	Sevenoaks 51.276°N 0.149°E / 51.276; 0.149 (Dryhill) TQ 500 552[64]	GCR,[65] LNR[66]	Map	Citation	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.[67]
Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay		Y	Y	10,172.9 hectares (25,138 acres)[68]	PP	Romney Marsh 50.946°N 0.857°E / 50.946; 0.857 (Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay) TR 008 202[68]	AONB,[68] GCR,[69] KWT,[70] LNR,[71] NNR,[36][72] Ramsar,[73] RSPB,[74] SAC,[75] SPA[76]	Map[d]	Citation	Nationally important habitats in this site are saltmarsh, sand dunes, vegetated shingle, saline lagoons, standing waters, lowland ditch systems, and basin fens, and it has many rare and endangered species of fauna and flora. It is geologically important as its deposits display the chronology of coastal evolution.[77]
East Blean Woods		Y		151.3 hectares (374 acres)[78]	YES	Canterbury 51.335°N 1.14°E / 51.335; 1.14 (East Blean Woods) TR 188 642[78]	KWT,[79] NCR,[34] NNR[35][36] SAC[38]	Map	Citation	This site has mixed coppice with some mature oaks. Insects include the rare and protected heath fritillary butterfly, and there is a wide variety of woodland birds.[80]
Ellenden Wood		Y		90.6 hectares (224 acres)[81]	YES	Whitstable 51.322°N 1.014°E / 51.322; 1.014 (Ellenden Wood) TR 101 624[81]	NCR,[82] SAC[38]	Map	Citation	This wood has diverse flora with over 250 species of vascular plants and 300 of fungi. Insects include 3 species which are nationally rare, and there are mammals such as wood mice, dormice and two species of shrew.[83]
Farningham Wood		Y		74.2 hectares (183 acres)[84]	YES	Dartford 51.391°N 0.213°E / 51.391; 0.213 (Farningham Wood) TQ 541 681[84]	LNR[85]	Map	Citation	This wood has a variety of soil conditions, resulting in diverse ground flora and invertebrates, some of which are typical ancient woodland. Ponds in the middle support several species of amphibian, and the nationally rare hoverfly Volucella inanis has been recorded on the site.[86]
Folkestone to Etchinghill Escarpment		Y	Y	263.2 hectares (650 acres)[87]	PP	Folkestone 51.103°N 1.13°E / 51.103; 1.13 (Folkestone to Etchinghill Escarpment) TR 192 384[87]	GCR,[88][89] NCR,[90] SAC[91]	Map	Citation	A large area of chalk grassland has three nationally rare plants, late spider orchid, early spider orchid and bedstraw broomrape. Asholt Wood has outstanding lichen flora. The site also includes Holywell Coombe, a key geological site displaying the sequence of mollusc fossils in the late Pleistocene and Holocene.[92]
Folkestone Warren		Y	Y	316.3 hectares (782 acres)[93]	PP	Folkestone 51.099°N 1.237°E / 51.099; 1.237 (Folkestone Warren) TR 267 383[93]	GCR,[58][94][95][96] LNR,[97] NCR[98]	Map	Citation	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.[99]
Gibbin's Brook		Y		16.8 hectares (42 acres)[100]	YES	Ashford 51.107°N 1.021°E / 51.107; 1.021 (Gibbin's Brook) TR 116 385[100]		Map	Citation	This site is mainly marshy grassland, but it also has a stream, a pond and small areas of bog and dry acidic grassland. It is notable for its invertebrates, especially moths.[101]
Great Crabbles Wood		Y		33.0 hectares (82 acres)[102]	YES	Gravesend 51.406°N 0.446°E / 51.406; 0.446 (Great Crabbles Wood) TQ 702 703[102]		Map	Citation	Most of the wood is mixed coppice, with sweet chestnut dominant and oak standards. There are scarce flora such as lady and man and bird's nest orchids, white helleborine and wild liquorice.[103]
Great Shuttlesfield Down		Y		21.8 hectares (54 acres)[104]	FP	Folkestone 51.126°N 1.108°E / 51.126; 1.108 (Great Shuttlesfield Down) TR 176 409[104]		Map	Citation	This unimproved grassland is dominated by sheep's fescue, upright brome and tor-grass, and it is grazed by sheep and cattle. Notable invertebrates are the rare adonis blue butterfly and two solitary wasps, Crossocerus cetratus and Crossocerus styrius.[105]
Greatness Brickworks			Y	7.8 hectares (19 acres)[106]	NO	Sevenoaks 51.298°N 0.200°E / 51.298; 0.200 (Greatness Brickworks) TQ 535 577[106]	GCR,[107]	Map	Citation	This Cretaceous site is highly fossiliferous, with many ammonites. It is described by Natural England as "of vital importance in biostratigraphic research on the Gault of the Weald".[108]
Halling to Trottiscliffe Escarpment		Y		600.6 hectares (1,484 acres)[109]	PP	Rochester 51.350°N 0.404°E / 51.350; 0.404 (Halling to Trottiscliffe Escarpment) TQ 675 640[109]	NCR,[110] SAC[111]	Map	Citation	This site on the North Downs has grassland and beech woodland on chalk soil. It is entomologically important, with uncommon insects such as the bug Psylla viburni, and it is the only known location in Britain for the moth Hypercallia citrinalis.[112]
Ham Street Woods		Y		175.2 hectares (433 acres)[113]	YES	Ashford 51.073°N 0.866°E / 51.073; 0.866 (Ham Street Woods) TR 009 343[113]	NCR,[114] NNR[36][115]	Map	Citation	This semi-natural wood is more than 400 years old, and it has rich and diverse invertebrates, including 12 rare or scarce dead wood species, such as the nationally rare beetle, Tomoxia biguttata.[116]
Hart Hill			Y	1.4 hectares (3.5 acres)[117]	NO	Ashford 51.222°N 0.780°E / 51.222; 0.780 (Hart Hill) TQ 942 506[117]	GCR[118]	Map	Citation	This site is controversial as it exposes the Lenham Beds, the date of which have been disputed, but they are now thought to be Pliocene on the basis of their marine bivalves and gastropods.[119]
Hatch Park		Y		71.8 hectares (177 acres)[120]	NO	Ashford 51.129°N 0.946°E / 51.129; 0.946 (Hatch Park) TR 062 408[120]	RHPG[121]	Map	Citation	This site has species-rich acidic grassland which is the remnant of a larger deer park, and is still managed by a herd of deer. There are also ancient pollard woods which are the richest for epiphytic lichens in the county. Several ponds have adjacent areas of marsh.[122]
High Rocks			Y	3.3 hectares (8.2 acres)[123]	PP	Tunbridge Wells 51.113°N 0.226°E / 51.113; 0.226 (High Rocks) TQ 559 383[123]	GCR[124]	Map[d]	Citation	This Pleistocene site is described by Natural England as "a key geomorphological site for sandstone weathering features developed on the highest cliffs in the Weald". The Ardingly Sandstone has micro-cracking of unknown origin.[125]
Hoad's Wood		Y		80.5 hectares (199 acres)[126]	NO	Ashford 51.148°N 0.790°E / 51.148; 0.790 (Hoad's Wood) TQ 952 425[126]		Map	Citation	This oak and hornbeam wood is outstanding for its insects, especially butterflies and moths, with two which are nationally rare, the broad-bordered beehawk and black-veined moths. There are diverse breeding birds.[127]
Holborough to Burham Marshes		Y		149.8 hectares (370 acres)[128]	YES	Snodland 51.328°N 0.456°E / 51.328; 0.456 (Holborough to Burham Marshes) TQ 712 616[128]	KWT[129]	Map	Citation	This site is in the tidal flood plain of the River Medway. It has diverse habitats, with reedbeds, fen, grassland, woodland, scrub and a flooded gravel pit, which attracts wintering wildfowl. There are five rare invertebrates, including three bee species.[130]
Hollingbourne Downs		Y		60.9 hectares (150 acres)[131]	YES	Maidstone 51.270°N 0.649°E / 51.270; 0.649 (Hollingbourne Downs) TQ 849 557[131]		Map	Citation	This escarpment has unimproved chalk grassland and beech woodland. The dominant grasses are tor-grass, upright brome and sheep's fescue, and shrub species on woodland margins include the wayfaring-tree and traveller's-joy.[132]
Hothfield Common		Y		56.5 hectares (140 acres)[133]	YES	Ashford 51.178°N 0.814°E / 51.178; 0.814 (Hothfield Common) TQ 968 458[133]	KWT,[134] LNR[135]	Map	Citation	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.[136]
Houlder and Monarch Hill Pits, Upper Halling			Y	0.7 hectares (1.7 acres)[137]	NO	Rochester 51.345°N 0.425°E / 51.345; 0.425 (Houlder and Monarch Hill Pits, Upper Halling) TQ 690 634[137]	GCR[138]	Map	Citation	This site has a sequence of deposits covering the end of the last glacial period, with two sheets of glacial deposits separated by a fossil soil assigned to the late glacial interstadial around 13,000 years ago. It provides evidence of lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic changes during this period.[139]
Hubbard's Hill			Y	66.6 hectares (165 acres)[140]	YES	Sevenoaks 51.247°N 0.196°E / 51.247; 0.196 (Hubbard's Hill) TQ 534 520[140]	GCR[141]	Map	Citation	This Quaternary site exhibits solifluction (erosion by freezing and thawing). The main deposits date to the Wolstonian glaciation around 130,000 years ago, but the latest have radiocarbon dates of only 12,500 years, during the most recent Younger Dryas ice age.[142]
Ileden and Oxenden Woods		Y		86.4 hectares (213 acres)[143]	YES	Canterbury 51.228°N 1.175°E / 51.228; 1.175 (Ileden and Oxenden Woods) TR 218 524[143]		Map	Citation	These woods have a variety of soil types and diverse habitats. There is a rich bird community and ground flora, including two nationally rare orchids, narrow-lipped helleborine and lady orchid.[144]
Knole Park		Y		383.4 hectares (947 acres)[145]	YES	Sevenoaks 51.262°N 0.210°E / 51.262; 0.210 (Knole Park) TQ 543 538[145]	AONB.[146]NT[147]	Map	Citation	The park has acidic woodland, parkland, woods and ponds. It has the best ancient woodland invertebrates in the county, including the nationally rare beetle Platypus cylindrus and several nationally scarce species, and it also has a rich fungus flora.[146]
Larkey Valley Wood		Y		44.1 hectares (109 acres)[148]	YES	Canterbury 51.257°N 1.044°E / 51.257; 1.044 (Larkey Valley Wood) TR 125 553[148]	LNR[149]	Map	Citation	This wood has diverse ground flora with some uncommon plants and many breeding birds, such as tree pipits, nuthatches and hawfinches. Flora include the scarce lady orchid.[150]
Lenham Quarry			Y	4.0 hectares (9.9 acres)[151]	YES	Maidstone 51.240°N 0.741°E / 51.240; 0.741 (Lenham Quarry) TQ 914 525[151]	GCR[152]	Map	Citation	This site has been assigned to the Pliocene on the basis of its gastropod, bivalve and serpulid worm fossils. It is important because there are few exposures dating from this period in Britain.[153]
Lullingstone Park		Y		66.4 hectares (164 acres)[154]	YES	Sevenoaks 51.355°N 0.171°E / 51.355; 0.171 (Lullingstone Park) TQ 513 640[154]	SM,[155]	Map	Citation	Some of the pollards in this wood are over 400 years old, and it is important for invertebrates, lichens, breeding birds and fungi. Over 340 beetle species have been recorded, including two which are nationally rare.[156]
Lydden and Temple Ewell Downs		Y		63.2 hectares (156 acres)[157]	YES	Dover 51.162°N 1.252°E / 51.162; 1.252 (Lydden and Temple Ewell Downs) TR 275 453[157]	AONB,[158] KWT[159] NCR,[157] NNR[36][160] SAC[161]	Map	Citation	This site has some of the richest chalk downland in the county. The invertebrate community is outstanding, including butterflies such as marbled whites, adonis blue and the very rare silver-spotted skipper.[158]
Lympne Escarpment		Y		140.2 hectares (346 acres)[162]	PP	Hythe 51.070°N 1.030°E / 51.070; 1.030 (Lympne Escarpment) TR 124 344[162]	SM.[163]	Map	Citation	This steeply sloping site has woodland and grassland on Kentish ragstone, with many springs and flushes at the base. It is close to the sea, and the resulting high humidity allows plants such as stinking iris, which are usually confined to woods, to grow in grassland.[164]
Lynsore Bottom		Y		70.6 hectares (174 acres)[165]	YES	Canterbury 51.189°N 1.090°E / 51.189; 1.090 (Lynsore Bottom) TR 160 479[165]		Map	Citation	These coppice with standards woods have a variety of tree species. The ground flora is diverse, and the woods are also important for their breeding birds, including tawny owls, grasshopper warblerss and hawfinches.[166]
Magpie Bottom		Y		51.9 hectares (128 acres)[167]	YES	Sevenoaks 51.329°N 0.216°E / 51.329; 0.216 (Magpie Bottom) TQ 545 612[167]		Map	Citation	This steeply sloping area of chalk grassland has diverse herb flora, including the nationally rare Kentish milkwort and seven species of orchid, such as the scarce man orchid. There are also areas of woodland and scrub.[168]
Marden Meadows		Y		3.7 hectares (9.1 acres)[169]	PP	Tonbridge 51.173°N 0.518°E / 51.173; 0.518 (Marden Meadows) TQ 761 445[169]	KWT[170]	Map	Citation	These unimproved neutral meadows are cut for hay each year and then grazed. There are also ponds and hedgerows which are probably of ancient origin, and trees include midland hawthorns and wild service-trees.[171]
Medway Estuary and Marshes		Y		4,478.8 hectares (11,067 acres)[172]	PP	Sittingbourne 51.408°N 0.657°E / 51.408; 0.657 (Medway Estuary and Marshes) TQ 849 710[172]	NCR,[173] Ramsar,[174] SPA[175]	Map	Citation	This site is internationally important for its wintering birds, and nationally important for its breeding birds. It is also has an outstanding flora, such as the nationally rare oak-leaved goosefoot and the nationally scarce slender hare's-ear.[176]
Northward Hill		Y		52.5 hectares (130 acres)[177]	YES	Rochester 51.457°N 0.562°E / 51.457; 0.562 (Northward Hill) TQ 781 762[177]	NCR,[178] NNR,[36][179] RSPB.[180]	Map	Citation	This site has mixed woodland, scrub, ponds, grassland and bracken. It has the largest heronry in Britain, with more than 200 pairs, and insects include the scarce sloe carpet and least carpet moths.[181]
Oaken Wood			Y	18.7 hectares (46 acres)[182]	YES	Maidstone 51.267°N 0.437°E / 51.267; 0.437 (Oaken Wood) TQ 701 548[182]	GCR,[183]	Map	Citation	This site provides the best example of a very unusual topography, with cracking and tilting of underlying weaker strata during the Pleistocene by periglacial processes producing crests and troughs in the surface rocks.[184]
Oldbury and Seal Chart		Y		212.4 hectares (525 acres)[185]	YES	Sevenoaks 51.279°N 0.255°E / 51.279; 0.255 (Oldbury and Seal Chart) TQ 574 557[185]	AONB,[186] NT[187]	Map	Citation	More than 250 species of fungi have been recorded in this site, including 10 which are rare or scarce. There are also molluscs which are characteristic of ancient woodland, including the rare snail Phenacolumax major and the scarce slug Limax tenellus.[186]
One Tree Hill and Bitchet Common		Y		79.2 hectares (196 acres)[188]	YES	Sevenoaks 51.258°N 0.244°E / 51.258; 0.244 (One Tree Hill and Bitchet Common) TQ 567 534[188]	AONB,[189] NT[190]	Map	Citation	This site has mixed woodland on the Lower Greensand, some of it of ancient origin. The habitats are varied, including acidic soils on Bitchet Common and damp, base-rich soils in Martins Wood. There are several rare plants and invertebrates.[189]
Orlestone Forest		Y		347.6 hectares (859 acres)[191]	PP	Ashford 51.080°N 0.830°E / 51.080; 0.830 (Orlestone Forest) TQ 983 350[191]	NCR[114]	Map	Citation	This site is described by Natural England as "an important invertebrate locality of national significance". Hundreds of invertebrate species have been recorded, including 39 which are nationally rare and 134 which are nationally scarce. Several are only known in Britain on this site.[192]
Otford to Shoreham Downs		Y		145.1 hectares (359 acres)[193]	PP	Sevenoaks 51.335°N 0.199°E / 51.335; 0.199 (Otford to Shoreham Downs) TQ 533 618[193]	AONB,[193] KWT[194]	Map	Citation	These downs have woodland, scrub and species-rich chalk grassland, which has been traditionally managed by grazing. A decline in grazing has caused the chalk downland to become overgrown, but it is still very species diverse, with over a hundred plants recorded.[195]
Otterpool Quarry			Y	10.2 hectares (25 acres)[196]	NO	Lympne 51.088°N 1.014°E / 51.088; 1.014 (Otterpool Quarry) TR 112 364[196]	GCR[197]	Map	Citation	This quarry exposes rocks dating to the Cretaceous period, and shows the contact between the Hythe and Sandgate beds. It is very rich in fossil ammonites, with species which can be correlated elsewhere.[198]
Park Wood, Chilham		Y		31.1 hectares (77 acres)[199]	YES	Canterbury 51.236°N 0.925°E / 51.236; 0.925 (Park Wood, Chilham) TR 043 526[199]		Map	Citation	This wood is mainly hazel and hornbeam coppice with oak standards, and diverse shrub and ground layers. There are many breeding birds and invertebrates, including two which are rare, the wasp Crossocerus distinguendus and the fly Stratiomys potamida.[200]
Parkgate Down		Y		7.0 hectares (17 acres)[201]	YES	Canterbury 51.171°N 1.010°E / 51.171; 1.010 (Parkgate Down) TR 168 459[201]	KWT,[202] SAC[203]	Map	Citation	This downland site has grassland which is grazed by sheep and cattle on the lower slopes and dense scrub on the upper ones. There are a variety of orchids including the uncommon lady and musk orchids.[204]
Parsonage Wood		Y		9.7 hectares (24 acres)[205]	YES	Cranbrook 51.066°N 0.563°E / 51.066; 0.563 (Parsonage Wood) TQ 797 328[205]	KWT[206]	Map	Citation	This is an example of a woodland ghyll in the High Weald. The trees are mainly coppiced, but some of the ground flora are species which are indicative of ancient woods, such as butcher's broom, violet helleborine and pendulous sedge.[207]
Pembury Cutting and Pit			Y	1.6 hectares (4.0 acres)[208]	PP	Tunbridge Wells 51.149°N 0.303°E / 51.149; 0.303 (Pembury Cutting and Pit) TQ 612 414[208]	GCR[209]	Map	Citation	This site exposes rocks of the Tunbridge Wells Sand Formation, dating to the Early Cretaceous around 140 to 100 million years ago. There are many fossils of Lycopodites, an extinct plant.[210]
Peter's Pit		Y		28.7 hectares (71 acres)[211]	FP	Rochester 51.337°N 0.464°E / 51.337; 0.464 (Peter's Pit) TQ 717 627[211]	SAC[212][213]	Map	Citation	This was formerly a chalk quarry and it has an undulating terrain. There are many ponds, some of which have populations of the great crested newt, a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The site has two reptiles, grass snakes and common European adders.[214]
Polebrook Farm		Y		13.0 hectares (32 acres)[215]	PP	Edenbridge 51.208°N 0.155°E / 51.208; 0.155 (Polebrook Farm) TQ 506 476[215]		Map	Citation	The field layout of this farm is believed to have remained unchanged for over 700 years. The hedges and meadows have a rich variety of flora, with at least 19 species of grasses.[216]
Preston Marshes		Y		43.4 hectares (107 acres)[217]	NO	Canterbury 51.297°N 1.202°E / 51.297; 1.202 (Preston Marshes) TR 233 602[217]		Map	Citation	This site in the valley of the River Little Stour is dominated by common reed, with areas of willow scrub and pasture. There are many beeding and wintering birds, such as reed buntings and sedge warblers.[218]
Purple Hill		Y		14.9 hectares (37 acres)[219]	NO	Maidstone 51.330°N 0.600°E / 51.330; 0.600 (Purple Hill) TQ 812 622[219]	NCR[220]	Map	Citation	This chalk downland site has herb-rich grassland, scrub and woods. Flora include the nationally rare Kentish milkwort and several uncommon orchids.[221]
Queendown Warren		Y		22.2 hectares (55 acres)[222]	YES	Sittingbourne 51.336°N 0.623°E / 51.336; 0.623 (Queendown Warren) TQ 828 629[222]	AONB,[223] KWT,[223] LNR,[224] NCR,[220] Plant,[225] SAC[226][227]	Map	Citation	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.[228]
River Beult		Y		29.1 hectares (72 acres)[229]	PP	Tonbridge 51.193°N 0.526°E / 51.193; 0.526 (River Beult) TQ 766 468[229]		Map	Citation	The river has a varied clay river flora, with nearly 100 recorded species. There are floating plants such as yellow water-lily in the channel and flora on the banks include amphibious bistort and celery-leaved buttercup.[230]
Robins Wood		Y		47.7 hectares (118 acres)[231]	FP	Cranbrook 51.076°N 0.522°E / 51.076; 0.522 (Robins Wood) TQ 768 338[231]		Map	Citation	This is a deep valley along a stream in the Weald, and has the humid conditions typical of such areas. It has a diverse flora of mosses, ferns and liverworts, and woodland which is thought to date back to recolonisation after the last ice age ended 11,700 years ago.[232]
Rusthall Common			Y	2.7 hectares (6.7 acres)[233]	YES	Tunbridge Wells 51.133°N 0.240°E / 51.133; 0.240 (Rusthall Common) TQ 568 395[233]	GCR[234]	Map	Citation	This Quaternary site is important for its examples of sandstone weathering, especially Toad Rock, which stands on a narrow base moulded by periglacial wind erosion.[235]
Sandwich Bay to Hacklinge Marshes		Y	Y	1,790.1 hectares (4,423 acres)[236]	PP	Sandwich 51.283°N 1.371°E / 51.283; 1.371 (Sandwich Bay to Hacklinge Marshes) TR 352 592[236]	GCR,[237][238] KWT,[239] LNR,[240] NCR,[241] NNR,[36][242] Ramsar,[243] SAC,[244][245] SPA[246]	Map	Citation	This site has over 30 plant species and 168 invertebrates which are nationally rare and nationally scarce, and several wintering birds are present in nationally important numbers. It is also a geologically important site, with diverse fish fossils dating to the Thanetian around 57 million years ago.[247]
Scord's Wood and Brockhoult Mount		Y		252.3 hectares (623 acres)[248]	PP	Westerham 51.248°N 0.112°E / 51.248; 0.112 (Scord's Wood and Brockhoult Mount) TQ 475 520[248]	NCR[9]	Map	Citation	This sloping site has the best sessile oak stands in the county. Grasslands on acidic soils are mainly common bent, heath bedstraw and sheep's sorrel, together with some heather and bracken.[249]
Scotney Castle		Y		112.5 hectares (278 acres)[250]	YES	Tunbridge Wells 51.091°N 0.410°E / 51.091; 0.410 (Scotney Castle) TQ 689 352[250]	NT[251]	Map	Citation	This site has parkland, grassland, woodland. There are dormice, a protected species, and several nationally scarce invertebrates, such as Rolph's door snail. There are man-made ponds and a moat.[252]
Seabrook Stream		Y		24.1 hectares (60 acres)[253]	PP	Folkestone 51.087°N 1.109°E / 51.087; 1.109 (Seabrook Stream) TR 178 366[253]		Map	Citation	The main biological interest of this site lies in the sixty-seven species of cranefly which have been recorded in areas of alder carr and fen. Four are nationally scarce, including Erioptera limbata, which is only known on two other British sites, and there are also fourteen other nationally scarce invertebrate species.[254]
Sevenoaks Gravel Pits		Y		73.7 hectares (182 acres)[255]	PP	Sevenoaks 51.291°N 0.181°E / 51.291; 0.181 (Sevenoaks Gravel Pits) TQ 522 569[255]	KWT[256]	Map	Citation	This site has flooded gravel pits which have a variety of breeding and wintering birds. There are thirteen species of dragonfly, and there are also areas of reedbeds and woodland.[257]
Sheppey Cliffs and Foreshore		Y	Y	303.6 hectares (750 acres)[258]	PP	Sheerness 51.421°N 0.865°E / 51.421; 0.865 (Sheppey Cliffs and Foreshore) TQ 993 730[258]	GCR[259][260][261][262][263]	Map	Citation	This site exposes Eocene London Clay with well preserved fossil fauna and flora, which have been studied since the eighteenth century. Flora include tropical lianas. The site is botanically important for the nationally rare dragon's teeth.[264]
Shorne and Ashenbank Woods		Y		197.4 hectares (488 acres)[265]	YES	Gravesend 51.403°N 0.414°E / 51.403; 0.414 (Shorne and Ashenbank Woods) TQ 680 699[265]		Map	Citation	These woods have diverse and important invertebrates, especially dragonflies, beetles and true bugs, including the rare beetles Mordella holomelaena and Peltodytes caesus. Several clay workings have been landscaped to create shallow ponds designed for wildlife.[266]
Sissinghurst Park Wood		Y		34.1 hectares (84 acres)[267]	NO	Cranbrook 51.120°N 0.573°E / 51.120; 0.573 (Sissinghurst Park Wood) TQ 802 388[267]		Map	Citation	This wood is mainly sweet chestnut coppice, and the importance of the site lies in the number of rare plants found in its rides. It is the most eastern locality in Britain for ivy-leaved bellflower.[268]
South Thames Estuary and Marshes		Y		5,289.0 hectares (13,069 acres)[269]	PP	Rochester 51.471°N 0.576°E / 51.471; 0.576 (South Thames Estuary and Marshes) TQ 790 778[269]	NCR,[178] Ramsar,[270] RSPB,[271] SPA[272]	Map	Citation	Over 20,000 waterfowl use this site, and some species are present in internationally important numbers. There are nationally scarce plants on dykes, and the diverse invertebra include nationally rare beetles, flies and true bugs.[273]
Southborough Pit			Y	1.1 hectares (2.7 acres)[274]	PP	Tunbridge Wells 51.153°N 0.276°E / 51.153; 0.276 (Southborough Pit) TQ 593 418[274]	GCR[275]	Map	Citation	This site dates to the Valanginian age, around 140 million years ago in the Lower Cretaceous. It is the type locality for the High Brooms Soil Bed, which contains the aquatic horsetail Equisetes lyellii.[276]
Spot Lane Quarry			Y	0.1 hectares (0.25 acres)[277]	YES	Maidstone 51.258°N 0.568°E / 51.258; 0.568 (Spot Lane Quarry) TQ 793 541[277]	GCR[278][279]	Map	Citation	This site exposes loess, probably dating to the glacial Wolstonian Stage between 352,000 and 130,000 years ago. It contains the fossils of land snails, and as loess in Britain is usually unfossiliferous, it is one of the few sites where loess fauna can be studied.[280]
Stodmarsh		Y		623.2 hectares (1,540 acres)[281]	PP	Canterbury 51.308°N 1.172°E / 51.308; 1.172 (Stodmarsh) TR 212 613[281]	NCR,[282] NNR,[36][283] Ramsar,[284] SAC,[285] SPA[286]	Map	Citation	This site has flooded gravel pits, scrub, reed beds, grassland and alder carr, with a diverse flora and fauna. Several scarce moths have been recorded and two rare birds, cetti's warbler and the bearded tit, breed in nationally significant numbers.[287]
Sturry Pit			Y	0.7 hectares (1.7 acres)[288]	YES	Canterbury 51.304°N 1.120°E / 51.304; 1.120 (Sturry Pit) TR 176 607[288]	GCR[289]	Map	Citation	This former gravel quarry has yielded many hand axes of Middle Acheulian style from the third terrace of the River Stour. It is important for understanding the chronologies of the terraces of the Thames basin in the Pleistocene.[290]
The Swale		Y		6,509.4 hectares (16,085 acres)[291]	PP	Faversham 51.362°N 0.873°E / 51.362; 0.873 (The Swale) TR 001 665[291]	KWT,[292] LNR,[293] NCR,[173] NNR,[294][295][36] Ramsar,[296] SPA[297]	Map	Citation	This site has mudflats, saltmarsh and fresh water marsh. It has many wildfowl and waders, including internationally important numbers of teal, wigeon and grey plover. The Swale also has a rich variety of invertebrates and plants.[298]
Swanscombe Skull Site			Y	3.9 hectares (9.6 acres)[299]	YES	Swanscombe 51.444°N 0.297°E / 51.444; 0.297 (Swanscombe Skull Site) TQ 597 742[299]	GCR,[300][301] NNR[36][302]	Map	Citation	The large stone in the photograph marks the place where in 1935 dentist Alvan Marston found the first Lower Paleolithic human fossil in Britain. It is part of the skull of a 400,000 year old early Neanderthal woman, and is one of only two British sites to have yielded human remains from this early period.[303][304]
Tankerton Slopes		Y		2.3 hectares (5.7 acres)[305]	YES	Whitstable 51.364°N 1.045°E / 51.364; 1.045 (Tankerton Slopes) TR 121 672[305]	SAC[306]	Map	Citation	This north facing slope has a population of tall herbs, including the largest population in Britain of hog's fennel, a nationally rare umbellifer. Fauna include Agonopterix putridella, a nationally rare moth whose larvae feed exclusively on hog's fennel.[307]
Thanet Coast		Y	Y	816.9 hectares (2,019 acres)[308]	PP	Birchington 51.380°N 1.279°E / 51.380; 1.279 (Thanet Coast) TR 283 696[308]	GCR,[309] LNR,[310] Ramsar,[243] SAC,[245][306] SPA[246]	Map	Citation	This site has unstable cliffs and foreshore, saltmarsh, lagoons, woodland and grassland. It has internationally important numbers of wintering birds and three nationally rare invertebrates. It is also an important Palaeocene site and paleobotanical locality.[311]
Tower Hill to Cockham Wood		Y	Y	48.8 hectares (121 acres)[312]	PP	Rochester 51.410°N 0.531°E / 51.410; 0.531 (Tower Hill to Cockham Wood) TQ 761 709[312]	GCR[313][314]	Map	Citation	This site contains typical woodland on Tertiary deposits, and sandy areas which have diverse invertebrates, including seven nationally rare bees and wasps. Upnor Quarry exposes a complete sequence of Tertiary rocks.[315]
Trottiscliffe Meadows		Y		4.8 hectares (12 acres)[316]	FP	West Malling 51.311°N 0.356°E / 51.311; 0.356 (Trottiscliffe Meadows) TQ 643 595[316]	NCR[317]	Map	Citation	These meadows on gault clay are crossed by calcareous streams, and they are two of the few remaining areas of unimproved grassland in the county. They have a number of uncommon plants, such as marsh valerian, carnation sedge, brown sedge and the rare moss Cratoneuron filicinum.[318]
Wansunt Pit			Y	1.9 hectares (4.7 acres)[319]	PP	Dartford 51.443°N 0.179°E / 51.443; 0.179 (Wansunt Pit) TQ 515 738[319]	GCR[320]	Map[e]	Citation	The site exposes the Dartford Heath Gravel. The relationship of this exposure to the Swanscombe sequence and the Thames Terraces is a controversial issue in Thames Pleistocene studies.[321] Stone tools have been found of Homo heidelbergensis, dating from the Hoxnian Stage, an interglacial period between 424,000 and 374,000 years ago.[322]
Wateringbury			Y	0.2 hectares (0.49 acres)[323]	NO	Maidstone 51.255°N 0.416°E / 51.255; 0.416 (Wateringbury) TQ 687 534[323]	GCR[324]	Map	Citation	This site contains tufa which displays a complete sequence of molluscs, especially terrestrial snails, dating to the early Holocene, and thus gives a full record of the order in which species colonised the area after the end of the last ice age, the Younger Dryas.[325]
West Blean and Thornden Woods		Y		781.0 hectares (1,930 acres)[326]	PP	Herne Bay 51.328°N 1.088°E / 51.328; 1.088 (West Blean and Thornden Woods) TR 152 633[326]	KWT,[327] NCR[34]	Map	Citation	These woods have more than fifty species of breeding birds, and the diverse invertebrate fauna include five nationally rare and thirteen nationally scarce species. There is also a population of the declining and protected hazel dormouse.[328]
Westerham Mines		Y		25.4 hectares (63 acres)[329]	PP	Westerham 51.257°N 0.084°E / 51.257; 0.084 (Westerham Mines) TQ 455 529[329]		Map	Citation	The main interest of this site lies in the use of former mines by five species of bats for hibernation. They are the whiskered, Brandt's, Daubenton's, Natterer's and long-eared bats. Some moths also hibernate in the mines.[330]
Westerham Wood		Y		43.3 hectares (107 acres)[331]	NO	Westerham 51.276°N 0.062°E / 51.276; 0.062 (Westerham Wood) TQ 439 550[331]		Map	Citation	This ancient oak wood on Gault Clay is traditionally managed, and it has a diverse ground flora and an outstanding range of breeding birds. The insect fauna is also diverse, and 77 bryophyte and nearly 300 fungus species have been recorded.[332]
Wouldham to Detling Escarpment		Y	Y	311.2 hectares (769 acres)[333]	PP	Chatham 51.322°N 0.514°E / 51.322; 0.514 (Wouldham to Detling Escarpment) TQ 753 611[333]	AONB,[334] GCR,[335] KWT,[336][337][338] LNR,[339] NCR,[340] SAC[111]	Map	Citation	This stretch of chalk escarpment has woodland, unimproved grassland and scrub. Plants include the nationally rare meadow clary and there are several scarce invertebrates. There are many Mesozoic fossil fishes in an excellent state of preservation.[341]
Wye and Crundale Downs		Y	Y	358.3 hectares (885 acres)[342]	PP	Ashford 51.176°N 0.969°E / 51.176; 0.969 (Wye and Crundale Downs) TR 076 460[342]	AONB,[342] GCR,[343][344] NCR,[345] NNR,[36][346] SAC[347][348]	Map	Citation	This site has a variety of habitats, including grassland, calacreous fen meadow, scrub, dry woodland on chalk and wet alder woodland. The Devil's Kneading Trough, found within the site, is an important geological site displaying periglacial changes dating to the late glacial period.[349]
Yockletts Bank		Y		25.4 hectares (63 acres)[350]	YES	Canterbury 51.188°N 1.040°E / 51.188; 1.040 (Yockletts Bank) TR 125 476[350]	AONB,[351] KWT[351]	Map	Citation	This sloping site has woodland on dry chalk soils with diverse woodland breeding birds. The ground flora, dominated by bluebells, also contains many orchids.[352]

See also

• List of Local Nature Reserves in Kent
• Kent Wildlife Trust

Notes

1. The area and grid reference are taken from the "Details" page for each site on the Natural England database.^[5]
2. The maps are provided by Natural England on the Magic Map website.
3. Citations are provided for each site by Natural England.
4. Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay and High Rocks are partly in East Sussex
5. Wansunt Pit is partly in Greater London