Wye Downs

The North Downs at the Wye Downs National Nature Reserve.

Wye Downs is a stretch of chalk downland and woodland located on the North Downs near the village of Wye in Kent. The site is a national nature reserve (NNR) owned and managed by Natural England, and comprises a chalk escarpment dissected by several coombes, which were formed by frost weathering in the period following the last ice age.^[1] The most spectacular coombe is known as the Devil's Kneading Trough. The field containing Wye Crown is also within the NNR and is owned by Imperial College London. Originally the Crown was carved in the chalk but is now made of painted stones enclosed in wire cages.

The Downs are part of Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Wye and Crundale Downs Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Wildlife[]

Over 21 species of orchids have been recorded at the reserve including one of the UK's rarest species, the late spider-orchid. Many uncommon species of animals are also found here, including the Duke of Burgundy butterfly and black-veined moth.

External links[]

Wye Downs NNR on Natural England website

51°10′47″N 0°57′50″E / 51.17972°N 0.96389°E

References[]

^ Kerney, M. P.; Brown, E. H.; Chandler, T. J. (1964). "The Late-glacial and Post-glacial history of the Chalk Escarpment near Brook, Kent". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 248: 135–204. doi:10.1098/rstb.1964.0010.

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[Kerney-1] Kerney, M. P.; Brown, E. H.; Chandler, T. J. (1964). "The Late-glacial and Post-glacial history of the Chalk Escarpment near Brook, Kent". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 248: 135–204. doi:10.1098/rstb.1964.0010.

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