Wye and Crundale Downs is a biological and geological

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

in a number of separate areas east of Ashford in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. It is a

Special Area of Conservation A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

and a

Nature Conservation Review ''A Nature Conservation Review'' is a two-volume work by Derek Ratcliffe, published by Cambridge University Press in 1977. It set out to identify the most important places for nature conservation in Great Britain. It is often known by the initi ...

site, Grade I. and it is part of

Kent Downs The Kent Downs is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in Kent, England. They are the eastern half of the North Downs and stretch from the London/Surrey borders to the White Cliffs of Dover, including a small section of the London Boroug ...

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

. Some areas are part of a National Nature Reserve, and another area is listed on the

Geological Conservation Review The Geological Conservation Review (GCR) is produced by the UK's Joint Nature Conservation Committee. It is designed to identify those sites of national and international importance needed to show all the key scientific elements of the geological ...

. The most well-known part of the SSSI, usually known as "Wye Downs," is a stretch of

chalk downland Downland, chalkland, chalk downs or just downs are areas of open chalk hills, such as the North Downs. This term is used to describe the characteristic landscape in southern England where chalk is exposed at the surface. The name "downs" is deriv ...

and woodland located on the

North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Areas of Outstanding Natural Be ...

near the village of Wye. The site is a national nature reserve (NNR) owned and managed by

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

, and comprises a chalk

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. Due to the similarity, the term '' scarp'' may mistakenly be incorrectly used inte ...

dissected by several

coombes Coombes is a small village and civil parish in the Adur District of West Sussex, England. The village is in the Adur Valley northwest of Shoreham-by-Sea. Coombes Church is an 11th-century Church of England parish church that has lost its ...

, which were formed by

frost weathering Frost weathering is a collective term for several mechanical weathering processes induced by stresses created by the freezing of water into ice. The term serves as an umbrella term for a variety of processes, such as frost shattering, frost w ...

in the period following the last ice age. The most spectacular coombe is known as the Devil's Kneading Trough. The field containing Wye Crown is also within the NNR but is privately owned. Originally the Crown was carved in the chalk but is now made of white-painted stone

gabion A gabion (from Italian ''gabbione'' meaning "big cage"; from Italian ''gabbia'' and Latin ''cavea'' meaning "cage") is a cage, cylinder or box filled with rocks, concrete, or sometimes sand and soil for use in civil engineering, road building ...

s. Crundale is a valley situated a few kilometers north of Wye Downs, the main part of which is Winchcombe Down, another chalk escarpment, owned and managed by Natural England, although it is not publicly accessible except along the

North Downs Way The North Downs Way National Trail is a long-distance path in South East England, opened in 1978. It runs from Farnham in Surrey to Dover in Kent, past Guildford, Dorking, Merstham, Otford and Rochester, through the Surrey Hills National Lan ...

footpath.

Wildlife

The sites have a variety of habitats, including grassland, calcareous fen meadow, scrub, dry woodland on chalk and wet alder woodland. 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 ''Hamearis lucina'', the Duke of Burgundy, the only member of the genus ''Hamearis'', is a European butterfly in the family Riodinidae. For many years, it was known as the "Duke of Burgundy fritillary", because the adult's chequered pattern is s ...

and black-veined moth.

Access

There are two public car parks at the top of Wye Downs, along Coldharbour Lane. They are free to use, but a donation is requested (to be paid by mobile phone app). Marked trails extend around Pickersdane Scrubs and Broad Downs, including the Devil's Kneading Trough. The rest of Wye Downs is open to the public, but there are few formal paths. Crown Field has is a popular view point and can be accessed via a public footpath from Coldharbour Lane.

In popular culture

Author

Russell Hoban Russell Conwell Hoban (February 4, 1925 – December 13, 2011) was an American writer. His works span many genres, including fantasy, science fiction, mainstream fiction, magical realism, poetry, and children's books. He lived in London fro ...

repurposed The Devil's Kneading Trough as "Mr Clevvers Roaling Place" in his 1980, post apocalyptic novel ''

Riddley Walker ''Riddley Walker'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Russell Hoban, first published in 1980. It won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel in 1982, as well as an Australian Science Fiction Achievement Aw ...

''. Withersdane became "Widders Dump"; Wye, "How"; Pet Street , "Pig Sweet", and the Crundale Downs themselves, "Bundel Downs".

References

External links

Wye Downs NNR on Natural England website
{{SSSIs Kent Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Kent Geological Conservation Review sites Hills of Kent National nature reserves in England