Butterflies and more at Cliffe marshes (20/6)

Cliffe Marshes are situated on the Hoo Peninsula in Kent & are barely 25 miles from the City of London. They comprise a beautiful, wild area that has been reclaimed & healed by nature after being vandalised & then abandoned by mankind who used them as a site for cement works & explosives factories. A few years ago it was under serious threat as a favoured site for a third London airport but fortunately this idea was abandoned after vociferous opposition from local people & nature conservation organisations. It beggars belief that after all this, these marshes are still abused by a small minority of people such as fly-tippers, motorcyclists, wild campers, 'ravers' & dog owners.

The area is currently well managed  by the RSPB as one of their flagship reserves. The old pits resulting from clay extraction  for use in the cement works have flooded to form a unique habitat of saline lagoons that attract thousands of wild fowl & waders.

The fresh marsh with its network of fleets & dykes are home to a rich variety of flora & fauna including many rare species of insect. There are marsh frogs, grass snakes, & nesting wild fowl & waders. The water voles are making a comeback here as well after many years of serious decline.

A small tortoise shell butterfly feeding on privet growing alongside one of the tracks near an old chalk quarry.

Meadow brown butterfly.

Holly blue butterfly (female denoted by broad black band on leading edge of the forewing).

Goats rue flowering by the side of another track.

And biting stonecrop.

Langley - Platts Heath - Boughton Malherbe - Headcorn - Boughton Monchelsea (14/6)

The 13th Century St. Nicholas Church, Boughton Malherbe lies on the high ground of the Greensand Ridge where it commands extensive views to the south. On clear days it is (supposedly) possible to see the English Channel & the South Downs from here. The church is quite isolated with only a farm & a few houses nearby. Most of the village’s population live in Grafty Green ~ 1 mile SW of the church. In 2011 a hoard of over 350 late Bronze Age objects was found buried in a field near here. They comprised tools, weapons, ornaments & ingots & were believed to have been made in France before being brought over to England. Dating from 875-800 BC this is the third largest hoard of its kind ever to be found in Britain.

Boughton Place is situated next to St. Nicholas’ Church & is an early 16th Century Manor House which has been  greatly altered over succeeding years. All that remains of the original house is the small wing on the right- hand side. Formerly known as Bocton Hall , it was home to the Wotton  family for over 400 years. Sir Henry Wotton (1568-1639), the famous poet, diplomat & provost of Eton College was born & spent his boyhood here.

Egerton House, near the village of Egerton is a grade II listed mansion. The core of the building dates back to medieval times but the house was significantly enhanced & enlarged by the Cornwallis family during the 18th Century & it was then that it was given its Georgian facade.

The beautiful Kentish countryside near Egerton.

Meadow sweet growing by the roadside on the approach to Headcorn fills the air with its sweet scent.

Headcorn is a large Wealden village which is rapidly becoming a small town.

WildEast - Britain's first regional nature recovery project

‘WildEast aims to become Britain’s first regional nature recovery project, returning 250,000 hectares of land to nature, and potentially seeing the reintroduction of species such as beavers, bison and the Eurasian lynx – which has become the symbol of the organisation.’

Wild ambition to turn East Anglia into one of the world’s greatest nature reserves

WildEast is a great idea & needs to be expanded over many other areas.

Squirrel portrait

Guest blog appearance by Saeed Amen:

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Squirrel portrait 🐿

A post shared by Saeed Amen (@saeedamen) on Jun 13, 2020 at 3:51am PDT

Pilgrims Way & Medway Towpath meanderings

Cycle ride along the Pilgrims Way through Detling & Boxley, then back along the Medway towpath to Maidstone [Photos courtesy of my son, Edward].

This is a photo from the Pilgrims Way at Boxley looking over a recently established vineyard towards Maidstone. The Pilgrims Way is a prehistoric route which runs along the foot of the N. Downs escarpment & connects the Channel ports with chalk heartlands of Wessex.

Common rock rose growing by the roadside. It is common on chalky soils.

Purple toadflax. A non-native species from S. Europe.

The White Horse Stone sited in woodland near the Pilgrims Way on the Boxley/Aylesford border. It is a large upright sarsen which is possibly part of a Neolithic burial chamber. It is the fabled site where the Jutish leaders Hengist & Horsa raised their standard before the battle at Aylesford in 445AD against the British king Vortigern. Horsa got  killed during the battle & his body was said to have been brought here.

Entrance to the tunnel at Blue Bell Hill where the Channel Tunnel Railway goes under the N. Downs.

The hospitium of Boxley Abbey which is all that remains of the Cistercian monastery dissolved by Henry VIII in 1537 during the Reformation. The roof has been repaired recently following damage caused by thieves stealing roof tiles.

St. Andrews Chapel, Boarley Lane. A 15th century chapel with priests lodging & part of Boxley Abbey. Reputedly there is a secret tunnel connecting it with the Abbey. Latterly a post office & private residence it is now under renovation.

House boats line the Medway towpath near Allington Lock.

Mullein moth caterpillar in our garden.

Although the caterpillar is quite pretty the moth it will develop into is very drab in colour.

Very rose-mantic - my flowers today (my wife Ivy)

31/05/20. Bike ride around Boughton, Sutton Valence & Leeds.

Another warm & sunny late spring day. I heard another cuckoo near Forge Lane but once again the skies were devoid of swallows & swifts. These birds used to fill the summer skies only a few years ago & the steep decline in their numbers is both sad & worrying. The massive fall in insect numbers must be a major factor. Derelict Hoppers huts as shown in this photo along Lower Farm Road, Boughton, were usually constructed of brick & corrugated iron. They provided accommodation for the hop pickers who visited Kent in large numbers during September each year to help with the hop harvest. Many of these people were working class families from the East End of London who regarded this annual trip to the Kentish countryside as their annual summer holiday. Hops were in great demand by the brewing industry during the late nineteenth & early twentieth centuries & Kent was one of the areas with the greatest acreage.

Pheasant Farm, Sutton Valence. A beautiful old farm house.

Cobnut plantation near Sutton Valence. Cobnuts are a type of large hazelnut & were widely grown on farms to the south of Maidstone. As with hops many of these plantations have disappeared in recent years.

Oast houses near Morry Hill, Sutton Valence. These buildings are a common sight in the Kentish countryside & were built as places to dry the hops. Hardly any hops are grown in Kent these days because of a steep decline in demand from the brewing industry & most oast houses have been converted into upmarket residential properties.