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The Larches
The Larches is an area of about sixty acres of woodland lying
between Detling and Boxley on the slope of the North Downs.
The area is mostly woodland with a variety of trees and shrubs
including many yews and Beeches. The flora is typical of the
chalk escarpment and includes some realtively rare plants and flowers.
Until the 1950's there was, towards the western boundary, a paddock surrounded
by trees, known as the "lost field".
For more information, please visit the Kent County Council Website
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Scragged Oak viewpoint
Scragged Oak viewpoint is a small area of woodland, scrub and chalk grassland in a triangle of land between Scragged Oak road and the A249, known for its wide
variety of native plants and glorious views over the Kent countryside. Some five years ago this area was an eyesore and a place for fly-tipping and other anti-social
activities. With assistance from the Mid Kent Downs 'Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty' project, the area was fenced off and improved by selective cutting back of vegetation once or twice a year.
Two simple benches and an information board have also been erected.
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Lynch Bank
The land known as the Lynch is part of the Wouldham to Detling Escarpment Site of Special
Scientific Interest (SSSI), a national designation for important wildlife sites. The Lynch supports species-rich chalk grassland, which is a rare and important habitat for a wide range of specialised flora and fauna, including orchids and butterflies.
For many years the Lynch was recorded by English Nature to be in an unfavourable condition for its wildlife interest because of the lack of grazing which lead to scrub encroachment and the loss of chalk grassland.
Removing the scrub which has encroached onto the grassland in recent times and restoring grazing is necessary to conserve the chalk grassland in the long run. Left unmanaged the bank would eventually become dominated by scrub, and the diversity of wildlife associated with open chalk grassland would be lost. Grazing is vital to maintain the diversity of habitats for which the Kent Downs is important, a diversity which was largely created and maintained by centuries of sheep grazing.
The UK is thought to hold half the world’s extent of chalk grassland and Kent contains some 5% of this resource. Much of Kent’s chalk grassland was either ploughed during the war or subsequently lost through the uneconomic abandonment of grazing on the Downs. Fluctuating populations of rabbits could not prevent the encroachment of scrub and by the time that SSSIs were being notified under the Wildlife & Countryside Act (1981) many areas had become heavily scrubbed over.
However, while this legislation enabled English Nature to prevent damaging operations on SSSIs, prior to the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (2000) there were no powers to ensure positive management and consequently some SSSIs continued to be neglected and are only now being restored to appropriate management.
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