Queendown Warren

= QUEENDOWN WARREN LNR =

Map reference: O.S. Map 188 TQ 827629

LocationFrom the A2 follow the sign to Hartlip along the Lower Hartlip Road. Turn right into Mount Lane then left at staggered crossroads into Warren Lane. Car park is 1/2 mile on left.

Status
SSSI, SAC, LNR, Kent Downs AONB.Different sections of the reserve are owned by Plantlife, Kent Wildlife Trust and Swale Borough Council. Management is by KWT.

AccessMany minor roads lead to the reserve (see OS map). Parking at car park at the eastern end of the reserve. Public and permissive footpaths (with rambler and kissing gates) cross the reserve.

Paths on the banks are steep and uneven in places, and grazing animals may be present, so please keep dogs under close control. A nature trail leaflet is available on request.

Points of interestThe reserve covers almost 80 hectares and comprises several distinct sections. The original reserve was a rabbit warren in mediaeval times and forms the reserve's core. It has probably been open downland for many hundreds of years and has an internationally important community of grassland orchids.

A major extension to the reserve was made in 1999 with the addition of pasture on the opposite side of the valley facing the Main Bank. This is being managed to encourage colonisation of species from the original reserve. In 2003, 40 hectares of arable land opposite the Main Bank were added, doubling the size of the reserve. Over time this will be restored to prime wildlife-friendly land.

Queendown has the usual plants of chalk grassland, and orchids are well represented, particularly the fragrant orchid, with scattered groups of early spider, bee and man orchids. Later in the year autumn lady's-tresses may be found. A good variety of chalk grassland butterflies can be seen in summer, including the Adonis blue, re-introduced in 2002. At the bottom of the bank, there is a colony of rabbits which, together with grazing cattle, help to maintain the short sward, essential for the maintenance of many orchid populations. The West Bank has several patches of fly orchid and white helleborine in the scrub and woodland edges. Some particularly good examples of the many large beech trees on the reserve can be seen in this section.

Potters Wood contains native broad leaved trees - oak, ash, beech, birch and wild cherry - and some sweet chestnut coppice managed by traditional methods. The southern part of the wood is on the chalk and has the remnants of many large beech trees which fell during the storm of October 1987. This area is especially good for observing adders.