- Samphire Hoe Country Park
Samphire Hoe Country Park is a
country park situated 3 kilometres west ofDover ,Kent ,England (coord|51.10783| 1.280078). The park was created by using 4.9 million cubic metres ofchalk marl from theChannel Tunnel excavations and is found at the bottom of a section of theWhite Cliffs of Dover . [ [http://www.samphirehoe.com/default.asp The Official Samphire Hoe website] ] The site is owned byEurotunnel Ltd., and managed by the White Cliffs Countryside Project. cite web|url=http://ftp.kent.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/explore-kent/parks-and-open-spaces/samphire-hoe-picnic-site.htm |title=Hoe Picnic site |accessdate=2008-03-26 ]Origin of the Name
Samphire Hoe is named after the
rock samphire that was once collected from theDover cliffs; its fleshy green leaves were picked in May and pickled in barrels of brine and sent to London, where it was served as a dish to accompany meat. A 'hoe' is a piece of land which sticks out into the sea. cite web|url=http://www.samphirehoe.com/name.asp |title=Samphire Hoe |accessdate=2008-03-26 ]History and Construction of the Area
The cliffs above the current park were blown up with gunpowder in 1843 to aid the creation of the
Dover toFolkestone railway. In 1880 an attempt was made from the site to create a tunnel that would pass under theEnglish Channel but it failed shortly afterwards. In 1895 acoal mine was sunk there but this closed in 1921 after being very unsuccessful. [ [http://www.samphirehoe.com/history.asp History of the Hoe] ] In the 1980s the site was chosen as the one deemed most suitable out of 60 proposed to dump chalk from Channel Tunnel excavations and work began on it in 1988. As the 30hectares that make up the park were totally reclaimed from the sea the first job to be completed was the building of walls in the sea to create an artificiallagoon . It was completed in 1994 and opened byQueen Elizabeth II and PresidentFrancois Mitterand . It became open to the public in 1997.Tourism
The park now attracts around 110,000 visitors per year. Walking, cycling,
angling on the sea wall andbird watching are some of the activities available. The park is open between 7am anddusk admittance is free and car parking is £1. [ [http://www.donowdo.com/Parks-Reserves-And-Country-Estates/Samphire-Hoe-Country-Park-Dover-CT17-9XX.htm General and wildlife information about the Hoe] ] It is very wheelchair friendly and an education room is available for school use.External links
* [http://www.whitecliffscountryside.org.uk/index3.php?id_
]
References
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