Kalpana Kalpana (Editor)

Samphire Hoe Country Park

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Created
  
1997 (1997)

Area
  
30 ha

Number of visitors
  
110,000

Parking
  
Paid parking

Phone
  
+44 1304 225649

Samphire Hoe Country Park

Operated by
  
White Cliffs Countryside Project

Status
  
Open 7 days a week, dawn until dusk

Website
  
www.whitecliffscountryside.org.uk

Address
  
Dover-Folkestone Heritage Coast, Kent Downs AONB, Samphire Rd, Dover CT17 9FL, UK

Hours
  
Open today · 8AM–5PMSaturday8AM–5PMSunday8AM–5PMMonday8AM–5PMTuesday8AM–5PMWednesday8AM–5PMThursday8AM–5PMFriday8AM–5PMSuggest an edit

Similar
  
South Foreland Lighthouse, Dover Transport Museum, Kearsney Abbey, White Cliffs of Dover, Shakespeare Cliff Halt railway st

Samphire Hoe Country Park is a country park situated 3 km (2 miles) west of Dover in Kent in southeast England. The park was created by using 4.9 million cubic metres of chalk marl from the Channel Tunnel excavations and is found at the bottom of a section of the White Cliffs of Dover. The site is owned by Eurotunnel Ltd., and managed by the White Cliffs Countryside Project.

Contents

It is accessible by the public via a single-track tunnel controlled by traffic lights, which crosses over the South Eastern Main Line running in a tunnel underneath. Visitor facilities are provided, including car parking, toilets and a tea kiosk.

029 vanlife vlog road trip dover to samphire hoe country park


Origin of the name

Samphire Hoe is named after the wild plant rock samphire that was once collected from the Dover 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.

The name was coined by Mrs Gillian Janaway, a retired English teacher from Dover, by way of a public competition.

History of the area

The cliffs above the current park were blown up with gunpowder in 1843 to aid the creation of the Dover to Folkestone railway. In 1880 an attempt was made from the site to create a tunnel that would pass under the English Channel but it failed shortly afterwards. In 1895 a coal mine was sunk there but this closed in 1921 after being very unsuccessful. These activities were served by Shakespeare Cliff Halt railway station at the western end of the Shakespeare Cliff tunnel; the remains of the platforms can be seen from the road to the car park. A community of fisherfolk and others once lived at the foot of Shakespeare Cliff.

In the 1980s the site was deemed the most suitable of sixty proposed to dump chalk from Channel Tunnel excavations, and work began on it in 1988. As the 30 hectares 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 artificial lagoon. It was completed in 1994 and opened by Queen Elizabeth II and President François Mitterrand. It opened to the public in 1997.

Tourism

The park now attracts around 110,000 visitors per year. Walking, cycling, angling on the sea wall and bird watching are some of the activities available. The park is open between 7am and dusk; admittance is free and car parking is £1. It is very wheelchair friendly and an education room is available for school use.

The site has a walking trail and serves as a wildlife area. Samphire Hoe has been managed by the White Cliffs Countryside Project, in partnership with the owner, Eurotunnel.

Walking trail

Samphire Hoe has a walking path which makes a full circuit of 2 kilometres (1.2 mi). The level of the path has mild slopes with an average gradient of 1:15 though a little steeper in places and with cross slopes of up to 1:25. The nature trail within the Hoe is tarmac with fine gravel, but the seawall path is made of smooth concrete. The area has been used for jogging and fun runs on special occasions.

Ecology

The ecology of Samphire Hoe includes wildflowers and birds. It is now a chalk meadow-land with a number of nationally rare plant species including the early spider orchid. In July each year, the rock sea lavender blooms, along with rock samphire.

Peregrine falcons have been seen flying along the cliffs. Some stonechats and meadow pipits gather on the meadow, while rock pipits move along the base of the cliffs. House martins make mud nests under the overhangs of the chalk cliffs.

References

Samphire Hoe Country Park Wikipedia