Toys Hill

Toys Hill, originally uploaded by G-andy.

First stop on my tour of the 40 interesting places on the Kent Downs was Toys Hill.

The Hurricane of 1987 claimed victim to many trees but here it was decided that instead of clearing the fallen trees, they would be left where they fell. This has helped to create habitat for a diverse abundance of fungi and insects on the forest floor. Interestingly, despite having been blown over in the storm, many of these trees have continued to grow shoots along their lateral length.

This shot shows one of the fallen trees and the roots of another with heavy moss growth.

The plan

It's been decided. I'm gonna start this Saturday by visiting Toys Hill (No. 1) near the Kent/Surrey border and then work my way along the Downs to the White Cliffs of Dover. Toys Hill is the highest point on the Kent Downs so it should offer some great views and awesome photo opportunities! On the way back the plan is to stop off at Westerham (No.8), a village with the highest number of listed buildings within the Kent Downs AONB - plenty of interesting subjects to photograph then!

On Sunday it's Bough Beech Nature Reserve (No.35), home to a large reservoir. Hopefully the weather will play ball but a quick scan of the forecast doesn't look too hopeful!

Planning

First trip is planned for this coming Saturday 6th Feb so I've spent a fair bit of this evening working out where I want to start off. I think I've got a plan formulated and will update on the finer details tomorrow...

The places...

This is the list of the 40 places. Some of these are located quite close to each other, enabling me to visit mutliple sites in a day, others are more spaced out. This might mean I hit all 40 places in less than 40 days. Or it might not if I get lazy!

1. Toys Hill
2. Park Gate Down Nature Reserve
3. Royal Military Canal
4. The Darent Valley
5. Devil's Kneading Trough
6. Shorne Woods Country Park
7. Samphire Hoe
8. Westerham
9. Kings Wood
10. Kemsing Down
11. Chilham
12. Knole
13. Perry Wood
14. Holly Hill Woodlands
15. The Law Day Oak
16. Torry Hill Park
17. Denge Wood
18.Cobnut Platts
19. Godmersham Park
20.Cobham Wood
21. Traditional Orchards
22. Stelling Minnis
23. Village Churches
24. Chalk and Channel Way
25. Ranscombe Farm Reserve
26. Bredhurst Woods
27. Heritage Coast
28. Bluebell Hill Picnic Site
29. Farmers Markets
30.Trosley Country Park
31. Hucking Estate
32. Elham
33. Queendown Warren Nature
Reserve
34. Barham Downs
35. Bough Beech Nature Reserve
36. Reinden Wood
37. Boxley Warren
38. Saunter from Sole Street
39. Syndale Valley Walk
40. White Cliffs of Dover

What's it all about?

I started the New Year with no resolutions other than a half baked promise to get out and see more of the world. Being somewhat useless when it comes to money I decided to look at options a little closer to home and a little easier on the wallet. The North Downs are an area into which I often venture (even more so now I have got a serious photography addiction) and I've often contemplated the idea of walking the North Downs Way from start to finish. However, starting at Farnham in Surrey and stretching 153miles to Dover in Kent, the time required to undertake this would be considerable!

Whilst looking on the Kent Downs website I noticed a feature celebrating 40 years of the Kent Downs being designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, complete with a list of 40 interesting places worth a visit within the AONB.

And so "40 Places 40 Days" was born. My aim over the coming weeks and months is to visit all of the 40 places listed and armed with my new Sony DSLR, I hope to document my travels here and on my Flickr page.