Blue Bell Hill and Culand Pits Guided Walk

Get GeoCurious this winter and join the Medway Valley Countryside Partnership for a guided walk around the chalk escarpment of Blue Bell Hill. Enjoy amazing views over Culand Pit and learn more about the local landscape, geology and wildlife on this wintery walk. Back at the meeting point after the walk there is a hot beverage and biscuits for you to to enjoy whilst taking in the view.

Please note parts of the walk include steep terrain. Whilst the walk is only 3km, the steep terrain will mean the walk lends itself to more experienced walkers, though all are welcome to attend and the pace will be very gentle. Please wear appropriate outdoor clothes and footwear.

Meet in the car park at Blue Bell Hill Picnic Site (ME5 9RG) for a 10am start. The walk should be somewhere between 1½ – 2 hrs if we take breaks to look at flora and fauna that we may encounter.

Get GeoCurious this winter!

In celebration of Kent Downs’ geodiversity, and as part of our bid for Cross-Channel UNESCO Global Geopark status, we are welcoming you to join us for a programme of free events at some of Kent’s most important geological sites. Choose from fossil forays, guided walks across the chalk, river dipping, coppicing, natural arts and crafts, and den making. All led by local experts at nature reserves, woods and rivers across the Kent Downs.

Feel the fresh air on your face and discover the heritage beneath your feet in some of Kent’s most beautiful places. Join local experts for a free walk, talk, explore, forage, or to learn a new skill all while discovering the renowned and rare geology of the Kent Downs.

Events are free but booking is essential, for bookings and to view the full programme of Get GeoCurious events go to www.kentdowns.org.uk/events

Geodiversity is the silent partner to biodiversity

Geodiversity is all around us and is intimately linked to biodiversity. In the Kent Downs it’s in the soaring chalk cliffs and the intimate microhabitats of rockpools. It’s the foundation of ancient bluebell woods, farmland, wildflower-rich chalk grassland, farmland and vineyards, the expansive rolling views, and the chalk aquifer supplying most of our drinking water.

What’s the Cross-Channel Geopark?

In celebration of the chalk and the channel, we are working to secure Cross-Channel UNESCO Global Geopark status for the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) together with our neighbouring protected landscape in France; the Parc Naturel Regional des Caps et Marais d’Opale. Hundreds of thousands of years ago a catastrophic flood swept away the chalk ridge connecting Dover and Calais, carving out the white cliffs of Dover and starting Britain’s history as an island. The Kent and French coasts are actually still connected today by the layer of chalk which runs below the Channel, this chalk continues from the white cliffs of Dover towards London and is the foundation of much that is beautiful in the Kent Downs. The Geopark will include both the protected landscapes and the Channel connecting them, recognising and celebrating the geological connection between us.

The programme of ‘Get GeoCurious’ events are funded by The “UNESCO Sites Across the Channel” (USAC) project which receives financial support from the European Interreg France (Channel) England Program