Country Breaks in Alkham Valley and East Downlands
Alkham Valley
The Alkham Valley is in the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural
Beauty and a haven of peace and quiet nestling between the busy
port towns of Dover and Folkestone. The Valley also boasts number
of other designations, having Special Landscape Areas, Sites of
Special Scientific Interest, Conservation areas and 17 Grade II
listed buildings.
Situated at the northern end of the Alkham
Valley, just three miles from Dover and within St. Radigund’s Abbey
Farm, are the remains of St. Radigund’s Abbey. The
Abbey was built in 1191 and occupied by monks from Premontre in
France. Today, the remains include the gatehouse (or tower), the
nave, transept, chapter house, cellarer’s buildings and refectory
which can be seen from the local footpath.
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East Kent Downlands
The North Downs slope gently eastwards
towards the English Channel between the White Cliffs at Dover and
the Isle of Thanet.
This landscape supports a range of
important habitats and wildlife such as areas of herb-rich chalk
grassland, bluebell and wild flower rich ancient woodlands. Hedges
are another special feature, dividing arable fields and linking
many of the areas of woodland together.
This area also forms part of the former
East Kent Coalfield. Developed during the 20th century,
the grand vision was never quite realised but the remains of the
collieries, the colliery villages and the East Kent Railway still
stand.
The Miner’s Way winds its way through much of this part of East
Kent, linking together pretty villages, small farmsteads, grand
country estates and parklands and the remains of this area’s
industrial heritage. These country estates include
Fredville Park, famed for its grand parkland trees
and in particular the Majesty Oak, Goodnestone
Park where Jane Austen was a regular visitor, and
Knowlton Court, set in 300 acres of parkland and
once home to Sir Thomas Peyton, one of the Royalist commanders
during the English Civil War.
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East Kent Downlands>>
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