News 

Samphire Hoe is open in lockdown-2 from 7 a.m. until dusk, every day of the week. In the interests of the protection and comfort of both the public and staff, we recommend you to follow the Government’s national restrictions, to respect social distancing and hygiene measures. Samphire Hoe’s rangers thank you for your patience.

Eurotunnel has, for the 15^th time, been awarded the highly prestigious Green Flag Award® for the 30-hectare Samphire Hoe nature reserve at the foot of the beautiful White Cliffs of Dover.

The Green Flag Award® scheme recognises and rewards well managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of recreational outdoor spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world.

A crown jewel of Kent

Each year parks, green spaces and nature reserves take part in a judging process which sees a panel visit individual sites marking them on their environmental qualities, community involvement and green credentials.

An inspiring nature reserve, Samphire Hoe was created from the spoil extracted during the construction of the Channel Tunnel which Eurotunnel sought to re-purpose to protect the environment. Over the years it has gradually become a nature reserve with a rich degree of biodiversity, described by the judges as ‘a real jewel in Kent’s crown’.

The White Cliffs Countryside Partnership oversees the day to day running of the Hoe, alongside a fantastic group of volunteers who help keep the Hoe up to the standard it is today.

A massive increase in the number of visitors

The coronavirus pandemic has seen an increased interest in visiting outdoor spaces, with the Hoe recording its highest number of visitors for the months of July and August since it opened in 1997, with more than 46,800 visitors, an increase of 50% compared to 2019.

Samphire Hoe re-opened that day and is open every day of the year from 7 a.m. 5 p.m. or dusk, whichever is the earliest. In the interests of the protection and comfort of both the public and staff, we recommend you to respect social distancing and hygiene measures and please take your rubbish home with you. Samphire Hoe’s rangers thank you for your patience.

Despite the human population being in lockdown, nature carries on. The first wheatears of the year have been passing through on their northward migration and the house martins have begun to return to the cliffs.
The early spider orchids are starting to flower but this year will go uncounted by the Rangers due to the current circumstances, but the undisturbed rabbits have been enjoying the exotic taste of orchids.
April has been one of the sunniest on record and this has helped the orange tip butterflies which have had a good month flying all over the Hoe.

On 23 March 2020, Samphire Hoe was closed to the public due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It will remain closed until further notice in the interests of the protection and comfort of both the public and staff. We will re-open as soon as measures to keep everyone safe can be put into place. However this does not mean end of work for the rangers. With cattle and sheep still grazing at Samphire Hoe, the animals are being check on a daily basis. It is going to be a strange experience being on site when there are no visitors and we hope to welcome you all as soon as possible under safe conditions.

There has been a hint of Spring in the air as skylarks are starting to sing. A very unusual bird sighting has been a ring ouzel which has spent the winter in the scrub on the cliff face and on the grassland of the Hoe. Normally they migrate to North Africa but this one decided it liked the area so much, it stayed with us and we made him very welcomed.

The winter has been quite wet so far which has given a good opportunity for the ponds to fill up. For most of the month, a firecrest has been heard and occasionally seen in the scrub at the base of the cliffs.

For the Rangers at the Hoe, each season has its characteristic wildlife. Mid-summer is represented by the beautifully patterned marbled white butterflies. These black and white checker board butterflies were once only found on the Hoe near the base of the cliffs but the summer of 2019 has seen them spread across the whole of the site. On a recent school visit, the children counted 35 along just a short section of path. They were delighted. This butterfly is only on the wing between late June and the middle of August. So come to visit Samphire Hoe and be sure to enjoy them.

Eurotunnel was awarded a Green Flag Award for the 14^th year in recognition of its efforts in conservation and community involvement.
The Green Flag Award is the benchmark national standard for parks and green spaces in the United Kingdom. The scheme recognises and rewards green spaces and nature reserves which meet the highest standards.
Samphire Hoe has been judged against some key criteria such as a welcoming place; healthy, safe and secure; clean and well maintained; sustainability; conservation and heritage; community involvement; marketing and management.
Over the years, Samphire has progressively been transformed into a nature reserve with a particularly rich degree of biodiversity. The daily management of the site is handled by the White Cliffs Countryside Partnership and supported by many local volunteers.

June 2019 has been a wonderful month for orchids at Samphire Hoe. The volunteer rangers have been busy counting all the orchids which, on top of the 1,300 early spider orchids counted in May, amounted to 5,060 common spotted orchids, 475 pyramidal orchids, 20 bee orchids and most excitingly the first ever fragrant orchid.

Early spider orchids are one of the Samphire Hoe speciality plants. This attractive looking plant is one of the first orchid of the year to flower. The flowers mimic a type of small bee called an andrena. The males attracted by the flowers scent and pattern ‘mate’ with flower and then get a pollen sack stuck onto their head. When ‘mating’ with the next flower it the pollen rubs off and fertilises the flower. It is amazing to think how a flower has evolved to smell like a female andrena bee. In 2019, the orchid count amounted to over 1,300 plants.

At the end of April, the new pond dipping pool was used by a school group for the first time. It took all together 22 months from the first turves cut in July 2017 to the construction of the pond and then leaving time to allow nature to colonise it enough for it to be used. The pond dipping has revealed the presence of dragonfly larvae both emperor and darters along with back swimmers and water boatmen. We are looking forward to further pond dipping adventures as the pool matures and becomes even richer in wildlife.

Wheatears are one of the first summer migrant birds to arrive. They winter in southern Africa and migrate north through Europe to their breeding grounds in northern England and even up into Greenland. At Samphire Hoe, they just pass through on their migrations. Every year the staff and volunteers in the Samphire Hoe team put in a sealed bid guessing the date that the first wheatear will be seen. Whoever gets the correct or closest date wins a small prize. This year the winning date was 21 March and three lucky team members all had the nearest date so the ranger had to buy three prizes!

The February exhibition in the Education Shelter was titled ‘Sunrise and Sunsets at Samphire Hoe’. It was a display of the amazing photos taken by James one of the Volunteer Rangers. The exhibition proved to be very popular with many positive comments. Alongside the exhibition, the sunrise and sunset walks attracted many people and weather was fortuitous on both occasions.

The last decade has seen the rapid recolonisation of Kent by common buzzards and it has now extended to Samphire Hoe. Buzzards are now seen regularly gliding along the cliffs or hanging in air on the strong updrafts with languid wing flaps. These impressive birds can be seen alongside the ravens which have also recolonised the cliffs. If you are very lucky, the strikingly powerful flight of peregrine falcons will hurtle by.

December can be a quieter time of year to visit Samphire Hoe. When there are fewer people walking along the sea wall, some interesting birds can be seen. Cormorants perch on the outer edge of the wall. As winter progresses, some of them begin to develop their breeding plumage of white head and thigh patch. In recent years, some very large flocks of several hundred birds have been seen fishing offshore. These large black birds can almost look pterodactyl like in flight.

Joys of winter – As the days shorten, the nights get longer and the temperatures drop. One of the great thing about winter is the sunsets at Samphire Hoe. In the summer, there is no sunset to be seen as the sun disappears behind the cliff. In the winter, the skyscapes can be spectacular. Because the sun is low on the horizon, sunlight passes through more air at sunset and much of the blue light gets scattered away, making the reds and oranges more pronounced. No two days are the same at the time of the year. The number of people who visit Samphire Hoe also reduces towards the end of the year, making it the perfect time to come and experience the solitude of winter.

On Saturday 14 October, Samphire Hoe had a Wildlife Migration Day from 10:00am until 4:00pm. During the day birdwatchers between Kingsdown and Folkestone tweeted out their observations with the #wildlifemigrationday and these were marked out on the plotting table. The East Kent Wildlife Group did a ringing demonstration; the public were able to watch as meadow pipits, stonechats and even a kestrel were being ringed. During the course of the day, 58 species of bird were seen totalling 2,822 individual birds. The top ten species seen were: goldfinch, starling, linnet, siskin, song thrush, chiffchaff, chaffinch, redwing and robin. Unusual birds seen included Richard’s pipit, 7 yellow browed warblers and a woodlark. Paul Holt the ranger also led guided walks at 10:00am and 2:00pm which were attended by a total of 26 people. According to everyone, it was delightful day with light winds, warm sunshine and a wealth of birds to see.

Walking around Samphire Hoe has been enlivened by the presence of a large flock of over 200 starlings. They have been busily feeding in the grassland and on the wealth of berries on the sea-buckthorn bushes, brambles and buckthorn. They constantly call and burble to one another and this sound has been the autumn sound track of the Hoe. They used to breed on the cliffs and in some of the buildings but now they occur as a post breeding season flock or passage autumn migrant. In their winter plumage they are one of the most spectacular birds to see at the Hoe.

Samphire Hoe Sunday Funday was held at the end of August. Despite it being the first day of poor weather of the whole summer, more than 400 people attended and enjoyed the event. There was a wide variety of activities such as the bug road show display and its amazing insects, the coastal collage, treasure hunt and much more. New for this year was spin painting, a bit messy but fun and the’ eels up the Dour’ a game of skill and nerve.

Samphire Hoe is one of the best places in Kent to see stonechats in the summer months. This year 7 pairs held territory on the Hoe. They are distinct small robin sized birds which have a helpful habit of perching on the top of bushes as they are looking for insect food. The males have a dark head, white collar and an orange front; the females are similar but duller. Working together with the East Kent Ringing Group a study is being carried out into the Stonechats of the Hoe. By putting colour rings onto one leg, it is possible to identify individuals and investigate where and when they are found on the Hoe. If you do see one on a visit, please call in at the Rangers hut to report your sighting. Thank you for your collaboration.

Samphire Hoe is known for its early spider orchids. This year we are delighted that the generally more abundant bee orchids which are very scarce on the site have had a record year with over 20 having being seen. They emit a scent to attract bees to ‘mate’ with the flower and in turn pollinate them. However the most common form of pollination is self-pollination as few British bees are attracted to the scent. The pollinia can be seen dangling in the photo.

As the days warm up in May, one of Samphire Hoe’s most characteristic insects begins to appear: the rose chafer beetles. These large shiny metallic green beetles can often be seen feeding on the pollen and petals of plants such as wild privet and bramble. The larval stage feeds on decaying plants and leaves and it can take them several years before they metamorphose in the stunningly beautiful beetles. They are quite a scarce species in Kent and Samphire Hoe is good place to see them.

Samphire Hoe is known for its early spider orchids. This year we are delighted that the generally more abundant bee orchids which are very scarce on the site have had a record year with over 20 having being seen. They emit a scent to attract bees to ‘mate’ with the flower and in turn pollinate them. However the most common form of pollination is self-pollination as few British bees are attracted to the scent. The pollinia can be seen dangling in the photo.

The Samphire Hoe Education Shelter has been chosen as one of the nine featured structures along the CHALKUP21 architectural coastal trail. Commissioned by Eurotunnel and designed by Lee Evans Partnership, the building’s form is reminiscent of the historic defensive structures dotted along the Kent coast. The Education Shelter is partially made of recycled railway sleepers from Eurotunnel. CHALKUP21 is a 21st-century architectural coastal trail that links together contemporary coastal art and architecture along the Strait of Dover. The trail goes from the Deal Pier Café to the Wing in Capel-le-Ferne. More information on www.chalkup21.com.

Architect Charles Holland: “Samphire Hoe is a remarkable place, an entirely man-made stretch of coastline constructed from the Channel Tunnel excavations. It has an underlying, poignant metaphor: a new piece of England fabricated from the construction of a physical connection to Europe. It is named after a line in Shakespeare’s King Lear and samphire, along with a number of other rare species of plant, bird and insect life, have returned to this new landscape which is run as a nature reserve.
The Education Shelter is a simple, curving structure that continues the theme by being clad in salvaged railway sleepers. It provides space for exhibitions and events and has a satisfying relationship with the sweet, circular timber kiosk opposite. Both are unpretentious, rugged objects that sit well within the quiet serenity of the place.”

Whilst other parts of Kent and England were experiencing lots of snow this week, Samphire Hoe had very little but enough as shown on the photos. Snow is usually a very rare sight at the Hoe. However the arrival of the Beast from the East made tempatures plummeted on the reserve.