Downe Bank
OS Map 177 TQ 438609 : Nr Bromley
Post code: BR6 7LG
About 16 hectares of dry valley between the villages of Downe and Cudham.
The southern half of the reserve is open to the public and is crossed by a steep footpath. The northern area can be visited by prior arrangement.
The reserve was known to Charles Darwin as ‘Orchis Bank’ as it is home to several species of orchid. Other plants of note on the reserve are toothwort, adder’s-tongue and false oxlip. There is a mixture of wooded areas, including hazel coppice and mature beech with an understorey of yew, holly and woodland hawthorn. Up to 31 species of birds have been recorded on the reserve and many species of butterfly, including the white-letter hairstreak.
