Old Park Hill

Old Park Hill has a range of habitats but needs to be managed and restored to return it to its early 20th century character, when most of the site would have been open chalk land.

Location

Old Park Hill
Dover
Dover
A static map of Old Park Hill

Know before you go

Size
40 hectares

Grazing animals

Eventually with cattle and possibly Konik horses.

Walking trails

Very steep and rugged, scarp slopes, the site is heavily scrubbed.

Access

Not Wheelchair accessible. There are Kissing gates and steep slopes from the car park. The reserve paths are rough with steep slopes.

Dogs

On a lead

When to visit

Opening times

Open at all times. Volunteer work parties take place at Old Park Hill on Tuesdays and Thursdays (occasionally Saturdays) undertaking habitat management. Be aware that essential management can sometimes be noisy and if you are concerned it may disturb your visit consider visiting on a different day. If you would like to get involved, please visit our volunteering page.

Best time to visit

April to May, June to July

About the reserve

Kent Wildlife Trust and the Port of Dover are restoring Old Park Hill by converting overgrown scrub into a mosiac of scrub with chalk grassland. This site has a range of habitats including woodland, scrub, chalk grassland and neutral grassland. It has the potential to be a site for wildlife such as Adonis blue butterflies, reptiles and orchids. Old Park Hill has not been actively managed for over a decade and as such the landscape interest of the site has been greatly reduced by the encroachment of scrub on to the chalk grassland and the neglect of the woodland areas. Suitable conservation management would restore the site to its early 20th century character, when most of the site would have been open chalk grassland with scattered scrub and grazed with animals.

Contact us

John McAllister
Contact number: 01622 662012

Environmental designation

Area of Outstanding Beauty (AONB)
Local Wildlife Site (LWS)