chafford gorge

Visitor centre

The visitor centre is set in a spectacular position over-looking Warren Gorge. It's open 9am to 5pm, Tuesday to Sunday. It also opens on bank holiday Mondays, and on Mondays during school holidays. The centre is closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Facilities at the visitor centre include:

hot and cold refreshments
wheelchair accessible toilets
baby changing facilities
hearing loop available
free car parking
Features

Features of the gorges include:

well surfaced paths but some steep inclines
a variety of habitats, including grassland, meadow, ponds and woodland
a variety of plants and wildlife, including orchid, bats, newts and glow worms
picnic areas at Warren Gorge set within meadows and beside lakes
The gorges

There are 5 main areas in the nature park:

Warren Gorge is the largest gorge and at its base there are meadows and lakes. Ideal habitats for chalk loving plants, kingfishers, house martins and orchids
Lion Gorge has a large lake containing tench, rudd, pike and bream. This gorge is home to 4 different verities of bat. Dogs must be on a lead
Grays Gorge contains 9 species of orchid and other wild flowers. There are reptiles such as adders, slow worms and grass snakes as well as birds, butterflies, bees and beetle species
Mill Wood is an ancient woodland that supports a range of wildlife
Wouldham Cliffs form the backbone of the nature park and has views over Lion Gorge. In summer butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies inhabit this area
History

From 18th century to the end of 1950s a large proportion of Chafford Hundred was extensively quarried for Brickearth to make bricks, gravel and chalk, with flint as a side product. These were used to produce lime for mortar, whitewash and from 1870s, cement. The nature park was created within the disused quarries with the Chafford Hundred housing development built around the edges.

Geology

Much of the area is formed from chalk, deposited from 97 to 65 million years ago, at the bottom of a tropical sea, which was around 300 metres higher than today. The sea retreated which allowed erosion of the resulting land surface before a shallower sea was re-established 60 million years ago, when Thanet Sand was deposited (best seen as the Mill Wood sand cliff). Visitors can walk a geology trail guided by a leaflet available from the visitor centre.

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