Woods and Wetlands of East Kent
Sometimes it works out that you go off in search of one thing, fail to find it and in the process discover something unexpectedly wonderful. One of the hardest lessons to learn in exploring the natural world is to open yourself up to make the most of whatever comes your way, whether it’s finding the beauty in something as familiar as a robin or a daisy or seeing something amazing through pure chance. Our last nature excursion beyond the M25 took us out in to the wilds of east Kent. Kent is blessed with quite a lot of really extraordinary wildlife, from the apocalyptic scenery of Dungeness to the steep scarp slopes of the North Downs, it should probably re-brand itself as “The Wildlife Garden of England.” (The Kent Tourist Board is welcome to use that – the first one’s free) Among all its varied landscapes and wildlife though, for me Kent is synonymous with rare orchids, and this is what we'd gone out to look for. We had driven down to Denge Wood just outside Canterbury to meet ...