Samphire Hoe Country Park

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Samphire Hoe Country Park is a country park situated 3 kilometres west of Dover, Kent, England (51°06′28″N 1°16′48″E / 51.10783, 1.280078). The park was created by using 4.9 million cubic metres of chalk marl from the Channel Tunnel excavations and is found at the bottom of a section of the White Cliffs of Dover.^[1]

1 Origin of the Name
2 Ownership and Management
3 History and Construction of the Area
4 Tourism
5 External Links
6 References

[edit] Origin of the Name

Samphire Hoe is named after the rock samphire that was once collected from the Dover cliffs; its fleshy green leaves were picked in May and pickled in barrels of brine and sent to London, where it was served as a dish to accompany meat. A 'hoe' is a piece of land which sticks out into the sea.^[2]

[edit] Ownership and Management

The site is owned by Eurotunnel Ltd., and managed by the White Cliffs Countryside Project.^[3]

[edit] History and Construction of the Area

The cliffs above the current park were blown up with gunpowder in 1843 to aid the creation of the Dover to Folkestone railway. In 1880 an attempt was made from the site to create a tunnel that would pass under the English Channel but it failed shortly afterwards. In 1895 a coal mine was sunk there but this closed in 1921 after being very unsuccessful.^[4]
In the 1980s the site was chosen as the one deemed most suitable out of 60 proposed to dump chalk from Channel Tunnel excavations and work began on it in 1988. As the 30 hectares that make up the park were totally reclaimed from the sea the first job to be completed was the building of walls in the sea to create an artificial lagoon. It was completed in 1994 and opened by Queen Elizabeth II and President Francois Mitterand. It became open to the public in 1997.

[edit] Tourism

The park now attracts around 110,000 visitors per year. Walking, cycling, angling on the sea wall and bird watching are some of the activities available. The park is open between 7am and dusk admittance is free and car parking is £1.^[5] It is very wheelchair friendly and an education room is available for school use.