Samphire Hoe is a 'Green Flag' nature reserve located on the edge of Dover just off the A20 on the way to Folkestone. The site is named 'Samphire Hoe' after the fact Samphire used to be harvested on the cliffs there and Hoe of course being a piece of land jutting into the sea. The nature reserve was named 'Lower Shakespeare Cliff site' until a local teacher won a competition by the Dover Express newspaper to name the site. The site consists of Chalk Marl (a kind of clay) which was dug up when the Channel Tunnel was being built between the 1980s and its opening in 1994. Half of the chalk marl from the Channel Tunnel construction was sent to France and half to the United Kingdom, this half of course becoming Samphire Hoe a fantastic site of natural interest. The site is home to Peregrine's living in the cliffs, Stonechats and Skylarks to name a few.
Listen to an exclusive interview by Terry Cleaver website editor with Paul Holt of the White Cliffs Countryside Project by clicking the below link: