Chafford Gorges Nature Park

Chafford Gorges Nature Park
Chafford Gorge
Map of Greater London
Location	Chafford Hundred, England
Coordinates	51°29′21″N 0°18′00″E / 51.4892°N 0.3°E / 51.4892; 0.3Coordinates: 51°29′21″N 0°18′00″E / 51.4892°N 0.3°E / 51.4892; 0.3
Area	200 acres (81 ha)
http://www.essexwt.org.uk/reserves/chafford-gorges

The Chafford Gorges Nature Park is a 200-acre (81 ha) nature reserve located in Chafford Hundred, England and managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.^[1] It includes two Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Grays Thurrock Chalk Pit has been designated for its biological interest, and Lion Pit for geological interest.^[2]

Facilities

The visitor's centre for the nature park is on Drake Road. It has a gift shop which sells refreshments and there are toilets and an observation deck.^[1]

History

The reserve is on the site of three major chalk quarries - Warren Gorge, Lion Gorge, and Grays Gorge which were worked from the end of the 18th century for around 150 years.^[3]

Lion Pit

In the Lion Gorge are the remnants of an old tramway cutting created in the nineteenth century to transport chalk from Lion Pit to the riverside wharves.^[4] The tramway ran roughly south from the chalk diggings to the Lion Works - a Portland cement factory opened in 1874. (Until about 1980, Thurrock was a major centre for cement production.) Part of the course of the tramway can be seen under the bridge where the railway line crosses a path from The Chase to Hedley Avenue and is also visible on London Road between The Chase and Foxton Road.

Wildlife

Animal life includes the brown long-eared bat, the pipistrelle bat and the great crested newt. Among the birds are kingfishers, woodpeckers, sand martins, reed and Cetti's warblers and house martins. In winter, the gorges are visited by birds such as siskin, redpoll and pochard. There are a number of lakes and fish species present include tench, rudd, pike and bream.^[5] Plant life includes the common spotted orchid, bee orchid and bird's-nest orchid. Trees include beech, oak, ash and sycamore.^[6]

Geology

The nature park has been described as the finest area for geology in south Essex. Fossils show that the area was once a tropical sea.^[7] There is a "geological trail" and a guide is available which describes the development of the chalk deposits over the course of 85 million years.^[8]

Gallery

Looking up at the visitor's centre from the gorge(John Rostron).
The lake in Lion Gorge, looking south.
The lake in Lion Gorge, looking north.
Lion Pit SSSI, looking south.

Notes

1 2 Chafford Gorges Web page
↑ "Map of Chafford Gorges Nature Park" (PDF). Healthy Life Essex. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
↑ Thurrock Council
↑ GeoEssex - SSSIs
↑ "Chafford Hundred Station Travel Plan" (PDF). thurrock.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
↑ SSI listing
↑ Lucy, Gerald (2012). "Thurrock's Geological Heritage". Panorama, The Journal of the Thurrock Local History Society (50th ed.).
↑ GeoEssex

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chafford Gorges Nature Park.

Thurrock

Traditional parishes in Thurrock	Aveley Bulphan Chadwell St Mary Corringham East Tilbury Fobbing Grays Horndon-on-the-Hill Langdon Hills Little Thurrock Mucking Orsett South Ockendon Stanford-le-Hope Stifford West Thurrock West Tilbury

Other places in Thurrock	Baker Street Belhus Biggin Bill Meroy Creek Chafford Gorges Nature Park Chafford Hundred Globe Pit Hangman's Wood High House, Purfleet Lower Horse Mardyke (river) Orsett Heath Purfleet Rainham Marshes Nature Reserve Shell Haven Terrel's Heath Thurrock Thameside Nature Park Tilbury Town

Historic Buildings in Thurrock	Baker Street Mill, Orsett Bata Factory Belmont Castle Coalhouse Fort The Dell High House, Purfleet Orsett Hall South Ockendon Windmill State Cinema Tilbury Fort

Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Essex

Biological	Abberton Reservoir Ashdon Meadows Basildon Meadows Belcher's and Broadfield Woods Benfleet and Southend Marshes Blackwater Estuary Blake's Wood & Lingwood Common Bovingdon Hall Woods Bullock Wood Canvey Wick Cattawade Marshes Chalkney Wood Colne Estuary The Coppice, Kelvedon Hatch Cornmill Stream and Old River Lea Crouch and Roach Estuaries Curtismill Green Danbury Common Debden Water Dengie Elsenham Woods Epping Forest Foulness Garnetts Wood and Barnston Lays Garrold's Meadow Glemsford Pits Grays Thurrock Chalk Pit Great Wood and Dodd's Grove Hainault Forest Hales and Shadwell Woods Hamford Water Hangman's Wood and Deneholes Hanningfield Reservoir Harlow Woods Hatfield Forest High Wood, Dunmow Hockley Woods Holehaven Creek Holland Haven Marshes Hunsdon Mead Inner Thames Marshes Little Hallingbury Marsh Mill Meadows Mucking Flats and Marshes Norsey Wood Nunn Wood Pitsea Marsh Quendon Wood Riddles Wood Roding Valley Meadows Roman River Sandbeach Meadows Stour and Copperas Woods, Ramsey Stour Estuary Thorndon Park Thrift Wood, Woodham Ferrers Thundersley Great Common Tiptree Heath Turnford and Cheshunt Pits Upper Colne Marshes Vange and Fobbing Marshes Waltham Abbey Weeleyhall Wood West Thurrock Lagoon and Marshes West Wood, Little Sampford Woodham Walter Common

Geological	Ardleigh Gravel Pit Clacton Cliffs and Foreshore The Cliff, Burnham-on-Crouch Colne Estuary Dengie Globe Pit Goldsands Road Pit Hall's Quarry Harwich Foreshore Holland-on-Sea Cliff Lion Pit Little Oakley Channel Deposit Lofts Farm Pit Maldon Cutting Marks Tey Brickpit The Naze Newney Green Pit Purfleet Chalk Pits Purfleet Road, Aveley River Ter St Osyth Pit Stour Estuary Wivenhoe Gravel Pit

Essex Wildlife Trust

Basildon	Langdon Nature Reserve

Braintree	Brookes Nature Reserve

Brentwood	Thorndon Countryside Centre Warley Place

Castle Point	Little Haven Pound Wood Tile Wood

Chelmsford	Crowsheath Wood Danbury Ridge Hanningfield Reservoir Little Waltham Meadows Newland Grove Phyllis Currie Sandylay and Moat Woods Shotgate Thickets Thrift Wood Woodham Fen

Colchester	Abberton Reservoir Abbotts Hall Farm Fingringhoe Wick Iron Latch Lexden Gathering Grounds Ray Island Roman River Valley Sergeants Orchard Tiptree Heath Westhouse Wood

Epping Forest	Gernon Bushes Roding Valley Meadows

Harlow	Hunsdon Mead

Havering	Bedfords Park Cranham Marsh Ingrebourne Valley

Maldon	Blue House Farm Bradwell Shell Bank Chigborough Lakes Maldon Wick Oxley Meadow Shut Heath Wood Stow Maries Halt Tollesbury Wick

Rochford	Lion Creek and Lower Raypits

Southend-on-Sea	Belfairs Gunners Park and Shoebury Ranges Two Tree Island

Tendring	Cockaynes Wood Colne Point Copperas Wood Great Holland Pits Howlands Marsh John Weston Nature Reserve The Naze Oakfield Wood Skippers Island Wrabness

Thurrock	Grove House Wood Linford Wood Chafford Gorges Nature Park Fobbing Marsh Horndon Meadow Stanford Warren Thurrock Thameside Nature Park

Uttlesford	Aubrey Buxton Rushy Mead Sawbridgeworth Marsh Shadwell Wood Weeleyhall Wood West Wood

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