Despite the poor weather conditions one morning in December, Sandwich Town Councillors ventured out to undertake a walkabout of the Monks Wall Nature Reserve. The main entrance is via a small car park off Monks Way, just before the junction with the A256. There is an alternative entrance from the eastern end at Stonar.The nature reserve is a Sandwich Town Council asset and, as part of the role as a town councillor, it is important to improve the knowledge of each of the assets the Town Council has responsibility for, and similarly, as a trustee of the Sandwich Toll Bridge Fund Councillors were wanting to better understand each of the assets that form the Funds’s portfolio.
The walkabout was arranged by the Town Clerk and three Town Councillors took part on the visit to the reserve.
They were guided around the nature reserve by the Warden, Ken Chapman, whose knowledge, and passion for both his role and the nature reserve made the couple of hours spent really valuable.
The nature reserve was gifted to Sandwich Town Council by Pfizer in 2011/12 , via a 995-year lease, so long as Sandwich Town Council managed the land as a nature reserve “for the benefit of local wildlife and the interest, education and enjoyment of residents and visitors to the area.”
The reserve is predominantly lowland wetland, with some woodland which is not accessible to the public.
Under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme, which is operated by the Rural Payments Agency, funding is received each year to cover the costs of the Warden and any necessary repairs on the reserve.
Some residents will know that the reserve is kept dog-free, and Ken explained that there are a number of reasons for this, including that a number of species of birds’ nest on the ground across the reserve and, during the summer, cattle are brought onto the reserve to graze to help manage the land. A Public Spaces Protection Order is in place to enforce this restriction.
One of the key responsibilities for the Warden is to manage the water levels for the reserve, increasing the levels during the winter period and lowering the levels during the spring and summer. In addition, the Environment Agency has undertaken work to create a spillway which is an important measure to provide an overspill, should there be any threat of flooding to the town due to a storm surge.
The circular walk round the reserve lasts just over an hour and passes two bird hides, which provides the opportunity to observe over a 100 different species of birds, over the year, with common sightings of herons, egrets, northern shovelers, teals, lapwings and a number of different birds of prey including kestrels, sparrow hawks, marsh harriers and buzzards. The reserve is also home to 2 barn owl boxes, which regularly see the hatching of owlets during the nesting season.
The nature reserve is also home to beavers and one of the largest colonies of lizard orchids in England.
If you have not visited the nature reserve before, we would highly recommend it. It is close to the centre of Sandwich, and it is a very enjoyable walk around a well maintained and largely flat
pathway. However, as we found on our visit, during the winter months areas of the path can be very muddy.