Family days out at Kent nature reserves

VINTERS VALLEY NATURE RESERVE, MAIDSTONE

You can’t beat a walk at the hidden gem that is Vinters Valley Nature Reserve. A couple of things have changed since the Vinters children of the 1980s used to sneak down there without parents’ permission.

The ice house has been boarded up and the old narrow tunnel by the lake gated off – a shame for today’s kids, if understandable – but for peace and quiet away from Maidstone town centre, it’s even better than Mote Park.

The valley is surrounded by two housing estates, with schools and the M20 nearby, yet it feels like you’re in the middle of nowhere.

Postcode: ME14 5EH
Contact: www.vintersvalley.co.uk

ELMLEY NATURE RESERVE, SHEPPEY

Lovers of this mellow marshland and the winged, chirpy inhabitants within have long known of its appeal, but who knew you could enjoy a luxury sleepover at this remote idyll?

Elmley, a bird watcher’s paradise, is the only place in the UK to offer a night’s stay within a national nature reserve.

Three custom made shepherd’s huts are available for visitors to glamp-it-up in style while enjoying unspoilt, stunning views and rare, beautiful wildlife. Take a trip to Sheppey’s wild green yonder to understand why we call it the “great outdoors”.

Postcode: ME12 3RW
Contact: www.elmleynaturereserve.co.uk

SAMPHIRE HOE, DOVER

This amazing place, on the coast between Dover and Folkestone, was made from the material dug to create the Channel Tunnel, and the further you get from the car park, the more wild the site becomes.

Wild flowers, birds, sea angling, peace and quiet, painting or walks – there is something for everyone. Guided walks and other activities are regularly organised.

Postcode: CT17 9FL
Contact: www.samphirehoe.com or www.whitecliffscountryside.org.uk

OARE MARSHES, NEAR FAVERSHAM

“Who are you?” asked my mother. Challenged over the birds in my Facebook picture, I had identified plovers, godwits, lapwings and even the avocet, unrecognisable from the townie son who thought the great outdoors was taking his Action Man into the garden.

Oare Marshes, with its bleak beauty and plentiful, medium-range wildlife was a revelation to the rookie bird-watcher.

The reserve, a site of special scientific interest, is also environmentally sensitive, with limited parking – a destination for respectful nature-lovers.

Postcode: ME13 0QA
Contact: www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk

DUNGENESS RSPB RESERVE

Welcome to Britain’s only desert with 120,000 birds visiting in the summer and more than 600 different types of plant.

The reserve occupies nearly 1,000 hectares of the Romney Marsh peninsula, the largest shingle formation of its kind in Europe.

It is classed as a desert due to its lack of fresh water sources and surface vegetation although it has a third of all the UK’s plant species. Young birds highly evident in the summer are cygnets, goslings and ducklings.

This is also one of the best places in the UK to find rare species of insects such as moths, bees and spiders.

Postcode: TN29 9PN
Contact: www.rspb.org.uk

WILDLIFE HERITAGE FOUNDATION, SMARDEN

There can be no more dramatic experience than being woken up by the roar of African lions instead of the alarm clock. But you don’t have to travel to Kenya to experience it - it’s here on your doorstep.

The Wildlife Heritage Foundation’s Big Cat Sanctuary has four safari-style wooden lodges available to stay in.

On arrival take a guided tour around half the sanctuary. In the evening, there’s dinner in the welcome centre with its glass windows overlooking the lion enclosure.

There are also snow-leopards, cheetahs, pumas, jaguars, lynx and caracals. After breakfast see the rest of the sanctuary.

Postcode: TN27 8PJ
Contact: www.whf.org.uk