Ashford Green Corridor is a green space that runs through the town of Ashford in Kent, England. The Green Corridor is made up of parks, recreation grounds and other green spaces alongside the rivers that flow through Ashford. It is a Local Nature Reserve.
The town has been growing steadily since the early 19th century. As the town has expanded, land close to the rivers has not usually been built on, due to the risk of flooding because the Ashford Borough Council has protected it as green space.
Flood protection
Because the Green Corridor areas are right next to Ashford's rivers, many of them hold floodwater, protecting homes and businesses. This is particularly important now because floods seem to be occurring more frequently.
Wildlife
The Green Corridor brings wildlife to the town. Ashford's rivers are surprisingly natural considering their urban surroundings, and are home for many wild plants and animals. Common kingfishers, grass snakes, damselflies and possibly water voles can all be seen. Ponds like the one at Bowen's Field attract amphibians. Singleton Lake is a habitat for wetland birds and Buxford Meadow is a wet grassland with an enormous range of plants, insects and other species. It is because these habitats are so close to where people live that the Green Corridor has been designated as a Local Nature Reserve.
Heritage
From the manors of Singleton and Buxford in the west, to Boys Hall Moat (a scheduled ancient monument) in the east, the Green Corridor is rich in heritage. Victoria Park, with its fountain and commemorative trees, the intriguingly named 'Watercress Fields', and Martyr's Field with its macabre past - all have stories to tell. Many areas were farmed until relatively recently and are living links to Ashford's past as an agricultural market town.
The Green Corridor
The Ashford Green Corridor web site map shows the various parts of Ashford that make up the corridor.
Aylesford Green
Aylesford Green is an attractive area for informal recreation. The site has a variety of habitats including a wide margin of long vegetation by the Aylesford Stream that forms an important habitat for invertebrates. A small wooded area dominated by ash and alder borders Boys Hall Road. Wood mice have been recorded in this area and long-tailed tits are often seen perching in ash trees, particularly in winter. Pollarded willows by the Aylesford Stream provide an attractive area adjacent to Bentley Road. The site is linked to South Willesborough by a pedestrian bridge over High Speed 1 onto Newtown Road. Banded demoiselle and common blue damselfly have been recorded at the site.
Bowen's Field
Bowen's Field is an informal recreation area, adjacent to the Great Stour. It is thought that this site was one of the last areas to be farmed in Ashford, it belonged to a local livestock trader called Mr Sidney Herbert Bowen, died 1971 and he is commemorated on a plaque at the entrance to the site from Victoria Park. This area was also adjacent to the town’s lido (outdoor swimming pool) which was built in 1867 and was at the time the largest in Britain. The site is now a flood storage area consisting of damp grassland, with a large pond where banded demoiselle, blue-tailed damselfly, azure damselfly, smooth newt, and common frog have been recorded.
Boys Hall
The site has good views of the North Downs in one direction and the town of Ashford in the other as well as Boys Hall, the house that gives the site its name. The site is characterised by oak and hazel as well as other mature tree species. A variety of dragonflies and damselflies have been seen at the site including emperor dragonfly, ruddy darter and blue-tailed damselfly. There is a pedestrian bridge over High Speed 1, linking this site with Boys Hall Moat. Adjacent to the bridge is an area of reedbed. On the Church Road side of Boys Hall, the site is more formal with mature trees such as turkey oak, providing a pleasant buffer zone between housing and the Southern Orbital road.
Boys Hall Moat
A Scheduled Ancient Monument dating from the 13th century. The area consists of a moated island that would have been the site of a dwelling in the past. Mature trees are present on the island that form roost sites for common bird species. The topography of the ground is complex, suggesting extensive earthworks have taken place in the past. The site essentially has an open character although there are areas of scrub.