Karen Constantine reports on visiting Monkton Nature Reserve

It was a delight this Sunday to be invited to Monkton Nature Reserve for the official reopening of their Frenken Room. After eighteen months of refurbishment by Reserve volunteers, the room, which is part of the Field Study Centre, is once again showing off its eclectic mix of artefacts. Saving Thanet residents a trip up to London, this local gem easily rivals The Natural History Museum. There are pieces from wooly mammoths, elephant birds and I even saw a duck billed platypus.

Away from the cabinets, we got to explore the various trails that criss-cross this former chalk quarry. In the centre is an observatory where The Monkton Stargazers meet once a month. There was also a teepee full of birds of prey staffed by a volunteer from Thanet Countryside Trust.

Monkton Nature Reserve is a not-for-profit charitable trust set up for the people of Thanet. One of their goals this year is to encourage more local people to make use of the Reserve and support the Trust in its conservation work. If you have kids who love running through the woods, pond dipping or learning about pre-historic creatures, this is where to come. If you just want to wander quietly through some beautiful flora and fauna in a protected chalk based habitat, this is for you too.

Thank you to the volunteers for inviting me. I will be back soon with my grandson.

Where to find Monkton Nature Reserve

Monkton Nature Reserve is on the A253 Canterbury Road close to the A299 Thanet Way.
Monkton Nature Reserve
Canterbury Road
Monkton, Ramsgate
Kent, CT12 4LH