Chafford Gorges Nature Park

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Chafford Gorges Nature Park lies at the heart of the Chafford Hundred housing development in Grays Thurrock, near the Lakeside Shopping Centre. It consists of former chalk quarries known as Warren Gorge, Lion Gorge and Grays Gorge, together with connecting land.

Much of it has chalky soil and as a result it has a great number of plants that like alkaline conditions, including kidney vetch, bladder campion and many orchids. As well as chalky soil, it has some sandy and gravelly areas and these support a large number of unusual insects. The large lakes, the woodland and the chalk cliffs provide habitats for a wide range of other animals, including great crested newts, bats, kingfishers and sand martins.

Warren Gorge

This is the largest gorge and can be viewed and accessed from Essex Wildlife Trust's visitor centre that overlooks it and from the cycle path that runs around most of its perimeter.

Much of the meadow in the base of the gorge has been translocated from chalk meadows on land near Chafford Hundred station that has now been developed. It is managed to encourage the rare plants likely to be in the seed bank in the soil. In summer you can see pyramidal and common spotted orchids, yellow rattle and kidney vetch.

In summer you may hear reed and cetti's warblers singing in the reeds, or see kingfishers, hobbies or house martins feeding in or above the lake. In winter the gorge is visited by birds such as siskin, redpoll, pintail and pochard.

Lion Gorge

The large lake supports a variety of species of fish, including tench, rudd, pike and bream. A community-led fishing club has been set up to help manage these waters.

This gorge is also important for bats: four different species have been recorded here and they make a spectacular show feeding over the lake on warm summer nights. A grille has been fitted over the entrance to the tunnel leading to Warren Gorge to protect the bats that roost inside.

The cliffs at the southern end have important Pleistocene Thames deposits containing many fossils.

Grays Gorge

This gorge is well known locally for its great range of wild flowers, including nine different species of orchid. Other unusual plants that grow here include common milkwort, fairy flax and autumn gentian. It is important also for butterflies, including green hairstreak and holly blue, and a number of nationally important species of bee, wasp and beetle.

A path runs around the top of the gorge and along here you can see good numbers of pyramidal and man orchids in June. The meadow at the far end has adderstongue fern and is a good spot to see marbled white butterflies, flying from late June to mid-August.