Riverside Country Park covers 100 hectares alongside the Medway Estuary, including Motney Hill and Berengrave Local Nature Reserve. There are various habitats within the park, including mudflats and salt marsh, ponds and reed-beds, grassland and scrub, which provide a haven for wildlife.
The estuary has special protection as part of the Medway Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is internationally important for wintering birds that thrive on the invertebrate-rich mudflats. The salt marshes have a specialised ecology and act as high tide roost sites.
Riverside has several ponds at Sharps Green and Berengrave. These are cleared of vegetation to maintain open water.
The reedbeds at Motney Hill are one of only 92 such sites which exceed two hectares in the UK. Management involves cutting a small area each year, which promotes dense growth and halts the natural progression of the reeds.
Grassland at Eastcourt Meadows and Rainham Dock East is mown in early autumn to encourage wildflowers and insects. Although the scrub is controlled, it forms an important part of this habitat, providing cover for small animals, nesting sites for birds and complete ecosystems for insects.
Facilities at the park:
- an accessible visitor centre with toilets;
- an events programme for adults and children;
- an education room;
- a café;
- a children’s play area;
- picnic facilities;
- Ranger service;
- Sustrans cycle path;
- trails;
- car and coach parking.
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A map of the park.
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Green Flag Award
Riverside Country Park has received a Green Flag Award (www.greenflagaward.org.uk), the national standard for quality parks and green spaces. Winners are judged to be welcoming and well-maintained, with the support and involvement of the local community.
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Big Lottery funding
The Big Lottery Fund (www.biglotteryfund.org.uk) has provided funding to develop a naturalised play area. This space will be designed to create a multi-sensory play facility for use by all children, including those with disabilities.
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Consultation on the project began in November 2008 and (although work was completed as expected by the end of November 2009 due to a wet autumn and winter) the facility is not open yet.
Please contact Riverside Visitor Centre for up-to-date information if you are planning to visit the play area.
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