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Horrid Hill Walk
The walk is along the shore at Riverside
Country Park and takes approximately 45 minutes. This map shows how to get to the Park.
Route
Leave the Visitor Centre, cross the car park and take the path
to the sea wall. At this point, turn left and follow the path which
leads over the causeway.
Walk along the causeway out to Horrid Hill.
Continue along this path until you reach the point. Return by
the same route until you reach the landward end of the causeway,
then bear right. This path will return you to the Visitor
Centre.
Points of interest along the way
1 - The Medway Estuary
An important area for man since early times, as the evidence of
settlements proves. The Romans made salt and pottery here and for
400 years, naval warships were built and laid up here. The area is
also important for wildlife and is part of a complex of wetlands
around the Thames that is one of the five best in Europe for
wintering birds.
2 - The causeway
Horrid Hill was an island until a causeway was built to allow a
small horse-drawn railway to carry wagonloads of chalk, quarried
from Twydall chalk pit, to the cement works there.
3 - Horrid Hill
We know that warship hulks containing French prisoners of war
were moored here during the Napoleonic Wars. If you reach point 3
on the map at low tide, you can see the natural process of erosion,
with the mud on the left being washed away but on the right being
built up enough to allow plants to grow.
4 - Nor Marsh and beyond
From the end of Horrid Hill there is a panoramic view of the
Medway Estuary. The marsh in front is Nor Marsh, an RSPB reserve.
Beyond stands Kingsnorth power station, the cranes of Thamesport
and the disused refinery at Grain. At Sheerness, the Medway joins
the Thames Estuary.
5 - Sharp's Green pond
This is an important wildlife resource, as there is little open
fresh water in the area. In spring and summer, the pond is a lively
place beneath the surface and above. Stand quietly for a few
moments and see what turns up.
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