River Dipping – Farningham

River Dipping! Enjoy the River and Discover what lives within!

Join us for some River Dipping! Bring your wellies and grab a net to capture the wildlife within the river and then name the species!

Booking is Free! Please get a ticket to reserve your space. Closest car park: Dartford Road Car Park, Farningham, Dartford DA4 0DP.

Get GeoCurious this winter!

Feel the fresh air on your face and discover the heritage beneath your feet in some of Kent’s most beautiful places.

Join local experts for a free walk, talk, explore, forage, or to learn a new skill all while discovering the renowned and rare geology of the Kent Downs.

In celebration of Kent Downs’ geodiversity, and as part of our bid for Cross-Channel UNESCO Global Geopark status, we are welcoming you to join us for a programme of free events at some of Kent’s most important geological sites. Choose from fossil forays, guided walks across the chalk, river dipping, coppicing, natural arts and crafts, and den making. All led by local experts at nature reserves, woods and rivers across the Kent Downs.

Geodiversity is the silent partner to biodiversity

Geodiversity is all around us and is intimately linked to biodiversity. In the Kent Downs it’s in the soaring chalk cliffs and the intimate microhabitats of rockpools. It’s the foundation of ancient bluebell woods, farmland, wildflower-rich chalk grassland, farmland and vineyards, the expansive rolling views, and the chalk aquifer supplying most of our drinking water.

What’s the Cross-Channel Geopark?

In celebration of the chalk and the channel, we are working to secure Cross-Channel UNESCO Global Geopark status for the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) together with our neighbouring protected landscape in France; the Parc Naturel Regional des Caps et Marais d’Opale. Hundreds of thousands of years ago a catastrophic flood swept away the chalk ridge connecting Dover and Calais, carving out the white cliffs of Dover and starting Britain’s history as an island. The Kent and French coasts are actually still connected today by the layer of chalk which runs below the Channel, this chalk continues from the white cliffs of Dover towards London and is the foundation of much that is beautiful in the Kent Downs. The Geopark will include both the protected landscapes and the Channel connecting them, recognising and celebrating the geological connection between us.