Folkestone to Etchinghill Escarpment

{{Short description|Protected area in Kent, England}}

{{Infobox SSSI

|image= Cheriton Hill.jpg

|image_caption =

|name= Folkestone to Etchinghill Escarpment

|aos= Kent

|interest=Biological
Geological

|gridref={{gbmappingsmall|TR 192 384}}

|area= {{convert|263.2|ha|acre|abbr=off}}

|notifydate= 1985

|map=[http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271003661%27 Magic Map]

}}

Folkestone to Etchinghill Escarpment is a {{convert| 263.2 |ha|acre|abbr=off|adj=on}} biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the northern outskirts of Folkestone in Kent.{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteDetail.aspx?SiteCode=S1003661&SiteName=etching&countyCode=&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |title=Designated Sites View: Folkestone to Etchinghill Escarpment | series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|access-date = 5 February 2018}}{{cite web|url= http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271003661%27|title=Map of Folkestone to Etchinghill Escarpment|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|access-date= 5 February 2018}}{{Cite web |title=Protected Planet {{!}} Folkestone to Etchinghill Escarpment |url=https://www.protectedplanet.net/555786970 |access-date=2025-04-19 |website=Protected Planet}} It is a Special Area of Conservation.{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteGeneralDetail.aspx?SiteCode=UK0012835&SiteName=folkes&countyCode=&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |title=Designated Sites View: Folkestone to Etchinghill Escarpment | series= Special Area of Conservation|publisher=Natural England|access-date = 16 January 2018}} An area of {{convert|205|ha|acre|abbr=off}} is a Nature Conservation Review grassland site, Grade 2, and the {{convert| 70|ha|acre|abbr=off|adj=on}} Asholt Wood at its western end is a Grade 1 woodland site.{{cite book|editor-first=Derek |editor-last=Ratcliffe |title=A Nature Conservation Review|volume=2 |pages=46, 119 |publisher= Cambridge University Press|location =Cambridge, UK |year=1977|isbn= 0521-21403-3 }} The reserve has a Geological Conservation Review site.{{cite web|url=http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=4174&gcr=2286 |title= Holywell Coombe (Quaternary of South-East England) |series=Geological Conservation Review |publisher=Joint Nature Conservation Committee|access-date= 11 January 2018}}{{cite web|url= http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=4177&authority=UKJ42 |title= Holywell Coombe (Quaternary of South-East England) |series=Geological Conservation Review |publisher=Joint Nature Conservation Committee|access-date=11 January 2018}}

A large area of chalk grassland has three nationally rare plants, and Asholt Wood has outstanding lichen flora. The site also includes Holywell Coombe, a key geological site displaying the sequence of mollusc fossils in the late Pleistocene and Holocene.{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1003661.pdf |title=Folkestone to Etchinghill Escarpment citation|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|access-date= 5 February 2018}}

Part of the land within Folkestone to Etchinghill Escarpment SSSI is owned by the Ministry of Defence.{{Cite web |date=2020-10-06 |title=Mapping the habitats of England’s ten largest institutional landowners |url=https://whoownsengland.org/2020/10/06/mapping-the-habitats-of-englands-ten-largest-institutional-landowners/ |access-date=2025-04-19 |website=Who owns England? |language=en}}