Dungeness scrub IV - Holly
The Dungeness shingle beach is home to an ancient holly “wood”, the only example of its type in the world. The wood was described as containing holly Ilex aquifolium trees in 1539, and it may be described in Anglo Saxon charters. The majority of the hollies grow on a shingle beach called Holmstone. Because this is on the intensively trained Lydd Ranges the bushes are not accessible to the public, but if you are being driven between Lydd and Jury’s gap you can catch glimpses of the dark windswept clumps on the skyline to the left-hand side of the road.
