New projects engage visitors with local knowledge and skills, bringing nature and historical tales to life along the North Downs Way and around Canterbury.
As I press my ear to the pale birch bark in March, Lucia claims I can hear the rising sap, but I hear only traffic and her rummaging. She offers me a bottle of her homemade birch sap tonic, which I find refreshing, and she suggests it goes well with vodka.
Lucia and Hannah, both nature enthusiasts, want to change people’s perspective on the outdoors, particularly in their region of Kent. They are among the various providers who will offer over 30 sustainable, nature-based experiences within the Kent Downs area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) in 2023. These experiences, such as floral crown-making and sustainable agriculture sessions with Ed, the Rebel Farmer, are available year-round and aim to provide a sensory experience of the AONB’s chalk downs, ancient woods, and white-cliff coast.
Not only is it a journey through history, but it can also potentially serve as a means of healing – some ambassadors combine walking tours with grief processing and other aspects of wellness. Victoria Field, an ambassador, is a poetry therapist who incorporates her craft into her North Downs Way walks. “We may pause in a church, read and analyze a poem, and write our own,” she explains to me over coffee. “The key is to create an environment of permission and enjoyment.”
Victoria discusses the advantages that walking and pilgrimage can provide to both the rural economy and the walker or pilgrim. “Being out in the world directs your attention outward,” she notes. “It encourages you to contemplate life’s journey and welcome whatever comes your way.”
