Samphire Hoe Education Centre

Samphire Hoe Education Centre

Samphire Hoe Education Centre provides a comfortable learning environment for the park’s 110,000 visitors each year.

The project is located on “a new piece of England” created as a by-product of the 4.9 million cubic metres of material dug to create the Channel Tunnel.

Samphire Hoe is a unique country park located on this man-made stretch of coast alongside the White Cliffs of Dover, in an area of special scientific interest in the White Cliffs National Park, Dover. The harsh coastal conditions experienced at Samphire Hoe were a key driver behind the creation of the centre.

The Education Centre provides an escape from the wind, a place to meet some of the volunteer rangers and warm up by a wood burning stove while learning about the dynamic natural environment of Britain’s youngest piece of land. The building also acts as a wind break, enhancing the visitor experience whilst enjoying Samphire Hoe.

Recycled railway sleepers from the Channel Tunnel were used in the construction of the Samphire Hoe Education Centre which is fitting given their common use at coastal locations.

The building sits unobtrusively within its natural environment which is home to 200 species of plants, 120 species of birds and 30 species of butterflies.

The Education Centre provides a great asset to Samphire Hoe and the Dover and Folkestone area within a building that is suggestive of the historic defensive structures dotted along the Kent coast.