On the far side of the stream, outside the top entrance, can be seen the remains of an old sluice. Years ago, the water flow was very restricted due to a mill further up the stream and, to give visitors their money's worth, the guide used to raise the sluice and let the water run for a few minutes.
By the top pay box, built around 1892, the cliff` face is reddish in hue. This is due to the high iron content of the water seepage and at one time there was a drinking trough. Early reference to a chalybeate spring, claimed to be good for the health, makes it clear that this was the place.
The main waterfall is 45ft. and the second 29ft. The former is quite spectacular during and after heavy rain. There is an interesting story about this waterfall. Over a hundred years ago, steamers on day trips dropped anchor below the Chine, The steward of one of these boats, new to the area. was taken by members of the crew through the Chine to the Crab Inn. Thoroughly enjoying himself, he was oblivious of time and unaware that the crew had slipped away back to the boat. When realisation dawned, he returned to the Chine not knowing there was another way to the shore. He found the gate locked and tried to climb round the gatepost. The next moment the gate, the post and he himself shot over the waterfall. Amazingly, he was none the worse, went on down the Chine and got on board the boat in time. It did not even deter him from returning to show his friends what had happened.

The Chine is famous for its flora and fauna. There are at least 150 varieties of wild plants and more than 50 species of moss and liverworts have so far been recorded, some of them extremely rare. Ferns, grasses, wild garlic, horsetails, golden saxifrage, wild fuchsia, winter-flowering heliotrope - to name but a few - all grow in profusion. One plant, Polygnum cuspidatum or Japanese Knotweed, is so invasive that a few years ago it completely obscured the stream at the lower end of the Chine, choking the rest of the wild growth. Now that it has been controlled into areas, there are many more wild plants, some of them new to the Chine,

But the growth is so luxuriant that it is a constant battle to defeat take-over bids. Additional paths at the lower end now enable visitors to wander about more freely and a wild water garden has been created by natural drainage. Plants and shrubs that can grow wild are gradually being introduced and it is the aim to have as many different species as possible, The trees are mainly Wych Elm, Sycamore, Alder, Elder and Beech and a judicious programme of replanting has started. More detailed information about the flora can be found in the Nature Trail leaflet.