Covert Wood

covert wood fern and bluebell

Tim Horton

1 longhorn cow facing the camera surrounded by trees and bracken
Covert Wood early purple orchid
Covert wood valley view
Covert wood primroses

Covert Wood

Purchased in 2023, this ancient woodland site sits on top of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. With beautiful grassland valleys on one side, and the Forestry England woodland on the other Covert wood is part of wonderful wider landscape.
The woodland is dominated by mature specimens of oak, beech and sweet chestnut. In the spring the ground is covered in wood anemones, primroses, bluebells and early purple orchids.

Location

Cole Hill
Barham
CT4 6JR

OS Map Reference

TR 17726 48806

View on What3Words

A static map of Covert Wood

Know before you go

Size
29 hectares
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Entry fee

Free
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Parking information

There is no formal parking. There are a number of large laybys adjacent to the Forestry England land where it is possible to park and enter out woodland.

Grazing animals

We are investigating ways of reintroducing grazing to this wonderful landscape

Walking trails

There are lots of footpaths running through the adjacent Forestry England woodland site (Also called Covert wood).  There is a public footpath that runs along the top of Kent Wildlife Trusts woodland, and a footpath that comes up the hill from Cole Hill.

Access

The adjacent Forestry England woodland has tracks which have a hard stone surface which are accessible most times of the year.  Kent Wildlife Trusts Covert Wood site  has very steep paths which get very muddy in the winter.

Dogs

On a lead

When to visit

Opening times

Open all year

Best time to visit

April-June

About the reserve

Kent Wildlife Trust’s Covert wood sits on a steep chalk bank. The canopy of oak, beech and sweetchestnut shade an understory of hazel, yew and elder.   In the spring the ground will be covered in bluebells, wood anemones, dogs mercury and other woodland flowers. Keep an eye out for orchid species too, these chalk woodlands support a huge variety of plants.

Before owning this woodland, we worked with Forestry England on their woodland, reintroducing grazing animals to restore and area of heathland. We hope to continue working with Forestry England and other neighbours to develop an exciting landscape scale project.

Contact us

Ian Rickards
Contact number: 01622 662012