Visiting West Blean & Thornden Woods

Thank you so much for planning a visit to West Blean and Thornden Woods Nature Reserve, for more information on planning your visit during the construction of our bison bridges (September 2024 onwards) click here.

We ask that, for your own safety and the safety of others, you follow all signage on-site, always keep away from machinery and work areas, and follow any instructions from staff or contractors whilst visiting the reserve. 

To access the Wilder Blean project, use West Blean and Thornden Woods car park.

Public Notice

Our hope is that the introduction of European Bison, longhorn cattle, Exmoor ponies and iron age pigs to West Blean & Thornden Woods will mean that humans will be less involved in woodland management. However, there are still various management activities that are essential to keep the woodland healthy and prepare for our new arrivals. In 2021 and 2022, we undertook coppicing, Thinning and conifer felling in the areas that the bison now live in.

During 2023 autumn-winter season works have focused on the areas where our other conservation grazers, longhorn cattle, Exmoor ponies and iron age pigs, were introduced.

The 2023-24 works season involves us managing the areas on the western side of Thornden Wood Road where these works will continue at reduced scale into the future.

This is all part of our approach to monitor and compare the impacts of the three management approaches, bison, cattle and human management.

For your safety and the safety of the people working onsite please follow all safety signs and do not attempt to approach working or moving machinery.

The Wild Art Trail, an all-weather trail in the woodland is suitable for wheelchairs, our aspiration for the future is this will be a circular route for all to enjoy. However, due to the above works, New Road is not suitable for wheelchairs, so the recommended route is currently out and back on the track.

Find out more about our groundbreaking Wilder Blean project.

The Context

West Blean and Thornden Woods has been owned and managed by Kent Wildlife Trust as a nature reserve for almost 20 years. Throughout that time, we have been attempting to revert the site back to a naturally functioning woodland.

Prior to our management, this site was heavily modified in order to produce a crop of timber. This meant non-native conifers were planted over the ancient woodland and even native trees like oaks were planted in unnaturally dense straight lines to maximise the profits that could be gained from this wood. These interventions meant that when Kent Wildlife Trust took on the site we needed to start removing some of these trees to return the woodland to a more natural structure where light can reach the ground and stimulate the growth of new plants. Without this management, the trees remain all the same age and, without younger ones growing up to replace them, they will eventually all grow old and die at the same time.

The Wilder Blean project is the next stage in our process of woodland restoration. Bison do an excellent job in boosting biodiversity through their natural behaviours; they are known as ' ecosystem engineers'. This ground-breaking initiative will return an abundance of wildlife for everyone to enjoy. 

It will take a long time before we start to see major changes in the woodland so we need to continue to manage these woods in a more traditional way through coppicing, thinning and conifer removal with the aim of stepping back over time.

Nature-based solutions such as this wilding initiative are critical in addressing the climate and nature crises and you can help too by following the guidance below:

Protecting wildlife in West Blean and Thornden Woods

With all these operations, carrying out these works during the winter is one of the major ways to mitigate the short-term impacts to wildlife. The winter months are outside of nesting season so animals are more free to move around and therefore less affected by the tree works.

Of course there are exceptions to every rule, so we put in place additional measures to protect specific species. For example, we check trees for rot holes and cracks where bats could be roosting and avoid those trees if they are present.

The Forestry Commission is responsible for granting permission for tree felling works, which are all being done in accordance with an agreed management plan. The Forestry Commission has granted a felling license for all of the tree works at West Blean. The site is also a SSSI and Natural England have responsibility for ensuring works that are carried out in SSSIs are appropriate. Natural England have given consent for all of the current works.