Tim Horton

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.

Opening times: open all year.
Best time to visit: April-June

  • Dog walking

  • No facilities

Size: 29 hectares

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.

Dogs: On a lead

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

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