Polhill Bank

The 'Bank' is almost four hectares of chalk grassland on a southeast-facing hillside with commanding views of the Darent Valley.

Opening times: Open at all times
Best time to visit: April to August: Bluebells and spring flowers, reptiles, and butterflies

  • Dog walking

  • No facilities

Size: 28 hectares

Parking information: Limited parking in the lay-by on the A224

Bicycle parking: None

Grazing animals: Sheep and cows

Walking trails: From the lay-by the reserve can be reached by walking over the footbridge and following the footpath to the right. As the reserve is on a hillside, some paths are steep and uneven in places. There are kissing gates at the entrances.

For low carbon walking trails around Polhill Bank, download the Darent Valley Trails app. Download Now

Dogs: Permitted under close control or on leads.

As the reserve is on a hillside, some paths are steep and uneven in places. There are kissing gates and stiles at the entrances.

About the reserve

The 'Bank' is almost four hectares of chalk grassland on a southeast-facing hillside with commanding views of the Darenth Valley. Many common chalk grassland flowers can be found on this reserve. It is a good place to see a wide variety of insects, including many species of butterfly. The rufous grasshopper is also found here. The scrub provides a valuable habitat for many birds, including blackcap and willow warbler. One of the more unusual plants here is common dodder, which can be found in great abundance in some years growing as a parasite on rock-rose.

Contact Us

If you need to get in touch regarding Polhill Bank, for any reason, please contact:

Paul Glanfield
Contact number: 01622 662012
Contact email: Paul.Glanfield@kentwildlife.org.uk 

Environmental designation

  • Area of Outstanding Beauty (AONB)
  • Local Wildlife Site (LWS)

Reserve update

Thanks to the kind and generous support of the people of Kent and beyond, we were able to raise enough funds to purchase and manage 26-acres of arable land opposite our existing Polhill Bank nature reserve. We're thrilled to say that so many of our donations were anywhere from £1-£1,000, making this an incredible show of support from people at a time where digging deep isn't easy.

So we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for supporting and standing up for nature and we can't wait to update you as we begin the work turning this arable land into pristine chalk downland.