Yockletts bank showing young woodland with open light coming down to the floor carpeted by many wildflowers
©Ian Rickards

Yockletts Bank

This must-see site for orchid aficionados has ancient woodland on a chalk escarpment with a clay cap. The slope of the valley supports mixed woodland of ash, hornbeam and beech with a hazel understorey.

Opening times: Open at all times. Volunteer work parties take place at Yockletts Bank on Fridays undertaking habitat management. Be aware that essential management can sometimes be noisy and if you are concerned it may disturb your visit consider visiting on a different day. 
Best time to visit: April to May 

  • Dog walking

  • No facilities

Size: 23 hectares.

Walking trails: Please keep to the paths shown on the map to avoid disturbance to sensitive areas. Please note a kissing gate marks the entrance to the reserve.

Dogs: On a lead.

Not Wheelchair accessible. There is a kissing gate, slopes, and a narrow gap. The paths are unsurfaced chalk/clay/grass, steep in parts and muddy when wet. Signboards 1.4m high.

About the reserve

This must-see site for orchid aficionados has ancient woodland on a chalk escarpment with a clay cap. The slope of the valley supports mixed woodland of ash, hornbeam and beech with a hazel understorey. Regular coppicing maintains the diversity of woodland plants and animals, and several small areas of chalk grassland are kept open by mowing annually to further enhance the variety of wildlife.

This is probably one of the best sites for the lady orchid and there are excellent colonies of twayblade, common spotted, early-purple, fly and other orchids. Spring flowers are also prolific with violets, primrose, wood spurge and, on the clay cap, bluebells. There is a huge diversity of birds such as nightingale, warblers and great spotted, lesser spotted and green woodpeckers, whilst reptiles include adder, grass snake and slow-worm.

Contact Us

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

Karen Weeks
Contact number: 01622 662012
Contact email: karen.weeks@kentwildlife.org.uk 

Environmental designation

  • Ancient Woodland
  • Area of Outstanding Beauty (AONB)
  • Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)