Hothfield Heathlands

O.S Map 189 TQ 972458: Nr Ashford
Post code: TN26 1HD

Eighty three hectares of heathland and lowland valley bogs with river side, meadows and secondary wodland.

Jointly owned by Ashford Borough Council and Kent Wildlife Trust, Hothfield Heathlands contains Kent’s last four valley bogs and one of its few remaining fragments of open heath with patches of acid grassland.

Until the early 20th century, much of Hothfield Heathlands were common land, which ensured livestock grazing maintained the open character of the site. Once this ceased, bracken and birch began to overrun the reserve, leading to the loss of heathland and bog habitat, and resulting in the loss of many rare and highly specialised plants and animals. This site is compartmentalised to make grazing more effective. Grazing may occur at any time of the year and dogs should be kept under close control at all times.

We have put together a survey to find out how users of Hothfield Heathlands feel about their nature reserve. The data will be helpful when we formulate future managment plans, especially when it comes to access and interpretation.

If you have the time, please click here which will take you to the online survey form.

The data is collected in confidence, all we get back is the raw information, so feel free to be as honest as possible (this is your chance to have a say). Many thanks for your time.

Directions

By Road:
From Ashford follow the A20 for 3 miles (4.8 km). Turn left towards Hothfield village, take first right and the car park is 500m on the right.

From Charing, follow the A20 for 2 miles (3.2km). Take the right turn towards Hothfield Village, the car park is 150m on the left.

Public Transport:
Bus 510 Maidstone and Ashford goes along A20.

Nearest train station in Charing (2.5 miles).

Download Reserve Map (PDF)

Key site for

Observation of one of the last ancient heathlands in England.
Plant life: heather, cross-leaved heath, dwarf and common gorse,
heath spotted-orchid, bog asphodel, and round-leaved sundew are now thriving.
Notable also dragonflies such as the keeled skimmer
Good site for viviparous lizard and grass snake.

Wildlife update

Recent Heritage Lottery funded works have restored large areas of heathland and bog. A herd of Highland cattle and Konik ponies are now grazing the site, to encourage heath bog species to re-colonise.

New areas of the reserve are now being managed for nature conservation. These include 'The Triangle' and 'New Fen' which are annually grazed to promote wooded heath and fenland habitat respectively.

In partnership with GrantScape, Kent Wildlife Trust have bought 16 hectares of adjoning farmland. Making full use of the rivers and ditches that surround it, the site is being restored to wildlife rich wet meadow, heath and bog.