Blean, South
Location: OS Map 179 TR 095568 : Nr Chartham Hatch
Postcode: CT3 4NA
286 hectares of pine plantation, alder woods with springs, derelict acid bog, streams and ponds crossing Hunstead, Joan Beech and Denstead woods.
The site is situated near Chartham Hatch, 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Canterbury. Access is currently very difficult with no car parking and is only permitted along public footpaths.The reserve is undergoing major habitat restoration works involving the removal of over 11ha of pine plantation and invasive trees and scrub from the bog and adjacent heath. The aim is to restore a more diverse mixture of native woodland, including beech, oak and birch, with open areas of heathland, acid grassland glades and wet habitats including bog.
Wildlife update
The wooded heath and acid bog area at Hunstead Wood continues to be grazed with Trust goats and Highland cattle. Cutting and burning, followed by chemical treatment, is controlling invasive rhododendron.
Staff and volunteers planted boundary wildlife belt hedges and a nursery of 10,000 trees and shrubs in the Hunstead Wood access purchase during January and February.
