Bigbury Camp

Bigbury Camp is an Iron Age hillfort in Howfield Wood, a short hop from the centre of Canterbury.

Opening times: Open all year round.

  • Dog walking

  • No facilities

Parking information: No onsite parking. Park on Faulkers Lane by Kent College School or at Chartham Hatch village. 

Bicycle parking: None 

Walking trails: The North Downs Way runs through the reserve and can be joined at Chartham Hatch to the west or on Faulkners Road from Harbledown to the east.

Dogs: Please keep dogs on leads when visiting as there may be grazing animals.

The North Downs Way footpath runs through the reserve. There is a Kissing gate leading to level track.

About the reserve

Bigbury Camp is an Iron Age hillfort in Howfield Wood, a short hop from the centre of Canterbury.  The site was occupied from about 350BC and may have been stormed in one of the first engagements between the local peoples and the legions of Julius Caesar in 55BC.  Many of the defensive earthworks can still be seen today.  

The site was planted over with European Larch and Sweet Chestnut in the 18th and 19th century with the chestnut being used as hop poles in the nearby hop farms.  Kent Wildlife Trust is busy removing the plantations to restore more natural habitats as they would have been when the site was occupied and to show the defensive earthworks that have survived for over two thousand years.  There is an artist's impression of what the occupied site might have looked like. 

Contact us

If you need to get in touch regarding Bigbury Camp, for any reason, please contact:

Will Douglas
Contact number: 01622 662012
Contact email: [email protected]

Environmental designation

  • Local Wildlife Site (LWS)
  • Scheduled Ancient Monument