Rich in flora and fauna, this important reserve contains Kent's last four valley bogs and one of its few remaining fragments of open heath.
Opening times: open at all times.
Volunteer work parties: Tuesdays and Thursdays (and 2nd Sunday of the month Sep-Mar) 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. If you would like to get involved, please visit our volunteering page.
Best time to visit: all year round.
Grazing animals: Please keep 10 metres away from the animals and don't pet them under any circumstances. Note that the Highland cows have been removed from site for the time being due to increasing pressures on them.
Dogs: Dogs must be on leads from March until end of August across all open spaces. Dogs may be off lead, but under control within the woodland sections of the reserve only. Please follow all signage.
We're sad to say we've made the decision to remove the cows at Hothfield Heathlands, at least for the time being.
After some recent viral posts of people getting up close (and sometimes even touching) the cows, interest in them has exploded. We love that people love our animals, but unfortunately lots of people have been ignoring our 10-metre rule and the pressure on the lovely Highlands has become too much.
When under pressure, the cows can become distressed and not carry out their jobs as ecosystem engineers. That's best case - and worst case, they could start to react out of fear. Area Manager, Ian Rickards, says, "The constant pressure will be affecting the animals' ability to behave naturally. Also, the effect of hundreds of people walking off paths across sensitive habitat will be damaging the wildlife the site is designated for."
To keep our cows and everybody safe and healthy, we've moved the Highlands for now. This'll be sad for those of you who love to visit them safely at Hothfield - we can only apologise and hope you understand.
To support grazing animals like the Highland cows, please consider donating to the Amazing Grazing appeal.
A visit to Hothfield Heathlands is a visit to one of the last remaining heathlands in Kent. After walking through a narrow canopy of broadleaved trees, you break through to reveal the wide-open landscape of Hothfield Heathlands. The spring will bring with it the fresh green growth of Heather, gorse and a myriad of tiny plants.
The coconut scented gorse bushes provide the perfect perch for many bird species, Yellowhammers, White Throat and Willow Warblers all sing boldly from these prickly bushes. Make sure you keep an eye on the floor too, the finger-sized holes of the minotaur beetle are scattered liberally across the bare ground, while the metallic Green Tiger Beetle will be buzzing vigorously around your feet.
A series of waymarked paths allow you to explore most of this unique site, with boardwalks allowing access to some of the wettest parts of the reserve. These wet bogs are home to a wonderful collection of rare plants, many of which are found only at Hothfield. Carnivorous Round Leaved Sundew, cotton grass, bog asphodel and heath spotted orchids are amongst the most dramatic.
The reserve is managed by Kent Wildlife Trust on behalf of Ashford Borough Council.
Our new Triangle Trail at Hothfield Heathlands is a 500m all weather accessible trail, with a smooth even surface path, regular passing places and some gradual slopes.
Our volunteer teams regularly carry out scrub removal from across the reserve.
The most vigorous scrub species are birch and alder, adapted to grow very quickly from seed, they are the pioneer species that would pave the way for the site becoming a woodland.
Although woodland is a very important habitat, and Kent Wildlife Trust manages thousands of acres of woodland across Kent. However, quality heathland and bog, the main habitats at Hothfield, are not found anywhere else in Kent. Losing this area to woodland would wipe out hundreds of species that would not survive under a canopy of trees.
The trees also have a further detrimental effect on the bogs, sucking up thousands of gallons of water, drying out the peatland. Once the bogs lose their moisture the peat dries up and the carbon stored for hundreds of years gets released back into the atmosphere.
If you have any questions about this work, or would like to help out, please contact the Ashford Warden at [email protected]
We carry out path improvements on the rest of the reserve, using sand to raise some of the muddier paths and making them easier to navigate over the winter. There are also a number of raised boardwalks that we regularly maintain.
To keep the cattle, ponies and sheep are safe and secure our fences need regular maintenance or replacement.
Our wonderful volunteers work all year round on the reserve. Tree popping birch from the heathland, repairing fences, building dead hedges, fixing paths, looking after the livestock and all the other work that this tireless gang carry out.
The volunteers are out every Tuesday and Thursday and also the first Sunday of every month.
If you need to get in touch regarding Hothfield Heathlands, for any reason, please contact:
Contact number: 01622 662012
Contact email: [email protected]
Hothfield Heathlands is abuzz with life in June! In the sky, on the ground, above the water, and under the surface - the reserve is busy, and so are our volunteers.
The glossy green spears that pierced dense leaf litter in late winter are now transformed into sheets of violet-purple-blue in the woodland edges of the reserve. The magical bluebell weeks began fairly early, a soft scent and a flood of colour that…
We are into full nesting season including the birds who nest on the ground or very low down in scrub, which is over half of Britain’s breeding species including the stonechat, robin, blackbird, skylark, yellow hammer, tree pipit and chiff chaff, not to…
It’s all happening, and unlike February, this month you can see and hear the signs, including the welcome trickling of water thanks to leaky dams and, yes, an awful lot of rain, so the squelch of mud on paths as well. Birds are calling, to defend…
Long-time volunteer Margery Thomas explores the wildlife at Hothfield Heathlands in February, where reedmace tells a story...
If December was a merry berry month for humans celebrating mid-winter festivities, January and February are serious berry months for birds and mammals aiming to survive winter...
