Westfield Wood

Part of an internationally important yew woodland, with steep chalky slopes occupied by a dense stand of yew overtopped in places by mature ash and beech.

Opening times: open at all times.
Best time to visit: April to July, September to November.

  • Dog walking

  • No facilities

Size: 5 hectares.

Parking information: Park on the Old Chatham Road below the garage.

Walking trails: A path circumnavigates the wood. This is steep and uneven in places with some diversions around fallen root plates etc.

Dogs: Dogs permitted.

Not Wheelchair accessible. There are steps, a kissing gate, ruts and narrow paths. The paths are unsurfaced, uneven, irregular, muddy and slippery when wet.

About the reserve

Many of the really mature beech trees were affected by the 1987 storm. Either felled in their entirety or large limbs snapped off. This has created a mosaic of enormous standing dead wood or areas of young ash and sycamore growth with lots of exposed roots and tangles of lying limbs.

The darkness of the Yew create very still, quiet pools of coolness and shelter. The mature beech by contrast, with their dappled shade are often warm and teeming with life. Small mammals and fungi at their base, insects scurrying up and down their bark, birds hopping and twittering in the branches.

Contact Us

If you need to get in touch regarding Westfield Wood, for any reason, please contact:

Robert Pennington
Contact number: 01622 662012
Contact email: [email protected]

Environmental designation

  • Area of Outstanding Beauty (AONB)
  • Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
  • Special Areas of Conservation (SAC)