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Enjoying the Estate About the Woodland Trust Bringing the landscape back to life r

You can now enjoy the whole of e p o

Hucking Estate thanks to the o C

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Woodland Trust’s ownership and a u

t Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust is now the S management. Entry is free and a / L

P UK's leading woodland conservation charity. range of footpaths help you to T W wind your way through the mature We have three key aims: woodland, new planting areas, and • to enable the creation of more native woods and places across the chalk grassland. rich in trees There are two way-marked trails to • to protect native woods, trees and their wildlife for follow (or you can make up your the future own route) – a short one and a • to inspire everyone to enjoy and value woods and trees long one. The short ‘blue’ route is 1.8 km We care for more than 1,000 woods covering approximately 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres).You can visit our sites for free. (1.1 miles) long, takes approximately 30 minutes and starts from the Hook and Hatchet Inn. *The Hucking Estate lies within the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (ANOB). This nationally important landscape is legally protected to maintain its special The longer ‘red route’ is 5 km character for now and future generations. The ANOB covers about a quarter of Kent. (3.1 miles) and takes approximately For more information about this ANOB 11/2 hours, starting from the telephone 01622 221522 or visit www.kentdowns.org.uk Woodland Trust’s car park. Please see inside this leaflet for further details about h c i r d

these recommended l A

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routes. a i r B / L P

The Woodland Trust would like to thank all the supporters of Hucking Estate T W

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The Woodland Trust, Autumn Park, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 6LL a t

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Telephone: 01476 581111 w e g

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www.woodlandtrust.org.uk k e iv c

l u /C L Registered Charity No. 294344. A non-profit making company limited by guarantee. H

B P : lu T Registered in England No. 1982873. The Woodland Trust’s logo is a registered trademark. r eb W e A walk around Hucking Estate ell od v

o o s in M t’sW ÁPrinted on recycled paper 3598/01/10 ay at Chit C A walk around Hucking Estate Despite being in the heart of the bustling South East region, Hucking Estate feels remote and peaceful. As you walk around, you can experience areas of mature woodland, often carpeted in blankets of bluebell and other wild flowers, such as early dog violet, early purple orchid and yellow archangel, 4 The Droveway – was a road used, in the past, by plus new planting areas and distinctive chalk grassland. There are also spectacular views, at its herdsmen to drive their animals to and from the wood most southern point near Forestall Wood, looking south-west to pastures in the central Weald of Kent. These pastures Maidstone and across the Weald of Kent. were called ‘dens’ and may be the origin of nearby places, rd a such as Tenterden, Biddenden and Smarden. Today, this T ew he St To enable you to enjoy your visit even more, we’ve listed D ve droveway is a byway open to people, vehicles and horses. rov Cli below some of the features you might encounter on the eway – ‘red’ route. For this walk, start at the Woodland Trust’s car park, then go through the kissing gate and 5 Chalk pits – are reminders that man has mined for chalk here for thousands of centuries. It was follow the red arrows on the way-marker posts. common in Kent to crush excavated chalk and spread it onto the clay with flint soils of the fields to improve their fertility and productivity.

Special features to watch out for: Chalk wells or draw pits – are more peculiar remnants of the chalk mining industry. There are two confirmed chalk wells at Hucking (though there could have been many more which were subsequently 1 Woodbanks – are earthen banks, usually ) m (u filled-in). Chalk wells are vertical shafts of up to 4.5 metres (15ft) diameter and over 12 th accompanied by a ditch, which denoted ownership Pa metres (40ft) deep, and were probably dug between 1600–1800 AD. In 1996 and in P a th

(u boundaries in medieval times. Today, they can indicate that a m )

D A 2006, the Kent Underground Research Group cleared out the two chalk wells O R

M R wood is ancient. As you enter the walk, see if you can spot A F

D N O P at Hucking Estate which had been filled with rubbish, the woodbanks and pollarded hornbeam trees, soil and stone. The first to be which were sometimes planted along these Pond cleared was in Spratts Dane banks to further reinforce the boundaries. Pollarded trees were cut off at 10–12 feet Wood. The top of this AD RO CH UR CH shaft has been grilled over C H U above ground level to produce a wood R C H R O A crop and increase longevity. This D for safety reasons, P but it is now home produced straight limbs high above Hucking Bank

P to Daubenton's, Natterer's a

t the reach of grazing deer and cattle. h

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P ( u a t m h )

2 Rides – is the term used for ancient paths, created to allow horseback riders to travel speedily 9 6 The Pond – is a former iron working site. At the peak of the through the wood. They are now very useful for walking around the wood, 7 iron smelting industry which took place at the Weald nearby, extracting timber, and also provide additional habitats for people scoured everywhere for ore and, on the crest of the wildlife, such as butterflies. North Downs, occasional fragments of As you walk along these rides, following in the ironstone are still found. Opposite footsteps of travellers long ago, look out for the this small pond, you’ll find the

s pippy oak – its trunk all

e 21 species of butterflies that have been recorded

m 1 l

o here, including the silver washed fritillary and the 2 covered in growths.

H

g rare purple hairstreaks. The latter are often seen Timber from these e r G / rare, L in the late afternoon, or early evening (during July), P 3 T W feeding on the aphid honey dew of mature oaks. deformed – W y specimens hi rfl te te d A ut r dmiral b was once a P ew ip St much prized by p ve y Cli k o c / ra a L T cabinet makers. k – WTP

3 Sweet chestnut – a native tree of southern Europe, but introduced here by the Romans, was coppiced in the past to produce fencing and hop poles *, among other things. Coppicing is the practice of cutting trees just above ground 7 Chalk grassland – is a 4 level and produces a tree with many distinctive habitat that teems stems radiating from a central stump. with insect and plant life. We’re now gradually thinning these Already our restoration of this stems to produce taller, straighter trees habitat, which includes sowing 5 s

e wildflower seeds, is making a

– called a high forest. Can you spot the n

a J difference – the marbled white coppiced trees and the ones we have A E / L butterfly has once again been already started to thin? P T W rd a recording at Hucking after – w ts St te S nu ub e S years of absence. weet chest s Wood – Cliv

As these trees mature they develop pockets of deadwood, 6 which is particularly good for

Forestall . d woodland wildlife. For this l

8 – has been left to grow on what is o Wood A huge beech tree s r

reason, provided it is safe to Key a believed to be an old field boundary. Why not take a moment to stop e y d r 0 do so, we also often leave dead a and try to guess just how old this tree really is?* 0 d New woodland planting w 2 r on Ste a i –

t B w trees standing and deadwood a ee live e st ch – C 0 St Ancient semi-natural woodland 8

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C o e D – T t eadwood Proposed new tree planting areas for 2010/12 a m 9 New planting areas – provide perfect habitats for small mammals, which in turn i Way-marked routes x o r

Open grassland attract owls and hawks. We have already planted more than 180,000 native, and locally p Posts indicated by the following symbols p a

s i Bridleway occurring, trees, such as oak, field maple, yew, cherry, whitebeam, small-leaved lime, hazel and e e r t 5k (3.1m) mile walk (approx 1 1/2 hours) dogwood – and we have plans for further planting at the north end of Hucking Estate from h

*Hop poles– long wooden poles, traditionally of sweet chestnut, which are Permissive bridleway c e e used to support the wires in the hop gardens. Hop plants are climbers like 2008–2010. You may see some young trees with guards and fences around them. This is to b

e honeysuckle and clematis, and in the hop gardens there is a whole series of P Car parking h T wires which the plant climbs up supported by the long hop poles. 1.8k (1.1m) mile walk (approx 30 minutes) prevent rabbits from nibbling them while they are small and vulnerable. *