For locations of lettered items A-H and featured trees, please see map overleaf. map see please trees, featured and A-H items lettered of locations For country from a French invasion led by Napoleon I. Napoleon by led invasion French a from country volunteer soldiers who were training to defend the the defend to training were who soldiers volunteer III and Prime Minister William Pitt to inspect 5228 Kent Kent 5228 inspect to Pitt William Minister Prime and III Built in 1801 to commemorate a visit by King George George King by visit a commemorate to 1801 in Built Abbey. Locally it can been seen in Canterbury’s city city Canterbury’s in seen been can it Locally Abbey. F. Volunteers Pavillion Pavillion Volunteers F. used to build the Tower of London and Westminster Westminster and London of Tower the build to used place to play ‘Pooh sticks’, the game of racing sticks sticks racing of game the sticks’, ‘Pooh play to place This hard rock, quarried locally since roman times was was times roman since locally quarried rock, hard This A 15th century game keepers cottage. cottage. keepers game century 15th A This ragstone bridge across the River Len is a great great a is Len River the across bridge ragstone This D. Kentish ragstone Kentish D. E. Keepers Cottage Keepers E. C. Ragstone Bridge Ragstone C. straightened. Can you spot any ferns? any spot you Can straightened. in Maidstone. in become increasingly uncommon as rivers have been been have rivers as uncommon increasingly become dammed to form a lake. The Len joins the river Medway Medway river the joins Len The lake. a form to dammed as carr supports a unique mix of animals but has has but animals of mix unique a supports carr as just outside the park. In Mote Park the river has been been has river the Park Mote In park. the outside just as they can withstand flooding. Wet woodland, known known woodland, Wet flooding. withstand can they as past the Len powered watermills like Turkey Mill, now now Mill, Turkey like watermills powered Len the past Alder and Willow are trees are common on riverbanks riverbanks on common are trees are Willow and Alder the greensand at the base of the North Downs. In the the In Downs. North the of base the at greensand the B. Carr B. from a spring near Lenham, one of many arising in in arising many of one Lenham, near spring a from book The House at Pooh Corner. The River Len arises arises Len River The Corner. Pooh at House The book uncommon. under a bridge made famous by A.A. Milne in his his in Milne A.A. by famous made bridge a under wood is increasingly increasingly is wood trees means that decaying decaying that means trees The desire to ‘tidy up’ dead dead up’ ‘tidy to desire The which are increasingly rare. rare. increasingly are which bugs, like the Stag Beetle Beetle Stag the like bugs, for fungi, birds, bats and and bats birds, fungi, for provides a fantastic habitat habitat fantastic a provides to remain as the wood wood the as remain to Maidstone’s Coat-of-Arms. Maidstone’s and fallen dead trees trees dead fallen and quarry in 1834 and the dinosaur is now featured on on featured now is dinosaur the and 1834 in quarry policy of allowing standing standing allowing of policy fossilised bones of an Iguanodon were found in a local local a in found were Iguanodon an of bones fossilised Mote Park has adopted the the adopted has Park Mote in Maidstone and the perimeter wall in Mote Park. The The Park. Mote in wall perimeter the and Maidstone in walls, Rochester Cathedral, The Archbishop’s Palace Palace Archbishop’s The Cathedral, Rochester walls, A. Dead but alive alive but Dead A. G. The Biggest Oak in the Park elcome to the Mote Park Tree Trails. Kent Heritage Trees Project WMote Park is a Grade II listed park with a history going back to medieval times when it was one of the first deer parks in the country. This long history as an open space has allowed the Mote Park growth of some amazing trees set in a beautiful landscape. There are far too many splendid trees to list them all but this tree trail and the Tree Trails shorter option aim to highlight some of the more interesting specimens. Enter the park via the main entrance in Mote Road and park in the main car park (£1 fee). Start the walk on the roadway adjacent to the café (toilet facilities available in this area). This leaflet was produced as a legacy of the Kent Heritage Trees Project, a five year project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund celebrating Kent’s tree heritage. A significant achievement of the project was the recording of over 10,000 heritage trees – trees that are old, wide, rare or have a story to tell. Visit tcv.org.uk/kentheritagetrees to view the tree finds and map. This is one of a series of leaflets created by volunteers to encourage people of all ages to explore the outdoors, learn about nature and heritage trees and enjoy the Kentish countryside. The Kent Heritage Trees Project was developed and run by The Conservation Volunteers (TCV), a charity that works with thousands of people across the UK, helping them to discover, improve and enjoy their local green spaces and by doing so create happier and healthier communities. www.explorekent.org H. Mote House Find out more about the continuing work of TCV and how Mote House is a grade II listed building built between you can become involved, visit www.tcv.org.uk 1793 and 1800 when the former grand house was Kent Heritage Trees Project is managed by demolished. At the same time the River Len was The Conservation Volunteers dammed to form the lake. Singleton Environment Centre Wesley School Road, Ashford, Kent TN23 5LW Kent is known as ‘The Garden of England’ and T: 01233 666519 is famous for its fruit heritage. It is home to the To follow the trail on your phone, scan this QR code globally important East Malling Research Station TCV The Community Volunteering Charity © 2016. Registered Office: Sedum House, Mallard Way, Doncaster DN4 8DB. Registered Charity and National Fruit Collection at Brogdale . in England (261009) and Scotland (SC039302) Registered in England as a Company Limited by Guarantee No 976410 VAT No. 233 888 239 [MPTT/JB-RB05.16] Short Tree Trail 1.93 miles 45 minutes Café Long Tree Trail 3.24 miles Mote Park 1 hr 20 mins Tree Trails Mote House For descriptions of lettered items A-H, please see overleaf. The Mote Park Fellowship plants dedicated commemorative trees in the park as part of the parkland plan. 13. Sweet Chestnut To start the trail from the café, walk a Castanea sativa little way along the trees that border An impressive Sweet Chestnut stands the main drive into the park. on an interesting raised mound. Sweet arrived in Britain from mainland Europe the Mediterranean. This tree is easily Chestnuts are native to southern 1. Tremendous Tulip tree on air currents. The disease which has identified by the leaves which look like Europe and were probably introduced Liriodendron tulipifera devastated Ash trees in Europe over a hand and big hard shiny seeds, which, to Britain in Roman times. They are Native to eastern North America, Tulip the last 20 years is thought to have once out of their spiny cases, are used now widespread and form a large part Trees were introduced to the UK in originated in Asia where the local Ash to play the game of Conkers. of the coppice woodland in Kent. The 1656 by John Tradescant, a plant hunter species have evolved to have some delicious chestnuts are cased in spiky and gardener to Charles I who lived in resistance to the disease. 6. Pollarded English Oak fruits. Meopham, near Maidstone. This tree Quercus robur Continue on the main path and just is the tallest Tulip tree in Kent and is In front of Mote House is a large Oak Continue on the path for a fair way and before the bridge on the left you will likely to be one of the early specimens which has been pollarded: sustainably take the path that runs closest to the see evidence of an ancient hedgerow planted in Britain. It has showy green harvesting timber by removing lake. On the right, immediately before and orange tulip-like flowers in the branches at head height so that the re- two paths join you will find summer and unusual four-lobed leaves. 4. Hidden growth doesn’t get eaten by browsing Hedgerows animals. Oak were pollarded in the past 14. The Monumental The Maidstone to Ashford turnpike When typical hedgerow to generate large curved boughs for Yoshino Cherry road used to run along the course of trees like Hawthorn Britain’s huge fleet of ships. This Oak this stately Beech avenue but was 9. Giant Redwood 11. Pooh Sticks Bridge Prunus x yedoensis (Crataegus monogyna has been aged at 270 years old using Sequoiadendron giganteum Japanese Yoshino Cherry (thought to relocated north to its present location top) and Field Maple (Acer and Lucombe Oak a coring technique to look at the tree’s Named Wellingtonia Giganteum in 1852 Quercus x hispanica ‘Lucombeana’ be a hybrid between the Spring Cherry in the early 1800s. The oldest trees in campestre middle) are found growth rings. by botanist John Lindley in 1852 in Standing on Pooh Sticks Bridge look and Oshima Cherry) is commonly the avenue date from this time.