Cinderhill Wood Circular Walk

*Cinderhill fire 18 April 2025* – We are very saddened to report that a large fire broke out on the Cinderhill heathland on Friday 18^th April 2025. The amazing fire service managed to stop it, but it has burnt a vast area of the heathland and will be quite shocking to people who enjoy visiting the site. Fortunately, the heathland will recover over time and we will be working with the council to ensure it is safe and restored as quickly as possible and that measures are in place to reduce future fire risk. We are unsure as to the cause of the fire but the dry conditions at that time meant accidental fires can happen and can spread quickly. This is an important reminder to ensure everyone takes extra care in our greenspaces during dry weather as things like cigarette butts, litter and bbqs can very easily cause fires. Please contact 999 if you see a fire of any size as soon as you can.

Protect

Kent High Weald Partnership manage this site for nature and for people so that both the local wildlife and residents can enjoy this beautiful woodland. To ensure it is protected for both, we need to carry out certain management tasks. Our biggest task here at the moment is the removal of birch, broom and bracken from the heathland section of the site. Heathlands are an incredibly difficult habitat to manage, and often require a range of techniques to help them establish and maintain themselves as a healthy system. Birch trees and broom grow quickly, and will shade out other important heathland plants if they are left unmanaged, which often leads to a reduction in the biodiversity of the area. We spend each winter focusing on this on the heathland, with path/ride and meadow management taking up the summer tasks. If you want to help, check out our volunteer page or get in touch.

Explore

Cinderhill has a real mix of habitat types. The standout habitat is the heathland, but there is also a large woodland which is made up of a mixture of ancient woodland, secondary woodland and sweet chestnut coppice. There is a lovely walk along the ghyll stream at the bottom end of the site, which takes you through a small section of hazel coppice.

Enjoy

Cinderhill wood has a great abundance of wildlife throughout the year. The woodland and heathland edges are home to a variety of Orchids such as the greater butterfly-orchid, so keep an eye out for that along the path by the stream. You can also see a variety of other flora and fauna if you are patient, including bats, badgers, foxes, woodpeckers, butterflies and a number of woodland and heathland birds. On your walk how many different species of plant and animal can you see? Why not send us your photos or put them on the Cinderhill Wood Facebook page?

Try hunting for signs of spring. Can you see any of these?

· Spring plants on the woodland floor such as wild garlic and bluebells

· Bird song and birds building nests

· Blackthorn blossom and hawthorn leaves

· Queen bees searching for nesting sites