Chinthurst Hill

About the reserve

First, as you walk gently up from the car park, you get the soothing effect of peaceful, open fields. Next, a shady canopy of broadleaved woodland, with fallen branches and stumps on the forest floor, promises a day of adventure for children of all ages.

When you reach the summit, your spirits are lifted by wonderful views from the base of an impressive stone folly. The tower was built in the late 1930s by Lord Inchcape and is now a listed building. Walk further along and you’ll see Chinthurst Hill House, designed by Edwin Lutyens and completed in 1895.

Then, of course, there is the wildlife. Birds include buzzards and sparrowhawks, red kites and wrens. Butterflies include brimstone, common blue, ringlet, small heath, speckled wood, meadow brown, orange tip and large white. And on the woodland floor, you’ll see wood anemone, wood sorrel, yellow archangel, wood forget-me-not, red campion, pig nut, common figwort, butcher’s broom, sheep sorrel, wild garlic and lady’s smock.

Good woodland management means you’ll find many different species of tree on the hill, including oak, sweet chestnut, hazel and rowan. There is a fine display of bluebells in the spring. Watch out for roe deer and, on a summer evening, bats hunting for insects on the wing.