Hilltop Wood £99,000 Freehold
- Castlehill at Capel, Tonbridge, Kent
- over 6½ acres
- South East England
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entrance ridestop
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field maple
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beech
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yew
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large oak by the entrance
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primrose
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gate 3
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track on northside with Norway spruce
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winter photo, sun shining through Scots pine, with short internal track
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trackside to the north
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winter photo sun shining though Scots pine and chestnut
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eastern corner with chestnut
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track running through chestnut
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bench
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Scots pine
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Scots pine with young oak
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hazel in foreground
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track on southside
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oak and Scots
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colour marking on oak, southern boundary
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southwest boundary corner
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views to the south
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oak
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where the deer walk
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oak, birch, Norway
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a favourite spot for the deer, north west corner
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ferns, oak, hazel and Scots pine
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short internal track off northern side
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nternal track on the east side
Description
Set high on a sandstone ridge in the weald of Kent, through the trees are views across neighbouring meadows and in the winter restricted views through and across the woods over the gentle valley to the north. There's a long access track but this is good in winter as well as the dryer months, which takes the owner well away from any roads or houses. Being part of a larger woodland gives Hilltop Wood a feeling of isolation. There is plenty of firewood either on the ground now or suitable trees to harvest and also to leave lots of dead wood for invertebrates.
Trees
Here we have a young crop of oak, nursed by Scots pine and Norway spruce. Ideally it's time to start giving the oak space to expand and grow by harvesting some of the conifer. Locate the oak and then markup the conifer around them, select those Scots and Norway that will be fine to grow on to mature trees and become seed bearing. There are occasional ash, plenty of silver birch, some sycamore and the odd yew. At the margins there is field maple, hazel and a few hawthorns. Sweet chestnut is dominant to the east and could either be coppiced or singled to allow a leader to grow to maturity. It's always best to do little and often so the wood can develop naturally.
Wildlife
There's a resident deer population including a couple of whites, they wander the area and one of their favourite places is to the noth west corner of Hilltop Wood where there's a salt lick. The conifers bring in different species in addition to broadleaved woodland wildlife. The bluebells will expand in area and density as more light is introduced.
Features
A ridestop marks the entrance with a woodlands bench nearby, the wood slopes down gently from here.
Access, tracks and footpaths
Access is off a public highway, along a PMA (private means of access - maintained by Kent County Council) and a private right of way - where the right is; with and without vehicles, for all purposes and at all times. Once inside the woodland area the right of way is shown on the plans as a dashed green line, and again is at all times, with and without vehicles and for all purposes. This right of way is in perpetuity. Maintenance is according to use made. There are no public footpaths here.
Rights and covenants
The purchasers of the woodland will be asked to enter into a covenant to ensure the quiet and peaceful enjoyment of adjoining woodlands and meadows. Sporting rights are included.
Activities
Getting to know the wood, where are the young oaks to bring on, which conifers can be harvested, where is the best place for a camp or to put a shelter, where are the most interesting plants.
Local area and history
There is evidence of Iron Age activity with the Hill Fort to the east of Hilltop Wood. When this was abandoned is difficult to guess, perhaps by 100 BC. It is thought that sites like these were not settled but used as temporary stop-offs by populations from larger sites. This area seems to be the boundary of two tribes, the Regnenses and the Cantiaci.
The land falls within the parish of Capel itself, a part of Tunbridge Wells Borough in County of Kent.
Wood maps
Wood map
Boundaries
North, south and east boundaries are on the tracksides - turquiose markings on trees, to the west there are free-standing posts - with turquoise markings.
Find this wood
Location
- Grid ref: TQ 604 437
- Nearest post code: TN11 0QG
- GPS coordinates: 51.1702, 0.2939
Location map
Directions
Hilltop Wood, at Castlehill, is about 4 miles north of Tunbridge Wells centre and about 3 miles southwest of Tonbridge, see photos.
1. Click here for Bing Maps Directions enter your own postcode and click on the "Go" box.This will take you to the access off old Pembury Road.
2. For Satnav: the nearest postcode is TN11 0QG for Castlehill Farm and coordinates for gate 1 are 51.174517, 0.297109
3. If heading south bound take the exit off the A21 signed
"Capel, Kent College, Old Church, Pembury Walks"
- follow the road and then turn right under the dual carriageway
- on emerging go right, signed Castlehill
If heading north bound on the A21 then take the exit signed
"Capel, Kent College, Old Church, Pembury Walks"
- take left turn (do not go under bridge)
then for either route
- pass cottages on the left and arrive at the metal gate 1. This might be locked if so please phone Richard on 07811 818277 for the combination number. Otherwise, park near here and continue on foot
- continue, and if driving park in the layby on the right
- continue on foot as far as the metal gate 2, pass to one side and walk up the track
- you will come to another gate 3 by the television towers
- pass to one side and continue walking through the wood for about 300 metres
- pass through the iron age fort then the open timber stacking area on the right
- Hilltop Wood is on the right, marked with turquoise flashes. Here there is a track decending to the right with the ridestop entrance a little further on.
How we support our buyers
Membership of the small woodland owners’ group
£300 for a woodland course of your choice
One year's free membership of the royal forestry society
Please note this wood is owned by woodlands.co.uk.
Our regional managers are often out working in our woodlands, so if you email an offer and want to be sure it has been received, please phone our manager on their mobile phone. The first offer at the stated price which is accepted, whether by phone or email, has priority.
Please take care when viewing as the great outdoors can contain unexpected hazards and woodlands are no exception. You should exercise common sense and caution, such as wearing appropriate footwear and avoiding visiting during high winds.
These particulars are for guidance only and, though believed to be correct, do not form part of any contract. Woodland Investment Management Ltd hereby give notice under section 21 of the Estate Agents Act 1979 of their interest in the land being sold.
Mixed woodland high on a sandstone ridge, with vestigial bluebells, primroses and wood sorrell.
