I visited Blean Woods with family on an unseasonably warm Autumn weekend. The paths and trails are clearly waymarked, making it very easy to follow a circular route around the woods. Even when we ventured off trail (which we did many times!) we easily found our way back without any trouble.
It was an easy, winding route that took us through the 490 hectares of ancient woodland. Although we didn't see any on our visit, the woods are home to a herd of Wilder Blean bison, and a rare breed of Konik ponies. They graze alongside iron age pigs, long horn cattle, and Exmoor ponies.
Blean Woods form one of the largest concentrated tracts of ancient semi-natural woodland in England, close to the city of Canterbury. Prior to being owned by Kent Wildlife Trust, it was managed commercially for timber production.
The trust is hoping to regenerate the woodlands by removing the pine plantations and using woodland management to attract more diverse wildlife, from insects to birds and bats.
There are five waymarked trails of varying length to follow, including a specific dog-walking route, which we chose to follow (believing we had to). I've since learned dog walkers only need to stick to this route between April and July. Online visitor information states dogs are to be kept on lead. However, when we visited there were no such signs and many dogs off leash.
It's worth noting there are no facilities other than the small car park at Blean Woods. Even signage is limited, which made following the guidelines a little tricky. Abide by the countryside code and you should be fine.
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