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Toys Hill
Toys Hill is more than 200 acres (81 hectares) of woodland owned by the National Trust. The area is designated an SSSI due to its abundant wildlife, and much of it is recognised as a Grade I site of national importance for nature conservation.
Toys Hill is a marvellous place to enjoy a peaceful, relaxing walk, admire fine views over the Weald and to discover the wildlife it supports.
Toys Hill probably took its name in the Middle Ages from a local land-owning family. It is part of the Lower Greensand Escarpment which runs all the way along the northern side of the Weald, just to the south of the North Downs.
For hundreds of years it was a vital part of the local economy. Charcoal-burners, swineherds, gravediggers, cowherds and villagers, who gathered firewood and grazed their livestock here, depended on its resources. Charcoal pits can still be seen as you head north on the way-marked orange route.
The pits you can see as you take the green route through Scords Wood are chert pits. Chert - a hard sandstone - has been quarried over the centuries for local road stone and building stone. The car park sits in one of these quarries. A few of the pits may actually be bomb craters. Remains of World War II planes have also been found here.
Many of the paths and tracks that criss-cross the hill date from the days when carts, drawn by horse or traction engine, were used to carry gravel or leaf-mould from the woods.
Octavia Hill, one of the founders of the National Trust, lived at Crockham Hill. In 1898 she gave the Trust one of its first properties - the terrace with a sunken well in Toys Hill village. There are marvellous views over the Weald from here. Since then, the National Trust ownership of Toys Hill has expanded through the generosity of many different people. You can see several different plaques commemorating the gift of land. In 1981 the Trust acquired the core of the woodlands through a special appeal, the final acquisition being known as Octavia Hill Woodland.
Facilities
- Car park at Toys Hill, near the Fox and Hounds public house
- Leaflets containing information and self-guided trails available from Chartwell, Ightham Mote, Knole and the public house
- Three way-marked walks: green (1 ¾ miles), red (3 miles) and orange (½ mile) plus bridlepaths (way-marked blue)
- Many viewpoints (most with seats) and a Toposcope (direction-finder)
Outridge
The name Outridge is thought to derive from the name of the Outrede family who were recorded as living in Brasted in 1444. Outridge is a secluded valley adjoining Toys Hill with rights of way crossing the holding.
Down a stone track of half a mile forming a cul-de-sac, are three buildings of Grade II listing. Outridge Cottage first built in 1490, farm buildings which house a piggery within three square oast houses and the Octavia Hill Base Camp which has been converted from old cattle sheds sited in a quarry site. A tributary to the river Darenth rises and flows north in the wooded valley bottom.
The site, which lies within Kent's Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), is valued for rural amenity value and as a working farm for grazing animals which include Highland cattle and breeding sheep.
Octavia Hill Basecamp
The Octavia Hill Basecamp is one of 40 National Trust basecamps which can be rented out to various groups for activities such as: voluntary work, group holidays, education and community projects. The camp offers an ideal location for exploring this area.
The camp, five miles west of Sevenoaks, is a comfortable converted farm building with 14 beds, a fully-equipped kitchen, two well-equipped bathrooms (male and female), dining room and drying room (all heated). It is an ideal base for an outdoor holiday, research projects or voluntary work.
The Octavia Hill Basecamp was renamed in the Trust's Centenary year in memory of one of its founders. For further information or to make a booking call 01959 561585.
Find out more about basecamps
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