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Introduction
Blean Woods Nature Reserve is managed by the RSPB and is located between Canterbury and Whitstable. Parking is available in Rough Common which is just a short drive from the main A2.
This wonderfully peacefull large woodland has a network of unsurfaced trails surrounding the semi rough surfaced pathways which give access to push bikes, mobility scooters and larger wheeled pushchaiirs and wheelchairs and also has some waymarked trails that start from the notice board in the car park.
No facilities are available here apart from the free car park but this has a fairly low height restriction so if your visiting with a camper van or alike there is a couple of laybys along the road where you can park.
Walk Location
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New Rd, Blean, Canterbury, Kent CT2 9DB
Parking Location (what3words)
Our Walk Route
How to use the AllTrails map
Click the walk title in the top right of the above window to open the route on the AllTrails website or the mobile app. You can then create a free account which will then allow you to follow the route as you walk on your mobile. If you would rather not sign up to AllTrails free account and would like to use another mapping app (such as OS Maps, Outdooractive or Komoot etc) on your phone then you can download the GPX file below and import this into your desired app inorder to follow the trail.
Route GPX File Download
OWTD Walk Verdict
A wonderful large woodland
Walk Information
- Moderate - A walk with some hilly sections and some uneven pathways
- Various waymarked trails start from the car park or try our 6km circular route.
- The route we did took us around 1.5hrs
- Overall fairly flat across rough surfaced pathways and unsurfaced woodland tracks
- The rough surfaced pathway that leads out from the car park would probably be suitable for mobility scooters and larger wheeled wheel chairs but please make your own judgement as to the suitability from the photos.
- No Stiles
- RSPB request that dogs are kept on lead to avoid disturbing the wildlife and ground nesting birds.
- Bins available in the car park
- Fairly large free car park available but please not the height barrier is set at a particulary low 1.8m. Limited parking is available in the laybys along the approaching lane if this is a problem.
- No toilets available onsite
- Nearest refreshments would be Arbys cafe on the far side of the woodland or in the surrounding villages.
Website for further Information
Categories
Reviews
Author
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ItsClaudes
2 November 2025 at 17:16Beautiful woods, especially in the autumn! It feels like you could walk for HOURS around here and there’s plenty of hard pathways so even though it was muddy when we went it wasn’t too slippy. Since it’s a nature reserve they do ask that you keep dogs on lead or within your line of sight, we saw plenty of well behaved dogs off lead and close to their owners.
The only reason this gets 3 stars for us is that there are about 5 or 6 speed bumps on the road leading into the carpark that are absolutely brutal. I have a completely unremarkable Honda and I’ve been down some rough roads before but every single bump stuck out so much that they made contact with the underside of my car while I crawled along to get in and out. Thankfully it’s all still in one piece but it does put me off of visiting again.
ItsClaudes
2 November 2025 at 17:16Beautiful woods, especially in the autumn! It feels like you could walk for HOURS around here and there’s plenty of hard pathways so even though it was muddy when we went it wasn’t too slippy. Since it’s a nature reserve they do ask that you keep dogs on lead or within your line of sight, we saw plenty of well behaved dogs off lead and close to their owners.
The only reason this gets 3 stars for us is that there are about 5 or 6 speed bumps on the road leading into the carpark that are absolutely brutal. I have a completely unremarkable Honda and I’ve been down some rough roads before but every single bump stuck out so much that they made contact with the underside of my car while I crawled along to get in and out. Thankfully it’s all still in one piece but it does put me off of visiting again.