Walderslade Woods
Walderslade, Chatham, Kent
Walderslade Woods Introduction
Walderslade woods is set amongst the houses off the Walderslade Woods Road and not far from the M2 motorway. Parking is available in the roads around the woods but Wildfell Close off Walderslade Road has easy parking away from properties and driveways.
The woods are made up of 3 areas know as Round Wood, Cossington Valley and Tunbury Bottom and the circular walk will take you through each of these woods.
Access to the woods is fairly open so if your dog does not have a good recall then lead walking near entrances and exits is advised.
The walk follows the valley bottom along un-made footpaths and has a gradual slope and also a few steep paths. As with all woodland areas during the winter and wet weather the walk can become particularly muddy so sturdy waterproof boots are recommended.
Parking Location
Main parking is at Beechen Hall with other access points in Impton Lane with parking in surrounding roads.
Address: Beechen Hall Car Park, Wildfell Close, Chatham, Kent, ME5 9RU
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General Information
- Free Parking
The Walderslade woods walk consists of three woodland areas, Round Wood, Cossington Valley and Tunbury Bottomat none of which are fenced along Walderslade Woods Road or any of the other access points.
Distance: Approx 2.5 Miles (4km)
Time: Around 1 hour dependant on your pace.
Terrain: Mainly woodland with some grassland areas in Round Wood and some road walking if doing the circular walk. The woods have un-made footpaths that follow the valley set between the houses and there are some steep paths and steps.
Accessible: Unfortunately there are no accessible pathways available at this location.
Stiles: None
Dogs on Leads?: Dogs allowed off lead in the woods but advisable to keep dogs on lead near entrance / exit to the roads.
Parking: Free parking in Beechen Hall car park or in the surrounding roads.
The Route
Click the walk title in the top right of the above window or clicking here will 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 All trails free account and 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.
The Walk Details ...
The route we did that is shown above gives you an idea of distance and elevation and can be followed but as there are numerous entrances to the woods you can start this walk from any point. The circular walk is signposted and there is only one main footpath so you can’t really get lost.
When approaching the main Walderslade Woods road I would advise putting your dog back on their lead as this is quite a fast and busy road.
If you want to extend the walk then you can take the footpath near the hospital and head over the M2 foot bridge and continue along footpaths that can take you over towards Blue Bell Hill or over towards Boxley.
The Gallery ...
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Do be a little careful when dog walking in ‘Round Woods’ – I was walking my dog through there, about a year ago, at 1.30pm, on a warm and sunny Saturday afternoon, when he was attacked by some wild animal!!
I didn’t see the animal, my dog was off lead sniffing about in the undergrowth and saw a squirrel and darted off into the woods after it. I think he then came across something a lot bigger while in the undergrown which either didn’t want to play or be chased, or maybe even decided that it would have my dog as its dinner!!!
The attack was silent, so defiantly not another dog and it happened in a matter of seconds, then my dog came running back to me dripping blood everywhere. The vet assumes it was either a big cat or a badger that attacked him, by the size of the puncher wounds left by its teeth and the damage done, and we have all settled on ‘badger’ as much more likely to have been one of those, than a big cat.
There were two huge puncher wounds (I could have put my fingers inside them) and whatever it was broke by dog’s jaw in several places, broke several teeth, and also gave him a depression fracture of the skull. (Smashing his head on a rock, or on the edge of its burrow, trying to drag him inside, we assume).
He under went several hours of surgery, having his jaw wired up, lots of teeth removed and a few bits of jaw bone removed as well. The depression fracture was the thing that worried the vets the most, as the CT scan showed that he had a bit of bone just hanging on by a ‘thread’ which if it had been chipped off totally, would have gone into his brain, killing him. (And apparently this could also have happened at any time over the next month after the accident, while we waited for the bone to calcify and a better attachment to his skull to form!)
My dog is an Australian Shepherd Dog – so he is a big dog (looks like a tall, rather chunky Border Collie) and vet said had he been a smaller or finer breed of dog, he would probably have been killed and eaten by what ever it was.
Luckily my dog is still with us, and hopefully treatment is nearly over – we have to go back to the dentist specialist vet again in December for another check up, but hopefully will be given the all clear from that visit.
We still occasionally walk in ‘Badger Woods’ (As I now call them!) but I never let him off the lead there any longer!!
So please be careful when walking in Round Woods or any others near by – as if it was a badger that did it, the attack happened on a bright and sunny afternoon, so obviously no one has told the silly animal that it’s only meant to come out at night!!!
Kind regards
Caroline and Nash