Walking at Toys Hill

Spring sun through the trees at Toys Hill, Kent — Spring sun through the trees at Toys Hill | © National Trust Images/David Sellman

With breathtaking views across Kent and plenty of nature to spot, Toys Hill is just the place to take a walk at any time of the year. Toys Hill was one of the places that inspired Octavia Hill to found the National Trust. She grew up at nearby Crockham Hill and wanted to preserve the area for others to enjoy. Find out where you can go and what you can see along the way.

Take a walk at Toys Hill

There are numerous paths to take, some of which connect with other National Trust places. Discover four waymarked walks around Toys Hill, ranging from 1¾ miles to 4 miles.

Celebrate the life of Octavia Hill on a walk to the picturesque village of Ide Hill and her commemorative seat, passing Emmetts Garden on the way back. Or make a day of it and follow on to the Octavia Hill centenary trail west, a 6-mile (9.6km) walk that can be done separately or together with the east trail to make up a figure-of-eight.

Please remember to keep dogs on leads when in fields with livestock.

Things to look out for

Well, well, well

Octavia Hill (one of the founding members of the National Trust) sank a well for the residents of Toys Hill to use and gifted it to the National Trust in 1898. The well was restored in 1999 and has some of the best views across the Weald of Kent to the Ashdown Forest in the far distance.

A batty place for a tower

The bat tower was once used as the water tower for the Weardale estate. After suffering damage in the 1987 storm, the tower was converted into a bat hibernaculum. The tower is well used by bats, and they seem to like hanging out in their new home.

The bat tower at Toys Hill, Kent — The bat tower at Toys Hill | © National Trust Images/Jo Hatcher

Pump it up at Pugden

Next to a beautifully calm pond you'll see the remains of the Victorian ram pump system which was used to supply water for the Emmetts estate. The basic idea behind a ram pump is simple: it uses the momentum of a relatively large amount of moving water to pump a relatively small amount of water uphill.