Lullingstone Country Park is near Eynsford, in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England. A former deer park of a large estate, it was later sold to become an open-space and woodland park. The park and

Lullingstone Castle Lullingstone Castle is a historic manor house, set in an estate in the village of Lullingstone and the civil parish of Eynsford in the English county of Kent. It has been inhabited by members of the Hart Dyke family for twenty generations incl ...

are a

Scheduled Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

, and an area of is a biological

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

History

This 460 acre country park is between Eynsford and Shoreham; it was formerly a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

deer park, and part of the estate and Manor of

Lullingstone Lullingstone is a village in the county of Kent, England. It is best known for its castle, Roman villa and its public golf course. Lullingstone was a civil parish until 1955, when it was annexed to Eynsford. The parish was in Axstane Hundred a ...

, which was mentioned in the

Domesday Survey Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

. In 1934, much of the park was sold to

Kemp Town Kemp Town Estate, also known as Kemp Town, is a 19th-century Regency architecture residential estate in the east of Brighton in East Sussex, England, UK. It consists of Arundel Terrace, Lewes Crescent, Sussex Square, Chichester Terrace, and ...

Brewery,

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

who later sold it to

Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council h ...

in 1938. In 1944, during the 2nd World War, a decoy

airfield An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

was sited in the park, and

was used by the army. The Lullingstone estate was also hit by various German bombs; most craters have been covered up. One crater is now hidden by trees. In the mid-1960s, Kent County Council leased the park to

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

Rural District Council, who created an 18-hole golf course in the park. Later in the 20th Century, a 9-hole course was also added. This still occupies the western and central section of the park. The park is currently leased by

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lon ...

District Council, but the park is maintained by Kent County Council. Lullingstone Castle and its grounds remain in private ownership under the Hart-Dykes. In 1964, Summerhouse Knoll (a grass hill) within the park was dug up by Crayford Archaeological Research Group who found 1st Century pottery. Some of the pollards in the wood are over 400 years old, and it is important for invertebrates, lichens, breeding birds and fungi. Over 340 beetle species have been recorded, including two which are nationally rare.

Geography

The park is well renowned for its collection of ancient trees within the park. These include 300 veteran

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

es,

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornbeam' ...

ash (Fraxinus) ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of subtropical species are evergr ...

, and

sweet chestnut ''Castanea sativa'', the sweet chestnut, Spanish chestnut or just chestnut, is a species of tree in the family Fagaceae, native to Southern Europe and Asia Minor, and widely cultivated throughout the temperate world. A substantial, long-lived ...

trees. These include specimens estimated to be around 500 years old. As well as the woodlands, the park has large meadow land areas, with plentiful species of plants within, including

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

s and other native wildflowers and butterflies. The River Darent flows through the eastern valley section of the park, alongside the

Darent Valley Path The waymarked path Darent Valley Path is long, following the River Darent from the banks of the River Thames at Dartford through the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to the Greensand Hills above Sevenoaks. It runs through the villag ...

(long distance path). Sections of the river are widened to create lakes and ponds. These also attract wildlife including,

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

grass snake The grass snake (''Natrix natrix''), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian non-venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians. Subspecies Many subspecies are recogniz ...

dragonflies A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threa ...

and

damselflies Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings along ...

. Several marked trails exist within the park. The White Woodland Walk is a 2-mile heading through Beechen Wood and past the Orchid Bank. The Black Lullingstone Loop is a 4-mile perimeter walk, via Beechen Wood (a

), passing

Lullingstone Roman Villa Lullingstone Roman Villa is a villa built during the Roman occupation of Britain, situated in Lullingstone near the village of Eynsford in Kent, south-eastern England. The villa is located in the Darent Valley, along with six others, includin ...

, Lullingstone Castle. It passes many of the ancient trees in the park. The Red Discovery Trail is a 1.5-mile child-friendly activity trail. The Blue Horse Trail is 4 miles. Other footpaths including public footpaths also exist within the park. The country park held a Kent Big Weekend Event during March 2011 in the grounds of the Country Park. The park also is accredited with a

Green Flag Award The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

How to get there

From Eynsford, follow the A225 towards Otford. The park is on the right, after the entrance to Lullingstone Castle. Another entrance is via footpaths through Beechens Wood from Redmans Lane (bordering the park on the south).

References

{{Reflist

External links

Kent County Council PageVisit Kent pageLullingstone Park and Castle, Eynsford, Swanley, England, Parks & Gardens UK
Country parks in Kent Parks and open spaces in Kent Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Kent Scheduled monuments in Kent

History

Geography

See also

How to get there

References

External links