Countryside-regeneration project Woodsell opens to allow people an experience of real Kent nature

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On the outskirts of Faversham, a countryside-regeneration project has been under way for almost five years. Woodsell Farm is the 180-acre wilding vision that will bring a stunning piece of the Kent Downs National Landscape back to its natural beauty.

With undulating fields and ancient woodland, Woodsell (@woodsellrewildingproject) is helping to restore nature, encourage biodiversity and generally give the flora and fauna of the Kent countryside a helping hand.

Acquired in 2020, the farm is now under the ownership of the John Foran Foundation and is perfectly positioned between Kent Wildlife Trust’s Spuckles Wood nature reserve and Holbeam, helping to establish a wildlife corridor.

A former intensive pheasant farm, Woodsell was bought by Faversham resident Brian Pain and, together with project coordinator Helen Renny, the strategy will see the maintenance and enhancement of the existing woodland and inclusion of regenerative farming, while some 6,500 trees and hedge plants have already been put into the ground.

Preservation of wildflower and grass meadows, new woodland and management of the existing woodland will be accompanied by a wild-seed production field, while small ponds have provided a stop-off point for wildlife as it returns to the site.

“It’s amazing how quickly wildlife re-establishes itself,” says Helen. “The ponds have made a huge difference - because we’re quite high up, it’s a relatively dry farm naturally, but the ponds are now drinking areas for birds and deer.”

Woodsell has created nature trails and erected a birdwatching treehouse to enable people to observe one of the peaceful corners of the farm from above, while webcams have been installed to give views of the animals using the ponds - including badgers, foxes, hares and buzzards.

“... people who want to recharge, go for a walk, love nature, or just want a dark sky, we can offer it here.”

— Brian Pain, Woodsell

“We’ve had lots of experts in to see what’s here, from bats to fungi to dragonflies to birds to goodness knows what else,” says Brian. “They’ve been logging the site for us and it’s remarkable what’s here and what’s appearing - lots of rare species that certainly weren’t here before. We’ve had kestrels nesting for two years in a row and there’s two pairs of barn owls in the barn, which have come from nowhere.

“The lady from the RSPB who’s been up a couple of times believes she’s seen more red kites here than she’s seen anywhere else in Kent. So it’s obviously a naturally good place for wildlife to thrive if it’s given the opportunity.”

Having known about the site for some time, Brian, who is renowned for having started Rochester Independent College, jumped at the chance to buy the land and allow it to recover its natural balance. A strategic plan has also been put together to ensure the future of the site.

“If I pop my clocks and there’s a huge death duty bill to pay, which there would be, then the whole project could be ruined because it could be just bought up and turned back to intensive farming, or something awful, and everything we’ve gained will be lost,” he says. “The farmland has been put in a charitable trust so it can’t be touched. We’ve effectively given it away to charity.”

On the other side of the project is the restoration of the dilapidated farm buildings to provide comfortable eco-accommodation for people wanting to experience Woodsell. This includes four new nature retreats in the newly-converted flint stable block, complete with fully-equipped kitchen with handmade oak worktops, hotel-standard mattresses and natural-linen bed covers.

They each have their own private patio area with handmade ash furniture - taken from coppiced Woodsell trees - overlooking the landscaped stable yard, planted with wildflowers and wild cherry trees. A swimming pool within a secluded walled garden is already available, while the large restored farmhouse and education centre in a former bull pen will also be available in the not-too-distant future.

“The idea is that we will make this part of Woodsell self-sufficient and self-funded, partly through income from guests and activities going on here but also through other activities within the wood,” says Brian.

“I know lots of people who would have a holiday and they’d drive all the way to Cornwall to have three days after spending a day in the traffic-jam office opposite Stonehenge. Whereas here it is only sort of an hour or so from London and if you just want to get away to the countryside you don’t have to go a long way. So people who want to recharge, go for a walk, love nature, or just want a dark sky, we can offer it here.”

One of the USPs for guests is the ability for them to watch the Woodsell nature webcams, as well as a telescope pointed into the night sky.

“In the evening, you can sit and jump between the wildlife and the telescope, which will allow you to look anywhere in the sky. It’s got thousands of settings - you can focus it on the Crab Nebula if you’d like!”

Once the farmhouse is complete, there will be enough space to house up to 20 guests, ideal for conferences and work-related events as well as single stays.

“One of Brian’s aims, along with all the conservation work and the education, is to get people out from underprivileged backgrounds,” says Helen. “We’ve been working with a charity to bring down young people who are recently homeless in London.

They have also been making Woodsell available to a charity that works with asylum seekers from Folkestone to have the chance to experience Kentish nature.

Brian adds: “We’re looking at working with the Kent Downs National Landscape for a ‘night under the stars’ for kids with emotional difficulties because it can be very therapeutic. So there’s lots of nice things we can do within the trust that fulfil charitable aims.”

While the centuries-old woodland with its bluebells has a knack of looking after itself if left alone, all new man-made additions to the site have centred on environmentally-sound building practices.

“We’ve got our own solar array that feeds our batteries, which then feeds our air source heat pumps, which heat the cottages and everything else,” says Brian. “We also have the pure water from the water borehole, so although we’re still on the mains electricity and water we can technically be off-grid completely, which is rather nice.”

Everything has been thought about, from the crunchy footpaths that make use of waste seashells through to the six-watt uplights that give just enough direction to guests using the site at night while keeping it a dark farm.

“It’s not like an Airbnb,” says Helen. “It’s more about education, or artists, people wanting to appreciate the quiet.”

INFO: woodsell.org