The Great Storm of 1987
Toys Hill sits at 235 metres above sea level, the highest point in Kent, on the Surrey-Kent border near Westerham. Before October 1987, it was famous for its groves of ancient beech pollards – broad, gnarled trees that had been cut back for centuries. In a single night, the Great Storm destroyed 95 per cent of the woodland. The devastation was total: a forest that had stood for generations was reduced to a tangle of fallen trunks.
What happened next was as remarkable as the destruction. The National Trust divided the site into three zones: one was cleared and replanted, one was cleared and left to regenerate naturally, and one was left entirely alone. The non-intervention zone has become a living laboratory, demonstrating how woodland recovers without human assistance. Light flooding through the opened canopy germinated dormant seeds. Native clematis, honeysuckle, and heather appeared. Birch and willow pioneered the gaps, followed by oak and beech seedlings.
Octavia Hill's Legacy
Toys Hill was one of the National Trust's earliest acquisitions. Octavia Hill, one of the Trust's three founders, lived nearby at Crockham Hill and donated the land in 1898. She also sank a well for the residents of Toys Hill hamlet. The site was among the first pieces of countryside the Trust protected, and it carries Hill's philosophy of open access and stewardship directly into the present day.
Walking Toys Hill
Octavia's Viewpoint, at the western edge of the woodland, offers panoramic views across the Weald of Kent. Several circular walks loop through the regenerated woodland, passing the few surviving ancient pollards alongside the new growth. The contrast between the old beeches and the young forest is vivid and instructive. Toys Hill connects to Ide Hill and Mariners Hill via the Greensand Way.