Close to Lenham Chalk Cliffs on the North Downs Way, this site has been transformed by the Mid Kent Downs Countryside Partnership into a community orchard as part of the Mid Kent Downs Orchards for Everyone Project in partnership with Lenham Parish Council.
The site comprises chalk grassland, a wild flower meadow, picnic tables and around 40 fruit trees including cherry, apple, plum and pear, planted in 2008. More recently, a small platt of Kent Cobnuts has been added. The majority of the cherry trees are of the sour Morella variety. The vale at Lenham was once full of cherry trees as the parish used to house a distillery for Grants Morella Cherry Brandy. The best time to visit is April and May when the orchard is a breathtaking profusion of blossom.
The views from the site out over the Greensand Way, the Stour Valley and the Weald are well-worth the visit.
The site has some history too. The former Lenham Hospital, built before the First World War as a tuberculosis (TB) sanatorium, used to be here. This later became a psychiatric hospital but became empty and disused after 1986. Since then much of the site has been developed with ‘posh’ houses. The site has personal connections for me as my mum used to be a cook in the hospital in the 1950s.
Lenham Parish Council owns the picnic site and maintains it for the benefit of everyone. Please help to keep the site tidy by taking your litter home with you and not allowing dogs to foul in the area.
You are looking for a small plastic container just large enough for a few swaps. Please sign and date the logbook; trade items (if you want to), just remember to leave something of equal or greater value; re-hide the container exactly where and how you found it so other geocachers can find it; log your find online at Geocaching.com or using the free Official Geocaching App
If this container needs to be removed for any reason, please contact the geocache owner via the Message Centre . You can also visit geocaching.com/help and send a message with unique information about the geocache, such as the GC code, geocache name, or a nearby address (including the city and country).