Fowlmead Country Park is a 200-acre (80 hectare) park regenerated from the shale spoil tip of the former Betteshanger Colliery.  The colliery was the last of the four Kent coal mines to close in 1989 and the land languished unused until 2000 when the regional development agency, SEEDA (South East England Development Agency), acquired the freehold and set to redeveloping the brownfield site into a country park.

Since its opening in May 2007, Fowlmead has continued to develop as a safe off-road site for activities and leisure pursuits such as cycling (leisure, road, and mountainbiking), running, orienteering, geocaching, archery, walking, bushcraft and fossil-collecting.

Fowlmead has a two-mile Tarmac road cycling track which can be used by the general public and which is available for hire to clubs, organisations and individuals for cycling rides and events.  There are miles of leisure paths for walking and cycling around the site and in through the established woodland, and mountainbiking trails are being developed.

Fowlmead also has a back gate, Colliers’ Gate, which is accessible by cyclists and walkers from Southwall Road in Deal.  Colliers’ Gate opens 15 minutes after the published park opening time and 15 minutes before the published park closing time.  

Bike hire is available at Fowlmead – please click here for more information.

The Fowlmead café opens at weekends from 10am ‘til 4pm.