Atlantic lowland heath (ALH) is a priority conservation habitat in Western Europe, but restoration efforts have met with mixed success due to the complexity associated with replicating establishment conditions. By virtue of their impoverished, often acidic soils and geographic location in areas naturally occupied by ALH communities, former kaolinite mine sites may offer an excellent opportunity for heathland restoration. Using a chronosequence of former open cast kaolinite mines in South West England (0, 2, 27, and 150 years since mining ceased), we determined the ability of ALH vegetation and soils to reestablish naturally and in addition, for the three youngest sites, how the reinstatement of stored overburden affected heathland regeneration. Analysis of soil characteristics revealed major differences in the levels of acidity, organic content, and fertility between abandoned kaolinite sites and a nearby natural reference heath. Even 150 years after mining ceased, concentrations of all major soil nutrients and organic content were lower, and pH higher, than undisturbed ALH. The reinstatement of overburden did little to improve soil quality, since all former kaolinite sites were dominated by mesotrophic grasses, rather than species characteristic of the target ALH community. We conclude that to maximize the potential of former open cast kaolinite sites for ALH reestablishment, changes in pre-and postrestoration management are required. These include modification of how overburden is stockpiled, while the addition of organic material, microbial communities, and sulfur (to reduce soil pH) to reinstated overburden are likely also essential interventions to facilitate successful ALH establishment.

Post‐mining restoration of heathland habitats has met with mixed success. Failures are often ascribed to the complexity of replicating soil conditions: a scarcity of organic matter and microbial symbionts in stored overburden used for restoration is frequently implicated. Nonetheless, systematic investigation of the role of both interventions is lacking. Using a greenhouse trial and a large‐scale field experiment within a commercial kaolinite mine site, we explored how the addition of ericoid mycorrhizal fungi (ErMF) and organic matter influenced the establishment of dwarf ericoid species that characterize NW European Atlantic lowland heaths. Neither intervention had any positive effect on ericoid establishment in field or greenhouse conditions. In the greenhouse experiment, organic matter (from commercial refuse) increased heather (Calluna vulgaris) cuttings mortality, although surviving plants showed enhanced shoot growth when ErMF were added. All field plots were dominated by combinations of grasses, gorse (Ulex europaeus), and bare ground. Establishment of ericaceous plants was remarkably low (<4%) after 3 years and Erica tetralix and C. vulgaris abundance in organic matter (which increased pH) or ErMF treatments was reduced compared to untreated control. Although our experiments suggest that research on soil manipulation treatments is required to elucidate the conditions necessary for heathland establishment, corroboration of our greenhouse trial results in field conditions highlights the value of the former in informing the latter. We identify low pH, high lignin (e.g. pine) litter as one potentially worthwhile soil amelioration treatment and suggest how the use of naturally colonized/preinoculated “nursemaid” plants could facilitate heathland restoration.