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This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Sunday 30 August 2015

Sunday walk 2

Hollingbourne Circular via Thurnham, SWC Walk 253
13 miles (21 km) including Leeds Castle loop or 10.4 miles (16.75) km without loop
Theres another short (10.3 ml) option that misses out the lunch pub but does the Leeds loop.
Toughness 7/10

Up the North Downs and along the North Downs Way. Through open downland and woods, undulating across sunken lanes and hollows. Past a ruined medieval castle then down to lunch in Thurnham. The return route through fields below the downs is easier, assuming the ground is firm. At Eyhorne Street, the tea stop, you have a choice.
The Main walk (M) continues on a loop that takes you  through the grounds of Leeds Castle on a public footpath. Although the castle itself is spectacular, this section also has stretches the author describes as "dreary".
The Curtailed walk (b) cuts out Leeds Castle and makes a bee-line for Hollingbourne Station.
Trains 
Get the 9:36 from Victoria to Canterbury West, arriving Hollingbourne at 10:49
Return trains to Victoria at xx:07.  Get a return to Hollingbourne.
Lunch
The suggested stop is the Black Horse in Thurnham 01622 737185.
Tea There are two pubs in Eyhorne Street
The upmarket Windmill 01622 889000
The more traditional Sugar Loaves 01622 880220
These would also be your lunch choices if you were to do the short walk (a) omitting Thurnham.
Leeds Castle 
Describes itself as " the loveliest castle in the world". Very old, built by someone called Norman. Keep to the public footpath through the grounds.
A proper visit to Leeds Castle will knock you back £24 but the ticket is valid for a year..... and where else can you visit a dog collar museum?
Walk Directions here
Print the whole document to keep your options open 
Click the option you prefer if you've decided on one route.
Main Walk (M) all the way round including the castle. 
Short walk (a) misses Thurnham, has lunch at the tea stop, then goes on to the castle.
Curtailed Walk (b) goes all the way round except the the castle bit.

3 comments:

Mr M Tiger said...

The immortal words “the return route should be easier assuming the ground is firm” were penned before this week’s monsoons, and that section may not be as firm as expected. If so, you do have the Pilgrims Way, slightly to the north of the walk route. You could stay on it all the way from the lunch pub, though Broadstreet, to Hollingbourne. Or you could follow the proper walk and keep it in mind as an alternative if the going gets tough. There are several connecting paths. See map http://www.walkingclub.org.uk/book_3/walk_221/map.shtml . Watch out for cars.

Siew Chi said...

Great walk! Beautiful and varied scenery. Thoughtful planning by covering the slopes before lunch and a flatter route after a wonderful lunch at Black Horse. Recommend doing the full walk to Leeds Castle especially if you haven't been.

Sean said...

N=7 plus 2 independents who were startled to find the Saturday Walkers Club out on a Sunday. They gave us the slip at lunchtime. Most of the footpaths across the farm fields were impeccably marked out but not the last 1km before the railway crossing, causing the over-confident author to veer off course. Wading through the knee-high crops would have been tough in the rain but thankfully it was W=cloudy-but-dry. Bit of a rush to catch the 18:07.