Length: 25.8 km (16.0 mi) or 16.4 km (10.2 mi)
Ascent/Descent: 200m or 150m
Net Walking Time: ca. 5 ½ hours or 4 hours
Toughness : 4 out of 10 or 2 out of 10
Take the 09.34 Ramsgate train from Charing X (via W’loo
East and London Bridge (09.43)), arrives Pluckley at 10.46.
Alternatively, take the 09.40 Margate train from St. Pancras I’nal
(via Stratford I’nal (09.48), change at Ashford (10.18/10.30), arrives Pluckley
10.37.
Return trains from Ashford are on
xx.02 and xx.30 to Charing X, xx.16 and xx.40 to St.
Pancras and xx.56 to Victoria.
Return trains from Ham Street are on
xx.02 (change at Ashford). There is also Bus Line 511 to Ashford,
leaving from opposite the station at xx.52 to 17.52.
Buy a Ham Street or an Ashford return.
This is a pretty route, combining two stages of the Greensand Way. Check out the photos on the website, they were taken in winter. The route starts along a link route through pastures to Pluckley village, where you pick up the Greensand Way proper. You then pass through a sequence of orchards to Little Chart and continue through a variety of interesting and pretty landscapes, from pastures, woods, commons and bogs to the very large Godinton Park Estate to Great Chart. From there, …
-- For the Ashford Ending, you finish with an acceptable urban stretch along a link route into
Ashford's centre, following the Stour Valley Walk, largely through parks
and along the Great Stour river, to Ashford International station.
-- For the Ham Street Ending, you skirt Ashford's sprawling suburbs with its many new estates and pass
a couple of walker-unfriendly farms. Some pretty countryside follows
though, with tranquil pastures and the enchanting Ham Street Woods National
Nature Reserve (the latter along a mud-prone bridleway), all the way to the
fine village of Ham Street.
Notes:
The route shown on the route map reflects the
waymarking on the ground as of December 2020; this differs widely from the
route shown on OS maps and as described in Kent Council's outdated
resources. All changes improve the route by avoiding busy roads or arable
field crossings.
At the end in Ham Street, the Greensand Way
leads to the train station first, then on to its official finish at the
pub in the village centre. To get to the pub first, fork left in the car
park at the far end of Ham Street Woods, along a tarmac lane, and at a
T-junction in the village turn right towards the pub at a crossroads. From
there turn right towards the station.
[Ham Street] The Duke’s
Head.
t=swc.152&swc.153
2 comments:
Can this be done following the G. Way on the ground?
Given the late start, I may try for an earlier train.
Inclined to aim for Ham, despite the one-hour wait for a train.
Undeterred by a dire met office forecast #2 disembarked at Pluckley and didn’t see any walkers. A early diversion was made to check out the Pluckley nature reserve but it’s still a work in progress.
Setting a rapid pace the two caught up with walker 3 (on an earlier train) close to Great Chart, the village being the recommended lunch stop. Having already rescheduled the pub booking once we made apologies to walker 3 and made a surge. A very good lunch and prompt service left us optimistic to complete the full walk rather than end at Ashford. This was a good choice as the rest of the walk revealed colours, some recent housing developments to which one walker commented: “People do need homes to live in”
Before the light faded we were treated to a picturesque sunset and silver lined clouds in the sky. The final approach into Ham Street was sketchy under foot and head-torches were required (natural light from the moon was non existent). Surprisingly the group reconvened and #3 made the delayed 18:02 out to Ashford Int where train changes were made to head to London. A grand long in winter is possible doing the walk poster proud.
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