Book 1/Walk 19: A Kent Castles Walk (Hever to Leigh) t=1.19
Distance: 8.8 Miles or 14.2 km for those more
metrically minded
Difficulty: 2 out of 10
Train: Take the 10:51 AM East Grinstead train
from London Victoria (stopping at Clapham
Junction at 10:58 and East Croydon at 11.09) changing at Hurst Green (11:36
arrival; 11:41 departure) OR take the 10:39 AM Brighton Thameslink from London Bridge (changing
onto the Victoria train at East Croydon arriving 10:52; departing 11:09),
arriving at Hever at 11:51. Return trains from Leigh are on the hour or
31 minutes past with a change at either Tonbridge or Redhill. Buy a “any
permitted” day return to Leigh.
This little gem packs a punch and passes by two castles
and a stately home in the pretty undulating Kent countryside. The route passes Hever
Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn and Penshurst Place, an impressive medieval
manor house. You can find more
information about the walk and download the walk instructions here.
The recommended lunch spot is the Castle Inn (01892 870 371) in Chiddingstone
3 miles/5 km into the walk). Please call ahead. An alternate early possibility would be
the Leicester Arms Hotel (01892 871
617) in Penshurst. Tea and other
late afternoon refreshments can be had at Fleur-de-lis in Leigh.
Enjoy the walk!
2 comments:
Some recent feedback on the Cowden-Hever walk said that the Castle Inn in Chiddingstone was covered in scaffolding. There's nothing on the pub's website to indicate that it's not open as normal, but you might have to look for another lunch place. There are a couple of tea rooms in the village or you could carry on for another hour or so to the Leicester Arms in Penshurst.
To be honest, I have no idea how many were on the platform -- completely forgot to count -- but will go with n=13 including 2 special guests and 1 newcomer on a w=beautiful-warm-sunny-day. The walk was lovely lush and green...saw several llamas, a dragon fly and nearly stepped on a pheasant resting next to the path...The grounds of Chiddingstone Castle were open and were very pleasant....the pond was scarily full of fish moving around the surface...The Castle Inn was closed...so on we went to Penshurst where most had lunch...the straggling group arrived at Leigh about 4.45 to find the 5pm train cancelled....so had a drink at the pub before catching the 5.30 train....All in all, a great day out much enjoyed by our special guests...
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