9.29 train from Charing Cross (9.32 Waterloo East, 9.38 London Bridge) to Sturry, arriving 11.16.
Or catch the 10.04 Southeastern High Speed train from St Pancras to Ashford International, arriving 10.41, to connect with the above train, departing 10.50. (Small supplement + no boundary zone six etc tickets possible)
This shorter version of the Canterbury Circular walk has not had an outing since 2016 - and not at this time of year since 2015. In the morning it passes through coppiced woods which can have fine displays of wood anemones (see photo).
The shorter start also gets you to the very charming villages at the heart of the walk more quickly. Wickhambreaux, 4.2 miles into the walk, so cute it looks like a film set, is one possible lunch option, the charming Rose Inn being very popular, so definitely worth phoning to book before relying on it. Otherwise, a short diversion (the slightly longer version of the walk) takes you to the more capacious Duke William in Ickham, 4.1 miles into the walk: this extra loop also takes you past the Rose Inn later.
A bit further on from the Rose the Red Lion in Stodmarsh, (5.6 miles) into the walk, may now have closed. It was in any case a VERY upmarket and gastro pub, but made a pleasant drinks stop.
Not included on the formal walk route, but immediately to the north east of Stodmarsh is a wetland bird reserve, which you could make an out and back visit to, adding a couple of miles to the walk.
Approaching Fordwich you pass through more coppiced woodland with wood anemones. Fordwich itself has two pubs that can act as tea stops. There are directions to finish the walk here by following the road for 700 metres to Sturry station (the 8.6/9.4 mile version of the walk). Or you can continue on into Canterbury, which makes a charming and interesting end to the walk, and an apt place to get yourself into the mood for Easter.
Trains back from Sturry are at 32 past the hour
Trains back from Canterbury West for high speed ticket holders are 23 past the hour (taking 55 minutes). You can also get a 37 past to Ashford International and change, but you then have an 18 minute wait for a connection, so the total journey time is 1hr 19 mins.
For normal ticket holders there is a train 37 past from Canterbury West to Charing Cross (1hr 42 mins) or 47 past from Canterbury East to Victoria (1 hr 35 mins)
T=swc.121
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A short walk around Stodmarsh nature reserve was Christopher Somerville's featured walk in the Weekend section of Saturday's Times. "Keep an eye out for the beavers", it starts. See https://www.christophersomerville.co.uk/?p=2618
Every year there is one w=grey-miserable day before spring truly starts. Maybe that day was today. It didn’t rain all the time, but it was always drippy and never warm. The wood anemones were very plentiful - at their best both outbound from and inbound to Fordwich - but always closed into bells rather than open as cheerful stars, thus muting their effect. They would have looked glorious in sunshine.
Still and all, there were plenty of signs of spring for the N=7 who braved this walk - three on the high speed train and four on the Charing Cross train. Chiffchaffs and chaffinches sang, the verges were crowded with red deadnettle and chickweed, and the great green transformation of the trees and shrubs is starting.
I was looking forward to lunching at the Rose Inn in Wickhambreaux, having happy memories of doing so many years ago. What I had not realised - or checked - is that in the interim it has gained entry into the Michelin and Good Food Guides. That meant £20 mains (mainly fish) served without any veg (£5 for side dishes), so £30 for a proper meal. Nearly all my companions, I noticed, stuck to starters to save money. My bad, as the young say.
Better news in the afternoon. The Red Lion in Stodmarsh, which until recently was another high falutin’ gastro hangout, has changed hands and is soon to reopen with “good traditional food”. It is only 1.4 miles further on.
In Stodmarsh four of us decided to do a little side trip to the nature reserve, and the other three also joined us. Here we heard some exploilsively loud Cetti’s warblers, saw a possible marsh harrier, and heard more chiffchaffs and chaffinches. No obvious signs of beavers, but this was one place which had been enhanced by the recent monsoon conditions. I have never seen a wetland looking so romantically wet.
After Stodmarsh two of us got left behind. We negotiated a field of calves, watched warily by their mothers, and squelched through more woods carpeted in “wooden Ms”. In Fordwich, unable to summon any of the others in the group on the phone, we stopped at the very cosy George & Dragon for tea and pud (me) and beer (my companion). Then on to Canterbury, with a nice finish along the foaming brown Amazonian torrent of the Great Stour.
We got the 19.23 high speed train after a sojourn in the Cargo Shed. I think the rest of the group got the 17.37 to Charing Cross. (Feel free to file a separate report…)
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