Sunday Walk – Wateringbury Circular

Extra Walk 336 – Wateringbury Circular

Length: 14 km (8.7 miles), or 16¾ km (10.4 miles) if you finish at Yalding. Toughness: 3/10

09:34 Ramsgate train from Charing Cross (Waterloo East 09:37, London Bridge 09:43, Sevenoaks 10:08), changing at Paddock Wood (arr 10:23, dep 10:33) for the Strood train which arrives Wateringbury at 10:44. Buy a return to Wateringbury.

Trains back are hourly, at xx:09 from Wateringbury and xx:12 from Yalding, again changing at Paddock Wood. In theory you could get a train in the other direction at xx:41/44 and change at Strood for the High Speed Train to St Pancras, but the fare on this route is much more expensive.

There are plenty of orchards along the Medway Valley and this should be a good time for apple blossom. There might still be patches of bluebells and wild garlic to be seen, but the predominant colour in the fields will be a bright yellow from swathes of buttercups.

The walk document lists a lot of options but to simplify matters I suggest sticking to the Main Walk. I was going to specify the extra loop out to the Horseshoes Inn on Dean Street, but there was a positive review of the Bull Inn at East Farleigh by the pair who braved a dire weather forecast last time out so it would be nice to give them another try. You should reach this pub at around 12.15–12:30pm, and there's a churchyard across the road for picnickers.

At the end of the afternoon leg tea'n'cake should be available at the Ramblers Rest Café, just across the river from Wateringbury station. If that revives you there's a optional riverside extension to the next station on the line, Yalding. That will take around 40 minutes; it's worth timing your departure carefully since there'll be nothing to entertain you if you have a long wait for the hourly train.

You'll need to bring the directions from the L=swc.336 page. If you're printing them off from the web page (ie. not the pdf download) you can save several sheets of paper by clicking the Main Walk option line first. If you're relying on your GPS device a short study of the route beforehand might help you avoid heading down some of the other walk options.