T=swc.78
Length: Main walk: 16.5km (10.3 miles) with options to shorten.
Difficulty: 4 out of 10
This walk starts from a lonely station and wends its way through remote valleys, woods and tiny settlements in the undulating landscape of the High Weald. It descends into the Eden Valley for refreshment stops in the beautiful villages of Penshurst and Chiddingstone, before ending in Hever. Each of these three villages has an interesting church which is worth visiting, as well as a popular historic house open to the public.
Trains: Catch the 10.07 Uckfield train from London Bridge (East Croydon 10.22), arriving Cowden 10.53. Return trains from Hever run hourly at XX.05.
Buy a return to Cowden.
Lunch: In Penshurst village, after about 7 km the Leicester Arms Hotel (01892-871617) is suggested for a pub lunch. The Porcupine Pantry at the entrance to Penshurst Place serves sandwiches, baguettes, hot and cold drinks.
Later in the walk, at Chiddingstone, the Castle Inn (01892-87037) is another possibility. It's under new ownership and website is currently under constructio.
Tea: My preferred option is the tea room tucked away behind Chiddingstone Castledingstone Castle (01892-870347) open to non-visitors. Another option is the Tulip Tree tea room up a cobbled street (01892-870326) in Chiddingstone just before the Castle gates
Directions, map and GPS L=swc.78
1 comment:
Thirteen of us were on the posted train which was a bit late and decided not to stop at Cowden - so we got off at Hever to do the walk in reverse. After an interesting stop at Hever church, one decided to walk round Hever and the castle instead, but the rest of us followed the route reasonably successfully to Penshurst. There everyone ate in the churchyard but nearly all then repaired to the pub garden for a drink. We were joined by number #14 who had missed our train and walked from Tonbridge.
Eventually we realised we would have to make tracks for the hourly train from Cowden and set off at different paces. The afternoon leg was more difficult to follow in reverse, with only sporadic footpath markings, confusing new fences and one unnerving unmarked section through a field of cows with calves and in some cases horns. Some took shortcuts, maybe not all intentionally, and in the end all but two made the 4 pm train. There wasn't much mud, but the remaining patches were horrible. It was #sunny-but-cool-in-the-shade.
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