Difficulty 1 out of 10 (2 or 3 for the longer versions)
Length 7.2, 9.2 or 11.2 miles (11.5, 14.7, or 18 km)
The land around Pluckley, in Kent's low weald, was owned by one family for 900 years and their distinctive windows and black horse symbol can still be seen on many of the buildings. (They got given it by some guy William the Conker). The author of “The Darling Buds of May” lived in the area and we go past his former home.
Trains: Get the 09:40 Ashford International train from Charing Cross (London Bridge 9:49) arriving Pluckley 10:50.
Return trains at xx:38 to Charing Cross. Get a return to Pluckley.
Lunch
It’s hard to rely on pubs right now so bring a picnic (and water) in case you need it. And maybe a little something for the many ghosts?
The Swan Inn in Little Chart 01233 840 702 has a garden by the stream.
A bit later, in Pluckley, there's the Black Horse 01233840340. It re-opened in May. They may require booking. Watch out, though, it’s haunted.
Tea
The medium and longer walk work best for refreshments. Both of them take you past the Rose and Crown at Mundy Bois 01233 840 048. From there, allow 45-50 minutes to the station.
The Barrow House in Egerton hasn’t yet reopened
For the short walk, you have the fore-mentioned Black Horse, (fine, unless you just had lunch there). You might be lucky with the Dering Arms, 01233 840 371 opposite the station but don’t count on it. Their website says they’re closed 3-6 pm. They've got ghosts too.
Directions here
Covid-19 Compliance: please note the current guidance on this website and observe social distancing. Please sign up for this walk in advance if you can, using the London Walkers User Group site. (This saves time collecting contact details). Otherwise bring a piece of paper with your legible email address on it, which will be put in an envelope and accessed if needed for contact tracing. To report a Covid case after this walk, use covid@lwug.co.uk /
T=2.21
3 comments:
It's going to be hot today - make sure you bring a hat, sun protection and water.
Yes. Very lovely, but very exposed walk.
N=5 turned up on a w=hot-sunny-day-with-some–cloud Paths were well delineated, even at Honey Farm. There were some displays of buttercups and a buzzard was seen. I have fond memories of this walk degenerating into a pub crawl on a previous sortie and - for me at least - this one came close. First up, the Swan where drinks were had. Pint of cider for me, please. After a sandwich stop in Pluckley churchyard, it was more drinks in the Black Horse (just a half for me). Here the new landlady of two weeks, fittingly dressed in red, regaled us with tales of screaming from the churchyard. Then spoilt it by saying ‘probably a fox’. One of us headed direct for the station from here. I will not name names. The rest headed off on the main walk with at least two of us intending to do the medium walk. At the decision point, however, a frisson of doubt about the gate to the right decided things for us – short walk. Probably for the best, given the heat.
One thing the main walk directions need is a prompt in the text to flag where you can turn right for the Mundy Bois pub. I was well past before I realised we’d missed it.
We got to the station with about 50 mins to wait for the train. But wonder of wonders, joy of joys, the Dering Arms, just about to close an hour later than advertised, agreed to serve us. I asked for a half of cider but they only did pint bottles. What can you do?
The others had tea or coffee.
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