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This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Sunday 8 April 2018

Sunday walk: Ham Street to Appledore /Appledore Circular

SWC 106
A choice of not one, not  two, but three walks, exploring Romney Marsh. With a bit of luck you might hear the not-so-dulcet tones of the area's "laughing" frogs - an established colony of European invaders.
  • The shortest version, suitable for softies, is the Appledore Circular. Length  13¾ km (8.5 miles), difficulty 2/10. Get off and on the train at Appledore. This takes a more direct route to the lunch pub in Warehorne.
  • Walk-hardened regulars can do the main walk, with its rating of 3/10, length 18¼ km (11.3 miles), taking them through Ham St Woods and along the (inland) Saxon Shore Way. They get off the train at Ham St, and get back on again at Appledore.
  • Superhumans and god-like beings could extend the main walk even further, starting and finishing at Ham Street. Length 23½ km (14.6 miles), difficulty 4/10. 
Trains You can take either:
  • the 10:08 Hi-Speed Margate train from St Pancras (Stratford International  10:15), changing at Ashford International  for the Hastings train (arr. 10:46 dep. 11:21) arriving Ham Street at 11:27 and Appledore at 11:33, (Overall, this route is quicker, particularly returning, but, outbound, there's a long wait at Ashford,)
  • or, the slower, cheaper, 9:42 Ashford International train from Victoria, changing at Ashford onto the same Hastings train (arr. 11.02, dep. 11:21).  
Trains return from Appledore at xx:52 (Ham St xx:57), changing again at Ashford International.
Get a return to Appledore.
Lunch The lunchtime stop is the Woolpack Inn (01233-732900) in Warehorne. This attractive pub is open all day and serves excellent home cooked food made from local ingredients. (Hopefully not mud pies!) It can get busy at weekends so good idea to phone. The World's Wonder, mentioned as an alternative appears to have closed.
Tea As well as the Black Lion (01233-758206), Appledore offers “the quintessential English tea time experience” at the delightfully-named Miss Mollett's High Class Tea Room (01233-758555), open to 5pm. You'll need to allow at least half an hour to reach Appledore Station, 2¼ km away.
If you finish in Ham Street, you've got the Duke's Head pub (01233-732210).
Directions here. Click option (M) for the main walk, (a) for the short walk, (b) for the long (or keep all options open by not clicking nothing).
T=swc.106

2 comments:

Mr M Tiger said...

Here we go again. The peripatetic comment has come back here. Lets hope to stay this time .
"I moved this comment from here to the Ham Street walk but then I realised there is a Woolpack Inn on both walks so moved it back here again :( ....Mr M "

tartanrug, Sun 08 Apr 18, 17:43
n=9 w=warm-humid, going was squelchy and muddy underfoot, acres of wood anemones after superb lunch in the Woolpack Inn followed by afternoon tea en plein aire before the train.

Mr M Tiger said...

Were the frogs laughing for you?