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)
Welcome to Pluckley, the Kent village so haunted they banned Halloween.
The land around Pluckley was owned by one family for 900 years and their influence - distinctive Dering windows and the black horse symbol - can still be seen on many of the buildings. The author of “The Darling Buds of May” lived in the area and the TV series was filmed here. And, guess what, its May!
The basic walk is 7.2 miles but there are a couple of options extending it.
Trains
Get the 09:34 Ramsgate train from Charing Cross (Waterloo East 09:57 London Bridge 10:03) arriving Pluckley 10:46.
Return trains at xx:37: to Charing Cross Get a return to Pluckley.
(Rich toffs could take the 9:40 Margate HS1 from St Pancras and change at Ashford for the 10:30 Charing Cross-bound, Platform 1, arriving Pluckley 10:37. There's little advantage and it costs more, but it would give an extra return train at xx:46, changing at Ashford).
Lunch
The Swan Inn in Little Chart is recommended 01233 840 011. They've got a garden by the stream.
A bit later, in Pluckley, there's the Black Horse 01233 224 224. It hasn’t been tried for a while, but, apparently, they're not as sniffy about walk-in trade as they used to be. (It's haunted, so don't ask for spirits).
Tea
The Black Horse (see above) is a possibility.
Both of the longer options and a short diversion from the short walk, take you to the Rose and Crown at Mundy Bois 01233 840 048. From there, allow 45-50 minutes to the station
Although the Dering Arms, 01233 840 371 is just opposite the station, it closes 3:30 to 6, just when you’d want it open. It’s haunted anyway. t=2.21
Directions: here.
#2026-05-23T09:40
3 comments:
N=2 w=darn-hot It’s n=2 W=darn-hot
Just Mr Tiger and A.N other today Both agreed to do the shorter walk
Just as well considering the heat.
The Old Swan couldn’t come soon enough and we provided some eager custom. Ditto the Black Swan, which seems to be OK about walk-ins again
We left a decision about Mundy Bois till the ..er .. decision point. We decided to go straight. to the station cos the Mundy Bois route looked ploughed up . And we blew it.
Let’s just say 37 minutes is not enough. Not at Mr Tigers speed, anyway. More like 45.
Needless to say, the Dering Arms wasn’t open . We spent the next 50 minutes sitting in the shade in the pub garden - with no drinks - and got the 16:37.
Early doors we walked lightly through hosts of golden buttercups as the sun blazed down at all times on the wrong side of the sheltering trees. As time went on the heat was as intense as the housing market round Pluckley, every one practically a stately home when it wasn't an Oast, and even they had Dering windows. Staff at the old swan kindly looked after an overheated walker, and we trekked slowly through Kent orchards and vineyards, as it should be. We passed HE Bates house but no darling buds, and it was possibly the only building round here not claiming to be haunted. GPS vanished in the middle of an unnecessarily large bit of country, and the sheep mocked us trying to find our way back to the station, but we did!
Silly me. That’s Black Horse not Black Swan
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