9.55 train from Victoria (10.12 Bromley South) to Hollingbourne, arriving 11.10.
For walk directions, GPS and map, click here.
This airy North Downs walk proved a fine outing when it was done in June 2025, with plentiful escarpment views. The idea is to do the extended circular version of the walk via Thurnham, where the Black Horse is a fine lunch pub with a large patio garden. Though the headline length of this walk is 13.3 miles (option x), if you miss the end loop around Leeds Castle (option xi), it is only 9.9 miles. Those wanting a longer walk could either do the Leeds Castle loop or combine the Thurnham extension with the Hucking extension (option zi), which makes a walk of 12.7 miles.
All of this ends up in the pleasant village of Eyhorne Street, where there are two pubs for tea. The "traditional village pub" is the Sugar Loaves, which will doubtless appeal to the beer drinkers, but on a visit earlier this year I found the "upmarket" Windmill a lot more cosy (and popular). The reopened Dirty Habit in Hollingbourne is a possible drinks stop about a mile earlier.
Trains back are at 17 past the hour. There is a short walk up across fields from Eyhorne Street to the station: remember it gets dark at around 6.45pm at this time of year, but I suppose we all have torches on our phones these days.
#2026-10-10T09:55 T=swc.253
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7 of us off the train, soon joined by the walk author. He stayed with us for about 45 minutes before muttering something about a dirty habit and slinking off. We hope he enjoyed the rest of his day…..
Once up on the downs this route is surprisingly wooded with frankly rather unnecessary numbers of steep descents and ascents (I shall be writing to my MP…). The weather was w=more-cloudy-than-expected though with reasonable sun at times.
We had got a bit strung out in the morning, in particular losing two walkers of sandwich eating tendencies, who were not seen again. That left four us to have lunch and one just a coffee at the Black Horse. Given the cloud, we got a table inside in the Stygian gloom. It is an amazing interior with lots of nooks and crannies, including a dog loft (check it out). No complaints about food and service. Very intelligent and well informed chat as we ate.
In the afternoon we started meeting endurance runners/walkers coming the other way doing some charity event. They were well spaced but seemed to exclusively pop up when the path was narrow between brambles and/or barbed wire, which it was often. (Who thought this was a good route for a charity event? Had they checked the route beforehand?)
This was a bit of a nuisance. Mercifully there were some open stretches with magnificent downland views. The sun came out on some of these which made life feel very good.
Descending to Hollingbourne we finally lost the runners (who were following the North Downs Way). We bypassed the Dirty Habit (yes, it is a pub…) and headed for Eyhorne Street. Alas we missed the turning to do the field route to the village, so went down the road.
At my urging we went to the second pub, the Windmill. A nice tea. One of our number could not choose between two puds so we ordered both and shared them up between us.
Then across the fields to get the 17.17 train. At the station walker number n=9 appeared. She had got a later train, done the whole walk, but never found us. She enjoyed our company on the train.
I can report that the Sandwich Two turned up in Hollingbourne just as I was finishing my inspection of the Dirty Habit. By inadvertently following me after I broke off from the main group they'd also skipped the Thurnham loop. That encounter put paid to any thoughts of slinking off unobserved so I did the Leeds Castle loop, happy to see the sun coming out at just the right time for some nice photos. The stretch back to Hollingbourne wasn't great, however. You wouldn't think that anything could drown out the usual noise from the A20, M20 and HS1 but I can report that a BMX event taking place a stone's throw from the footpath certainly can. I just hope this isn't going to be a regular occurrence.
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