Hamstreet
Woods
...and
other Saxon Shore Walks
This
web page is a free guide to walking in Kent, featuring a series of
circular walks taking in the varied scenery of the Hamstreet area.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dukes
Head: Restaurant, fish n chip takeaway (6pm-8pm Tues-Sat), pool table,
jukebox, beer garden, open all day, free walking guides, Indian restaurant
opposite
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Introduction
The village of Hamstreet
is surrounded by public woodland including Hamstreet woods, an area
of
special scientific interest renowned for the presence of wild service
trees and nightingales. The Weald
of Kent was once covered with woodland of this kind and the suffix
'den' on many local place-names
indicates a clearing in the forest.
The first two walks in this guide follow the Saxon Shore Way
and Greensand Way footpaths through the woods and return along the
banks of the area's other striking feature - the Royal Military Canal.
Ramblers are free to roam any footpaths within the nature reserve.
Hamstreet is a great base for walkers because of its railway
station,
shops, restaurant and five pubs
within two and half miles of the main crossroads. Details of these
appear on the right hand side
of the page.
Ruckinge
Loop (5 miles)
A variation on this route was featured in the 'Top 50 best summer
walks in Britain' in the Independent
newspaper.
Head towards Hythe along the one-way street from the village
crossroads and
take the second turning left down Bourne Lane. At the end of the lane,
bear right, through the gate into Hamstreet Woods.
As you enter the woods the Saxon Shore Way bridges a stream
and bears sharp left. Then after
around a hundred yards it forks right. Stay on the grassy right hand
side, as the surfaced path
on the left eventually deviates. The trail runs right through the
middle of the woods, gradually climbing
for around a mile until it reaches a gate at the other end. Go through
the gate and continue
up to the T-junction with Gill Lane bridleway.
Bear left and climb out of the woods. The Saxon Shore Way then
exits right along a farm track, while
we continue ahead on Gill Lane. 300 yards later you will reach a junction;
turn right taking great
care as this lane is narrow and bounded by hedges.
Several hundred yards later, you will reach another junction
with a gravel surfaced byway leading
straight ahead. Follow this all the way into the woods, around the
sharp bend and on for around
a mile descending to meet the B2067 near Herne Farm.
Turn right, walking westward along the road for a quarter of
a mile to Ruckinge village. This is another
settlement with smuggling connections; it is believed that the notorious
Ransley brothers were
hanged at Penenden Heath, Maidstone and buried in Ruckinge churchyard
(St Mary Magdalene).
Turning left at the T-junction just after the Blue Anchor pub;
you will pass the chapel and cross the
bridge over the Royal Military Canal. It is now just a simple matter
of following the canal path back
to Hamstreet. When you reach Hamstreet Bridge around a mile and a
half later, turn right, and
follow the road past the garden centre (which includes a cafe) back
into the village.
Bilsington
Loop (7 miles)
Follow the route of the ‘Ruckinge Loop’ as far as Herne Farm,
Ruckinge. (If
you wish to try an alternative
route into the woods, head south from the crossroads and turn left
down the alleyway opposite
the church. Follow this over the little bridge, past the bowling green
and straight over the road
to pass the duck-pond and climb through a housing estate. Turn left
when you reach a T-junction
of estate roads, and when the road reaches a dead end, turn left into
the woods. This narrow
path curves right and soon becomes wider and dead straight (Main Ride).
Follow this all the way
to the end where it meets Gill Farm Track. Turn right to continue
the Ruckinge Loop up to the
gate at the top of the woods and on as instructed above).
When you reach Herne Farm, turn left along the B2067 and walk very
carefully until the sharp left-hand
bend. Take the public footpath straight ahead, across the field towards
a house at the top of
the hill. Keep to the right hand side of the house and descend the
other side, heading for the corner
next to the road. Cross the stile into the next field and continue
along the left hand side. You
will come out onto the road beside a little bridge.
Turn right, following the road up the hill into Bilsington village,
taking great care. Here, the pub is the
White Horse and the church is of St Peter and St Paul. The obelisk
is a monument, built in 1835,
to honour a local landowner, Sir Richard Cosway, who was famed for
his generosity towards his
workers but tragically died in a coaching accident. Bilsington was
voted the fifth best postcode area
in the UK to live in in 2006.
Turning right at the crossroads, follow the lane down the hill
past the cricket field on your right. You
will notice a footpath parallel to the road along the field edge,
which will bring you back out onto
the lane at the bottom.
It is now a simple matter of following the canal path for two
and a half miles back to Hamstreet.It
is now a simple matter of turning right to follow the canal path for
two and a half miles back
to Hamstreet. This runs along the north bank as far as Ruckinge (where
the Blue Anchor can
be found a few hundred yards north up the lane) and the south bank
beyond.
When you reach Hamstreet Bridge, turn right, and follow the
road past the garden centre back into
the village.
Orlestone
Loop (2 miles)
Head towards Hythe along the one-way street from the village
crossroads and turn left down the lane
signed ‘Bournewood’. At the end of the lane, cross the stile and continue
straight ahead, with
the edge of the field on your left. You will soon reach the railway
embankment, climb this and cross
the line carefully. This Ashford to Hastings line is one of only two
remaining diesel lines in the
provincial South-east.
Descend the embankment to the next field, and follow the footpath
diagonally across, roughly northward.
You will climb to pass underneath the bypass (opened in 1994) and
continue along the left hand side of the next field until a track
bears left into Orlestone. There will be a house to your right and
tennis courts to your left. Next you will pass a pond behind St Mary's
Church.
A few hundred yards later you will reach a crossroads of footpaths.
Turn ninety degrees left to take
the path across the field and out to the lane. Our walk continues
straight across but those wishing
to explore the church can detour left at this point. This hamlet with
its church of St Mary’s was
all Hamstreet originally was. When the flatlands of Romney Marsh were
drained, the population
decamped to the more southerly location, then known merely as ‘Ham’.
It was the coming
of the railway in 1851 that ultimately led to the growth of this village.
Our footpath crosses a lawn and passes to the left of a pond
to descend across the next field to the
old main road. Turn left and return to the village centre down the
hill on the pavement, passing the
school and railway station. There is a decorative map and some local
history in Forge Gardens on
the left just before you reach the crossroads.
Warehorne
Loop (3 miles)
Head towards Tenterden along the B2067 from the village crossroads.
After passing beneath the arched
railway bridge and the modern bypass bridge, climb the steps on your
left. A short distance
along this stony path, there is a stile to your right. Climb over
and follow the Saxon Shore Way
in a straight line towards the church tower across the fields eventually
descending into a dip and
gently climbing again. Having walked along the right hand edge of
the final field, you will come to
a stile surrounded by bushes. Cross this and continue along the drive
out to the lane. Turn right.
The sixteenth century Woolpack inn is connected to the church
of St Matthew by an underground
tunnel. This was built and used by smugglers, a common practice in
this area in centuries
past.
Take the path, left, into the churchyard and walk around the
west side of the building. If
you imagine a straight line right through the church bearing slightly
left, this is roughly the route of the footpath down to the lane through
the bushes to the left of the house at the bottom. When you emerge,
cross the level crossing and continue down to the Royal Military Canal.
This was built as a
line of defence against a feared invasion from Napoleon. A footpath
follows its banks for the full 28
miles from Cliff End (near Hastings) to Seabrook (near Folkestone).
To return to Hamstreet, cross the stile on your left before
the bridge and turn left again take the footpath that heads due northeast
across the fields towards a static lorry-back. You will have to negotiate
your way around a sheep pen - the clearest route is normally to remain
north of the lorry-back and cross the stile on your right. Beyond
this continue northeast and look carefully for the bridges across
dykes and crossing-points over electric fences. The telegraph pole
in the middle of the distant sloping field is a good reference
point to check you are on course. You will eventually reach the Hamstreet
bypass; cross this and continue, descending to the village where the
path bridges a dyke and follows a short lane out to the High Street.
Kenardington
Loop (5 miles)
Use
the previous route to get to Warehorne, but continue along the lane
past the church and Woolpack
Inn. A drive to a farm bears left, and almost immediately the Saxon
Shore Way exits right,
across the field. As you descend across the middle of the sloping
second field, head for the right
hand side of the row of trees at the end. Pass through the swing-gate
and head southwest, diagonally
across the field towards Kenardington church, lining yourself up with
the bridges that cross
the dykes. At this low point, it is easy to realise why the Saxon
Shore Way is so called, for these
fields would have been covered by water many centuries ago.
It is a gentle climb to St Mary’s, which occupies the site
of a Saxon camp that was stormed by the Danes in the ninth century.
Follow the pathway that bears right from the church door, and as you
leave the churchyard, you will notice a stile to your right. Cross
this and head along the fence, eventually you will descend via a series
of steps to a lane. Turn right, continuing around the corner and on
for several hundred yards until reaching a T junction.
Turn right and walk along the lane up the hill. Just before you reach the junction with the B2067, there is a path on your right, follow this past the houses and eventually down some steps to the B2067. Turn right, walking along the road, taking extreme care. Just by the village entrance sign for Warehorne, you can use a remnant of the route of the old road on the left hand side to pass the World’s Wonder pub. When you reach the B road again, you will see a concrete drive on the opposite side. Proceed along this for around 200 yards until you notice a stile on the left hand side. Cross this and walk straight across the field; as you continue there should be a house just to your left. The path will eventually climb along the right hand side of a row of bushes until you will reach a familiar swing-gate, with just two fields to cross back to Warehorne, from which you can continue the previous walk via the churchyard down to the canal. Route
to Orlestone Forest (2 miles each way)
To reach Fagg's Wood, which is part of the Orlestone
Forest, head
along the road towards Tenterden from the crossroads. You will pass
beneath the railway bridge and bypass bridge, and at the top of
the hillock there is a byway on your right. Follow
this and eventually it will emerge into open fields. Follow the
right-hand field edge as the path gently climbs. The path follows
the line of the fence to your right and eventually reaches a small
gate. Further
Information
The information on this page may be freely copied for use on
walks providing credit is given to the
author. Highlight the text, then copy and paste into a Word document
and change the text colour
to black.
A further three walks (Hamstreet circumnavigation, Marsh Loop
and Capel Road loop) are available via email free
upon request by contacting Hamcopublishing@AOL.com
Copyright
2005. Updated 2009. Hamco Publishing, Hamstreet, Nr Ashford, Kent.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Woolpack
Inn: Rustic atmosphere, quality reastaurant, open all day Wed - Sat
and Sun noon-6pm, free walking guides
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World's
Wonder: Restaurant, beer
garden, pub of the year award,
CAMRA recommended,
jukebox,
closed
3pm-6pm
and Monday lunchtime,
free walking guides
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Blue
Anchor: Restaurant, conservatory
dining room, beer
garden, pool table, wooden
interior, open all day, free walking guides
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
White
Horse: Large restaurant/function
room, pool table,
jukebox, flagstone
floor in main bar, open
all day
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accomodation
can also be found at The
Railway Hotel, next to Appledore Station
- a five minute train journey from
Hamstreet. Or stay in the heart of the village at
The Old Stores
House
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| . |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||