Wye, North Downs Way, Chilham, Bagham, Stour Valley Walk and Crundale
Walks in South East England
Personally this is the best walk I have done in Kent. The walk has just about everything: chocolate-box villages, impressive cross-country strolling over fields, quiet woods, and stunning views over Kent. We returned to this area many times to do variations of this trail and I would rank it highly as a national walk. An added bonus is that because not many people hike in Kent the route is very quiet despite the paths being in good order.
Story by Steven Spall
Statistics and Files
Ordnance Survey Explorer Map (1:25,000):
137 Ashford, Headcorn, Chilham and Wye
The Walk
Wye is a wonderful little Kentish village which can be reached by train from Ashford or else there is ample parking beside the church. No walk from Wye however would be worth doing without having breakfast or dinner at the Wye Coffee Shop and Kitchen (I recommend the pies!), so after breakfast head over the Stour and turn left after the level crossing.
The Downs Way can be found soon after heading perpendicular through farm fields up to Perry Court Farm (which hosts an excellent apple festival in October). After crossing the Canterbury Road follow the obvious paths up to Boughton Aluph and join the North Downs Way; this scenic route over chalk fields becomes a steep climb when a wooded area is found which continues through King's Wood. After a good stretch of hiking the path diverges with a high route heading left and a low route to the right; by now Chilham should be visible and can be reached by the low route eventually depositing you in the charming village square.
After enjoying Chilham the route is easily picked up again by heading in the direction of Chilham Station where a level crossing should be found leading to an old mill and a set of mill ponds. After wandering past, the trail takes you uphill and into a wooded area where it is most advisable to take the higher route between Down Wood and Denge Wood; this not only provides superior views but also a lot of alternative paths if the mood strikes.
Following one of the trails through the woods you should aim to join the Stour Valley Walk which leads into the other side of Wye. If this is the only walk you do in the area be sure to head to the Wye Downs to see the Wye Crown and consider extending the walk onto Brook via the Devil's Kneading Trough.
Pictures courtesy of Kate Cash.