Time Out Country Walks near London Volume 1

Walk 19 : Hever to Leigh

A Kent castles walk

Length	14.2km (8.8 miles), 3 hours 40 minutes. For the whole outing, including trains, sights and meals, allow at least 8 hours 30 minutes.
OS Landranger Map	No.188. Hever, map reference TQ 465 445, is in Kent, 3km south-east of Edenbridge.
Toughness	2 out of 10.
Features	This is a fascinating and very beautiful walk through the Garden of England. It includes two castles, a stately home, rivers, ponds, woods, undulating hills and three lovely villages: the National Trust village of Chiddingstone; Penshurst, with its old Tudor half-timbered houses; and Leigh (pronounced 'Lie'), with its large cricket green, dominated by the Church of St Mary. The Medway Valley is prone to flooding, and it is possible that parts of this walk may not be passable in extreme conditions.
Shortening the Walk	You can shorten the walk by 1.5km by not heading into Chiddingstone when you reach Hill Hoath. This misses out the recommended lunch stop in this pretty village, but you could have lunch later in Penshurst (see the asterisk [*] below). If you want to abandon the walk after lunch in Chiddingstone, and you have the OS map, you could head across country to Penshurst Station, one stop to the west of Leigh. (It is not worth heading for this station after tea in Penshurst, however, because it is almost as far away as Leigh Station).
History	Hever Castle (tel 01732 865 224) was erected in 1453 by Sir Geoffrey Boleyn, Lord Mayor of London, and was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn (mother of Elizabeth I). She was courted here by Henry VIII. William Waldorf Astor acquired the estate in 1903, and set about restoring the castle. He employed 1,500 men for five years to divert the course of the River Eden and form a large new lake of 35 acres. He also built a new but surprisingly convincing Tudor-style village on the north side of the castle to accommodate guests and staff. The compact grounds include a maze, topiary and gardens draped on ruins imported from Italy. There is a cafeteria restaurant by the lake. Admission (2008) is £11.50; or £9.30 for the gardens only. St Peter's Church in Hever is a part-Norman church with a fourteenth-century tower topped with a shingle spire. Within the Bullen Chapel is the brass over the tomb of Sir Thomas Bullen, Anne Boleyn's father, showing Sir Thomas in his garter robes. Chiddingstone Castle (tel 01892 870 347) is not much of a castle compared with Hever – it is more of a country squire's house, masquerading as a fantasy castle. The present castellated structure dates from the seventeenth century. Once the ancestral home of the Streatfeild family, it now contains a collection of art and curiosities left behind by its recent owner, Denys Eyre Bower. Admission (2008) is £6.00; or £3.50 for the gardens only. The village of Chiddingstone became wealthy as a centre of the iron industry in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The Streatfeild family sold the village to the National Trust in 1939, as a consequence of which it remains largely unspoilt. The building that is now a village shop (with tearoom in buildings at the back) was bought, in 1517, by Anne Boleyn's father as the manor house of Chiddingstone. In 1624, St Mary's Church in Chiddingstone was struck by lightning and extensively damaged by fire. Prominently displayed in the church is a Vinegar Bible of 1717, so called because in St Luke's Gospel, Chapter 20, 'The parable of the vineyard' is misprinted as 'The parable of the vinegar'! The gazebo in the churchyard covers the vault of the Streatfeild family. The stately home of Penshurst Place (tel 01892 870 307) is a perfectly preserved, unfortified manor house, which has been the home of the Sidney family since 1552, when Edward VI gave it to his old tutor, Sir William Sidney. The poet Sir Philip Sidney was born here in 1554. The oldest part of the building dates from the fourteenth century, but the present house represents a curious blend of five centuries of architectural styles. Admission (2008) is £8.50; or £7.00 for the gardens only. On the south side of St John the Baptist Church, Penshurst, are timber-framed cottages which form part of Leicester Square (named after a favourite of Elizabeth I) and include a post office house from 1850. In the Sidney Chapel of the church are many memorials and the effigy of the top half of Stephen de Penshurst, Warden of the Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover Castle, who died in 1299. The fine armorial ceiling in the chapel was restored in 1966. By the side altar is the Luke Tapestry (in Greek), made by Penshurst's former village doctor: it honours the partnership between medical science and Christianity.
Saturday Walkers' Club	Take the train nearest to 10.20am (before or after) from London Bridge Station to Hever. Journey time 41 minutes. On Sundays there is no direct service from London stations to Hever; you will need to travel from Victoria or London Bridge and change at East Croydon and/or Oxted, with a longer journey time. Returning from Leigh, you can either take an eastbound train and change at Tonbridge for Charing Cross, or a westbound train towards Redhill; some of these continue to London Bridge, on others you change there for Victoria. It is best to take the first train to arrive, so check the timetable when you arrive at the station in order to decide which platform to head for. The journey time for both routes is about 1 hour (longer on Sundays). Note that Hever and Leigh are on different lines which are operated by different rail franchises. The safest option is to buy two single tickets, although this is relatively expensive. You could gamble with a day return to Leigh (Kent) – to cover your return journey in either direction – on the theory that this ought to cover your outward journey at least as far as Edenbridge Town (and you could offer to pay the small excess fare from there to Hever), but there is no guarantee that this argument will be accepted in practice. This walk is not very convenient for car drivers, but you could park somewhere in Edenbridge between its two stations and travel out from Edenbridge Town Station and return to Edenbridge Station.
Train Times	From London to Hever: Tomorrow ¦ next Saturday ¦ next Sunday From Leigh to London: Tomorrow ¦ next Saturday ¦ next Sunday
Lunch	The main suggested lunchtime stop – assuming you visit at least one of the two castles – is in Chiddingstone at the Castle Inn (tel 01892 870 247). Slightly pricey bar food is available every day up to 6pm in attractive and historic surroundings; groups of more than 20 people should phone to book. The village shop tearoom in Chiddingstone is open on weekends and serves cheaper meals at lunchtime through to late afternoon. Alternatively, you could have lunch later, in Penshurst, at the Leicester Arms (tel 01892 870 551), which serves à la carte and bar meals all day.
Tea	The suggested tea place is Quaintways (tel 01892 870 272), the sixteenth-century tearoom in Penshurst, serving Kentish cream teas. It is open 10am to 5pm daily (but is closed Mondays, except Bank Holidays). Alternatively, the Leicester Arms in Penshurst is open for tea and coffee (and food) all day. For those wanting refreshment in Leigh, two pubs are conveniently situated on the High Street on the way to the station: the Bat & Ball (tel 01732 833 230) and the Fleur-de-lis (tel 01732 832 235).

Walking Instructions

Note: Bold numbers in square brackets refer to the Walk Map in Time Out Country Walks near London Volume 1.

1. [1] Coming out of Hever Station, walk to the top of the approach road and turn right on to the country lane.
2. In 50 metres ignore a footpath on your left. (Note: this was the original walk route, but it can be overgrown with nettles and brambles. If you prefer to take this route, which is slightly shorter, go along the footpath for 300 metres. After crossing a stile into a field, turn right and aim for a gap in the hedge 100 metres away. Go through this gap, down steps to a path and turn left. This is [2] below).
3. For the new route, continue along the lane for a further 180 metres, passing a sandstone outcrop on your left. At a road junction, turn left along a grassy path just beyond two driveways. This is signed as the Eden Valley Walk, which you now follow (more or less) all the way to Hill Hoath.
4. In 120 metres cross a stile to pass a large pond on your right and an attractive house on your left. In 250 metres a footpath joins from the left through a gap in the hedge.
5. [2] Continue for another 150 metres to cross a stile, which takes you on to a road where you turn right. In 50 metres, turn left down a road signposted for Penshurst, Tonbridge and Hever Castle.
6. In 150 metres the road curves gently around to the right and, 50 metres further on, you come to a footpath going off to the left. (Note: if you wish, you can simply continue up this road for another 250 metres to meet the King Henry VIII pub and St Peter's Church from the opposite direction).
7. [3] For the main route, however, turn left off the road on the signposted footpath, crossing over a stile and going along the right-hand side of the field. You can see the spire of St Peter's Church, Hever, on your right-hand side. In 75 metres, turn right through a wooden fieldgate into another field. Cross the field, half left, and go through a gap in the hedge in the far left-hand corner of the field. Then walk along the left-hand side of the field.
8. In 100 metres leave the field and then immediately turn right to go along the right-hand side of the next field. In 50 metres cross over another stile leading you out on to a road and turn right into the village of Hever.
9. In 150 metres you pass the main entrance to Hever Castle, which can be glimpsed through the archway. 30 metres further on, you come to St Peter's Church on your left and the King Henry VIII pub on your right.
10. Turn left off the road into the churchyard, following the public footpath sign to Chiddingstone and the Eden Valley Walk. At the bottom of the churchyard, the path curves around into a copse and goes through a small depression, over wooden planks with a wooden railing.
11. In 150 metres a tarmac lane appears on your left-hand side, and beyond it a large field used for the castle's archery and jousting displays. In 400 metres, with the lake belonging to Hever Castle away to your left, the path veers sharply round to the right.
12. In 150 metres you cross a lane on a wooden bridge. In another 150 metres the tarmac lane which you crossed merges from the right and you continue alongside it. In 350 metres the lane comes to a metal fieldgate.
13. [4] Pass through a gate in the fence to the left of the fieldgate. Bear right across the lane and take the footpath on the other side, your direction 110º. There is a cottage on the right-hand side of the path.
14. In 300 metres you cross a minor road and go over a stile opposite to continue in the same direction, with a field on your left-hand side and woodland on your right.
15. In 150 metres cross over a stile and bear right with the path, now with a wood on your left. Continue along the path, veering left across a small brook and up some steps.
16. The path now crosses a number of wide grassy tracks which are sometimes laid out with horse jumps. After the second of these, your path veers to the right and then merges with a bridleway coming in from the right.
17. Continue on this rough track, your direction 80º initially. After climbing gently, the path starts to wend gently downhill through trees. The path is cut through sheer rock and the roots of the beech trees overhanging the path make an interesting sight as they find their way through the rock.
18. In 200 metres, you cross another grassy track and continue ahead, ignoring a stile and footpath sign 20 metres away to your right. This takes you onto an unmade-up lane, past some houses and then an old wood-beamed cottage – part of the hamlet of Hill Hoath – on your left-hand side. Just past the cottage, you come to a T-junction with a country lane.
19. ([*] At the T-junction, you have the option of turning right for a short cut. In 70 metres you pass Hill Hoath House on your left-hand side and bear left towards some farm buildings, ignoring another farm track going straight on past some stables. In 60 metres you pass to the left of a large farm shed with a grain hopper, and continue ahead (due east). In 80 metres you cross a stile and then go through a gap in a hedge into a field, with Chiddingstone Church now visible away to your left. Continue ahead on a faint path near the left-hand edge of the field. In 80 metres the path heads into a scrubby area and then comes to a stile at a path junction. Cross the stile and continue ahead on the path going across the field; this is [5] below).
20. To continue the main walk, turn left at the T-junction, following the tarmac road towards Chiddingstone. As you walk along this track you may be able to glimpse Chiddingstone Castle through the trees on your right, with St Mary's Church, Chiddingstone, to the right of the castle.
21. In 450 metres you come to Cherry Orchard Cottage on your right-hand side, adjacent to the castle walls. 200 metres beyond that, you reach the main entrance to Chiddingstone Castle on your right-hand side.
22. Continue along the road to a crossroads and turn right, following the signpost to Chiddingstone. In 250 metres follow the road as it curves round to the right and in another 60 metres goes over a stone bridge. From the bridge you may be able to see the castle behind the trees on the right of the lake.
23. 100 metres further on you pass the tower of St Mary's Church on your left and then a pedestrian entrance to the castle on your right. Ahead of you is the ancient Castle Inn, the suggested stopping place for lunch (the village stores tearoom is further along the street, opposite the entrance to the church).
24. From the Castle Inn, continue along the village street. In 40 metres you come to the entrance to St Mary's Church on your left, and on your right the village stores and post office (which has a tearoom, open at weekends).
25. 50 metres further on you pass the primary school. (Just after the school, you have the option of detouring 150 metres off to the right to see the Chiding Stone, an outcrop of local sandstone after which the village is named. The path to it is a dead end and you will have to return to this point.)
26. 30 metres beyond the path to the Chiding Stone, and just past a tarmac driveway, turn right off the road at a public footpath sign onto an enclosed path, heading south. In 180 metres you pass a playing field on your left-hand side, with another view across the fields to Chiddingstone Castle on your right-hand side.
27. 100 metres further on, go through a gap into a large field and follow the path straight ahead. The path starts to go gently downhill, passes to the right of a large tree and in 200 metres comes up to a stile in the wooded area on the right.
28. [5] Do not cross this stile. Instead turn left and walk straight across the field towards an oak tree in the hedge on the other side of the field, your direction 80º. In 120 metres go past the oak tree and across a stile into a large field.
29. Cross the field, slightly to the right and downhill, your direction 105º. If there is no path visible across the field (which can be very muddy), aim for the field's bottom right-hand corner, 450 metres away. In this corner you come out on to a road opposite a sign for Weller's Town.
30. Turn right along the road, crossing over a brook. On the other side, turn left off the road and go over a stile beside a metal fieldgate. Walk along the left-hand side of the field, your direction 75º initially.
31. In 150 metres, cross a stile to left of a metal fieldgate to continue ahead along a wide grassy path. 125 metres later, do exactly the same and continue along the left-hand field edge. In a further 500 metres, cross yet another stile to the left of a metal fieldgate and continue with the hedge on your left, your direction now 120º.
32. [!] In 30 metres go left over a stile (or through the fieldgate to its right) into another field and bear right. You will eventually reach a large footbridge visible 200 metres away, but you first need to aim slightly to its left (towards the left of two large trees on the other side of the field) in order to cross a concealed ditch halfway across the field. Having done so, veer right towards the bridge.
33. Cross this concrete and metal footbridge over the River Eden (a tributary of the River Medway). Once over the bridge, turn right along the riverbank. In 50 metres turn sharp left up the hill through a copse, your direction 120º.
34. In 100 metres continue straight along the left-hand side of a large cultivated field, climbing gently. In 300 metres you come to two barns at the top of the hill.
35. [6] Ignore a track off to the left and continue ahead, slightly to the left, along the right-hand field edge, your direction 80º initially. 300 metres further on, just before the end of the field, take a narrow path which veers off to the right and leads you down steps to a main road (be careful as there is no pavement).
36. Turn right along the road, passing Steamhammer Lodge on your right. In 350 metres you pass Doubleton Lane on your right, and 25 metres further on, a private entrance to Penshurst Place on your left.
37. 60 metres beyond this entrance, turn left off the road through a kissing gate and head half right across the field towards the church, your direction 140º. There is a fine perspective of Penshurst Place as you cross this field. The walk takes you directly alongside the stone wall and manicured hedge surrounding the south-west side of the house.
38. In 200 metres go through a squeeze gate into the churchyard of St John the Baptist Church. Walk through the churchyard – the church is worth visiting (the entrance is around the corner on your left). Leave the churchyard – underneath a cottage whch stands on stilts, in a line of ancient cottages – and go down to the road. On your left is the stone-arched entrance to Penshurst Place (which is the continuation of the route).
39. For refreshments, however, turn right along the road. In 100 metres, where the road curves around to the right, is the Leicester Arms. This is the alternative lunch or tea stop. 40 metres further on, on the left-hand side, is Quaintways tearoom, the suggested tea stop.
40. Afterwards, return along the road and go straight ahead through the brick-and-stone archway to Penshurst Place, following the sign which says 'Public Footpath to Killick's Bank and Ensfield', as well as 'Eden Valley Walk'.
41. In 225 metres, at the end of the brick wall on your left, ignore the left turn to Penshurst Place car park and continue straight on. In a further 150 metres, ignore two more turns off to the left.
42. In 100 metres you come to the first of two lakes on your left-hand side. 250 metres later, you come to the end of a second, larger one. Continue along the road for another 50 metres.
43. [7] Just before the road starts to climb, turn left off the road and pass through a wooden squeeze gate, signposted as the Eden Valley Walk. On the other side, turn sharp right and walk along the right-hand field edge.
44. In 75 metres, you pass through another squeeze gate. As you climb uphill, half left, your direction 40º, be sure to look back for a magnificent view of Penshurst Place, the lakes and the River Medway down in the valley, with its backdrop of trees and hills.
45. In 250 metres, at the top of the field, go through another squeeze gate (to the right-hand side of a metal fieldgate). Continue straight ahead. In 100 metres you come out on to a concrete lane (the one you left at point [7]). To the right is signed 'Private Road to Well Place only'. Carry straight on, with the River Medway flowing through the valley on your right-hand side, and fields on your left leading up to some woods.
46. In 600 metres you come to some red-tiled cottages on your right-hand side. Just beyond them, turn right down the concrete track and then immediately cross over the stile on your left, still following the Eden Valley Walk. Set off half right across the field, heading due east. Follow the marker posts beneath overhead cables as they lead you down the hill towards the river.
47. In 160 metres cross a wooden bridge with pipe stiles, over a backwater of the River Medway. Over the bridge, head very slightly left across the field towards a wooden post with a footpath sign. In 60 metres you come to the River Medway. Turn left and walk along the riverbank, with the river on your right-hand side.
48. In 450 metres you come to a stone-and-concrete bridge over the river. Go through a squeeze gate on to the road and turn right across this bridge. On the other side, take the footpath going off the road to the left. Pass through a metal squeeze gate and walk along a wide path with a hedge on your left and a large field behind a wire fence on your right.
49. In 450 metres, leave the path by going right through a wooden squeeze gate to the left of a metal fieldgate, and continue in more or less the same direction along the left-hand field edge.
50. In 200 metres, go over a stile and across a ditch. Head slightly left across the corner of the field towards a rusty metal gate on your left-hand side, 25 metres away. Go through a squeeze gate to the left of this gate on to a wide track through the trees.
51. [8] In 30 metres, go straight ahead over the wide path you left earlier and across a brick-and-concrete bridge, which takes you over a backwater. Once over the bridge, fork left and follow the path round to the left. In 50 metres cross a green concrete-and-metal bridge over the River Medway. On the other side, follow the main path straight ahead across the field, your direction 330º.
52. In 300 metres go through a gap into the next field and continue along its left-hand edge. You can see a car-wide track going up an embankment ahead of you. Go along the left-hand field edge and through a metal kissing gate on to this track, which soon descends to go through a tunnel under the railway.
53. On the far side of the tunnel the track climbs gently. In 100 metres continue in the same direction on a residential street (Green View Avenue). In 100 metres you pass Lealands Avenue on your right.
54. 100 metres further on, you come to a T-junction leading out on to the village green of Leigh. Directly across the green on a small knoll behind and above some picturesque cottages, the Church of St Mary dominates the village. Turn left and walk around two sides of the village green, past the village school on your left-hand side, and up to the main road, where you turn left.
55. In 150 metres you come to the Bat & Ball pub and the Village Stores as well as some attractive almshouses. In another 120 metres you come to the Fleur-de-lis pub on a corner. Turn left down the road towards the station.
56. In 200 metres you come to a high brick bridge under the railway, with the (unstaffed) station up on your left. Check the timetable displayed here before deciding which platform to head for, as you cannot cross over directly from one platform to the other. To return to London via Tonbridge, go up the path on this side of the bridge; for trains via Redhill, go up the path on the other side of the bridge.

Train Travel	The route out and back are by different train companies. It is possible that you will have to buy 2 singles rather than a day return ticket.
Revised	This walk was fully revised in : May-08 For the walk map, please see the Time Out Country Walks near London Volume 1