Time Out Country Walks near London Volume 1
Walk 28 : Chilham to Canterbury
Canterbury Cathedral & the Great Stour River
| Length | 17.7km (11 miles), 5 hours 30 minutes. For the whole outing, including trains, sights and meals, allow at least 10 hours 45 minutes. |
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| OS Landranger Map | No.179. Chilham, map reference TR 077 535, is in Kent, 8km south-west of Canterbury. |
| Toughness | 3 out of 10. |
| Features | This particular pilgrimage to Canterbury starts beside the Great Stour River and its attendant lakes, visits the church and green at Chartham, and passes through hop fields and apple orchards to the suggested Lunch pub in Chartham Heath. In the afternoon, the way is through Church Wood and Blean Woods Nature Reserve, to the parklands of the University of Kent, with fine views down over Canterbury Cathedral. The entrance to the city is along the River Stour, through the Norman Westgate and down the medieval high street and alleys, entering the cathedral precincts through its ornate Christ Church Gate. |
| Shortening the Walk | There are buses into Canterbury, three times an hour, from near the Plough Inn in Upper Harbledown. There are also buses into the city from near the Hare & Hounds pub on the A290 and from the University of Kent. The route passes near Canterbury West Station on entering the city, for those who wish to go home without visiting the city centre; and there is a suggested short cut in the walk directions once within the city, to Canterbury East Station. .Main walk for June 21st '97 |
| History |
Attacked by marauding Picts, Scots and Saxons, the Britons could not defend the walled city of Durovernum Cantiacorum, once the Romans had abandoned it. When St Augustine and his followers arrived in 397 - at the instigation of King Ethelbert and his French Christian wife, Bertha - the walls were repaired and the overgrown streets cleared. The city was now called Cautwaraburg. The cathedral which St Augustine founded was sacked by the Danes in 1011. It was within the cathedral, on December 2nd 1170, that Thomas à Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered by four of Henry II's knights. The city became a place of pilgrimage, as celebrated by Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales, although these pilgrimages were interrupted in 1538, when Henry VIII had St Thomas declared a traitor and his shrine pillaged and all references to him destroyed. Entrance to Canterbury Cathedral tel 01227 762 862) is free if attending evensong, which normally takes place at 5.30pm Monday to Friday, 3.15pm Saturday, and 5.15pm Sunday. Otherwise admission is £3 (£2 concessions). The cathedral is open till 7pm in summer, till 5pm in winter. Entrance to just the surroundings of the cathedral is free from 5pm. Huguenots fleeing France, after the St Bartholomew Massacre of 1572, settled in Canterbury. The Weavers' House in the High Street is an example of one their high-gabled houses, with loft doors for lifts. The Westgate is the only surviving gateway into the city, built by Archbishop Sudbury before the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. It was used as a gaol. The medieval wall around the city follows the line of the third-century Roman wall. The mainly medieval church of St Peter's, in Peter Street, may be of Saxon origin. |
| Lunch | The suggested lunchtime pub is the Chapter Arms pub (tel 01227 738 340) in Chartham Hatch, which serves food 11am to 2.30pm Monday to Saturday, midday to 2.30pm Sunday; groups of more than eight people should phone to book. Somewhat more interesting than this pub, if you think you could get there in time, is the Plough Inn tel 01227 463 131) in Upper Harbledown, which is 3km (50 minutes) further on in the walk. It serves food (new times these) from midday to 2pm on weekdays and midday to 2.30pm on Saturday and Sunday; groups of more than ten people should phone to book. Or you could have Lunch nearer the start of the walk at the Artichoke ppub (tel 01227 738 316) in Chartham, serving food midday to 2pm Monday to Saturday, midday to 2.30pm Sunday. |
| Warning | This text was taken from an older edition of the book, and is a little out of date. Please check the updates for this walk. |
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Walking Instructions
For a map and detailed walking instruction, please see Time Out Country Walks near London Volume 1
