Time Out Country Walks near London Volume 1
Walk 53 : Wye (round walk)
Substitute walk for any date on the Crundale Downs
| Length | 17.3km (10.7 miles), 5 hours 15 minutes. For the whole outing, including trains, sights and meals, allow at least 9 hours 30 minutes. |
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| OS Landranger Map | No.189. Wye, map reference TR 048 470, is in Kent, 6km north-east of Ashford. |
| Toughness | 7 out of 10 (8 out of 10 in muddy weather). |
| Features | Start early from London if you want to get to Sole Street in time for lunch. The walk goes high up on the Crundale Downs ('crun' in Old English meant chalk, and 'dala' meant dell or valley), with breathtaking views. The walk comes to an isolated Norman church at Crundale, and to a fifteenth-century inn for lunch. It then passes Crundale House and the manor of Olantigh, crosses the River Stour and returns to Wye through its churchyard, to the tea shop in Church Street. (Beware that parts of the route can be very muddy in wet weather.) |
| Shortening the Walk | You could call a taxi from the lunchtime pub. Or you could save 2km by not having Lunch and descending on a byway from the Crundale church, your direction 290 degrees, to rejoin the main suggested route beside Crundale House. On the return journey to Wye, 2.5km before getting there, you could call for a taxi from the phonebox in Bilting. Also you can shorten the walk by turning left at the T-junction just after point [9] in the walk description and walking into Wye. |
| History |
The large Edward VII Crown Memorial was cut into the hillside outside Wye in 1902, and is made of flintstones. The lovely Church of St Mary in Crundale is thought to be on a Roman site and still retains Norman parts. Inside is a nearly life-sized memorial slab commemorating the Revd John Sprot, who died in 1466 and is depicted in his full vestments. The Church of St Gregory and St Martin in Wye dates from the twelfth or early thirteenth century and was larger than it is now - its tower collapsed in 1686. Wye College, next to the church, was founded in 1447 by John Kempe, the Archbishop of York, and is now part of Wye Agricultural College, University of London. |
| Lunch | The recommended lunchtime stop is the Compasses Inn tel 01227 700 300), Sole Street. It serves home-cooked hot food from midday to 2.15pm, and cold food till 3pm daily. Groups of more than 15 should book. Walkers are permitted to eat their sandwiches in the garden. (The more accessible pub in Hassell Street, marked on old OS maps, has closed.) |
| Driving |
Start: Wye Station is near : TN25 5HB. [gmap] |
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| Train Travel |
London to Wye |
| Warning | The text above was taken from an older edition of the book, and is a little out of date. Please check the updates for this walk. |
Walking Instructions
For a map and detailed walking instruction, please see Time Out Country Walks near London Volume 1
