East Malling to Maidstone Walk

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Walk Map

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Walk Options

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13. Main Walk, from East Malling (19¼ km)

9. Main Walk, finishing at East Farleigh (14½ km)
1. Longer Walk, from West Malling (21¾ km)
35. Longer Walk, finishing at East Farleigh (17 km)

Walk Directions

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If you are doing the Longer Walk (from West Malling station), start at §B.

1. East Malling Station to Well Street (1¼ km)
• From the railway bridge head south on Chapel Street for 150m. Turn right onto a footpath leading into a field and follow the main path back alongside the railway line. Fork left to go along a wooded valley to Well Street. Bear left onto a lane (also Well Street) to head south.
1. Arriving from London, go down steps near the back of Platform 2 and turn left under the railway bridge. Keep right to go uphill on Chapel Street for 150m. Just before Manningham House on the right, turn right onto an enclosed path beside its driveway, signposted as a footpath. At the end go through a wooden kissing gate into a triangular field and keep right to continue along its edge.
   • For a slightly more direct route you could take the other footpath along the left-hand edge, but its continuation (a fenced path alongside a wood) is slightly less appealing. If you do take this short cut (saving 200m) turn left at the end of the fenced path and resume the directions at [?].
2. The suggested route goes past a pylon to the field corner where you veer right into a wooded area (an abandoned orchard), heading NW. The grassy path gradually approaches the railway line and turns half-left to run alongside it.
3. At a triangular path junction, where the path ahead goes down a slope, fork left to stay on the same level. The path gradually curves left, following the course of a wooded valley on the right. In 250m keep ahead where the short cut joins from a long fenced path on the left.
4. As the path descends you might be able to see East Malling Stream? through the trees on the right, then a series of small ponds. The path leads into a driveway which goes past a few cottages in the hamlet of Well Street. At the top of a slope bear left onto a lane (also called Well Street), in 50m passing a footpath on the right (the route from West Malling).

Continue the directions at §D.

2. West Malling Station to Manor Park (exit) (2¼ • 1½ • 1¼ km)
• Leave the station from the main exit and turn right to go down its approach road. Turn left onto Swan Street, then left again into Lavenders Road. In 325m turn right into Water Lane, then in 75m turn left into Manor Park Country Park. Take any route through the parkland to its south-eastern corner.
  
1. Arriving from London, cross the footbridge to leave the station from Platform 1. Take the walkway past the bus stop and follow it round to the right to go down the station approach road, alongside the station car park. At the bottom turn left onto Swan Street, crossing over carefully to use the pavement on the far side.
2. In 150m cross back again and turn left into Lavenders Road, passing the grounds of St Mary's Abbey? behind a high stone wall on your right. In 325m turn right into Water Lane, then in 75m turn left through a kissing gate into Manor Park Country Park?.

Three possible routes through this small country park to its south-eastern corner are described below. The Lake route in [?] goes alongside the lake created from the Ewell Stream and (for the full route) takes in a Norman tower just outside the park. The Park route in [?] goes through the centre of the parkland, while the Direct route in [?] simply follows the perimeter path.

3. Lake route (2¼ km)

1. Turn right onto the path signposted “Lake”. This soon turns left and goes alongside a water channel, the Ewell Stream. In 100m ignore a wooden bridge across the stream at the northern tip of the lake.
2. Stay on the lakeside path, ignoring a few places with steps or side paths up the wooded bank. In 300m there is a fine view of Douce's Manor? across the water and shortly afterwards there is another flight of steps.
   • If you want to skip the Norman tower, go up the steps and make your way around a chidren's play area. Veer right, go past the park café and bear left to go diagonally across the overflow car park. If you take this short cut (saving 350m), resume the directions at [f] below.
3. For the full route carry on along the lakeside path. At the far end go straight across the park's entrance drive onto a footpath. This curves round to the right and goes past a row of cottages to a road, with St Leonard's Tower? atop the grassy knoll opposite.
4. For a closer look go through a small wooden gate off to the right into a grassy area, where there is an information panel. You could then take a path up the slope and around the left-hand side of the tower, but the gate into its interior is kept locked.
5. To resume the walk retrace your steps along the footpath past the cottages and turn right onto the driveway. Unless you want to visit the park café (just behind the main car park) carry on along the right-hand side of the overflow car park.
6. In the corner of the car park ignore a path through the tree boundary on the right and go through the metal kissing gate ahead into a meadow (Chestnut Paddock). Follow a clear grassy path along its right-hand edge for 300m to come to the exit in the corner of the parkland.

4. Park route (1½ km)

1. Veer left and go through a gate into the corner of a large meadow (Abbey Field), with a choice of two grassy paths ahead. Fork right, staying close to the trees on your right and climbing gently.
2. After the path goes between a couple of trees keep left at a Y-junction, now going through the middle of the parkland. Go through a metal side gate in the tree boundary ahead and turn left onto a grassy path along the edge of another meadow (Chestnut Paddock).
3. This path leads to the perimeter path where you would turn right, but just after passing a water trough you can veer right onto a short link path, cutting off a corner.
4. Shortly after joining the perimeter path fork left at a Y-junction, then veer left in the corner of the parkland to come to the exit.

5. Direct route (1¼ km)

1. … Keep left and follow the perimeter path around the edge of the parkland, soon with Lavenders Road behind the tree boundary on your left.
2. In 300m the path goes through a gate into the corner of another meadow (Chestnut Paddock). In 50m …
   
3. Manor Park to Well Street (1½ km)
• Rejoin Lavenders Road and cross the A228 on the road bridge. Take a footpath and then a bridleway on the left leading to Broadwater Road. Turn left onto the lane, then in 100m take a byway and footpath on the right through Broadwater Farm to Well Street. Turn right onto the lane.
1. Leave the country park through a side gate, returning to Lavenders Road. Bear right and follow this lane past a cul-de-sac and up a slope to cross a busy dual carriageway (the A228). On the other side of the road bridge turn sharp left onto a tarmac path, signposted as a footpath.

   This right of way is shown differently on older OS maps; the footpath from West Malling was rerouted in order to cross the A228 safely on the road bridge.

2. In 20m turn sharp right through a gap in the hedge into the corner of a field. Follow a grassy path along its right-hand edge, parallel to Lavenders Road. In 200m the path merges with a bridleway coming in from the road. Carry on in the same direction, now on a farm track across the middle of a field.
3. In 250m veer right off the main track to follow a grassy path to the right of a house. Go through the tree boundary and turn left onto a lane (Broadwater Road). In 75m turn right into the driveway to Broadwater Farm, which is also a public byway.
4. After passing the farmyard keep left to go alongside a row of tall trees screening some farm buildings, with orchards off to the left. In 400m the byway zig-zags right and left and continues as a footpath between farm fields. On the far side go through a gap in the tree boundary and turn right onto a lane (Well Street), joining the route from East Malling.
4. Well Street to Wateringbury (Mill Oast House) (3¾ km)
• Head south on Well Street to a T-junction and go straight ahead onto a footpath. Take one of the permissive paths on the left cutting through Warren Woods Nature Park to a bridleway on the other side leading to Kings Hill Sports Park. Head south past sports pitches to an old lane (Teston Road). Turn left onto the lane, then take a footpath on the right heading south through Hoath Wood. Continue past orchards and the grounds of Wateringbury Place to the A26 (Tonbridge Road). Cross the main road and go down Love Lane to Mill Oast House.
1. Follow Well Street gently uphill for 300m. At a T-junction go straight ahead onto a narrow path to the right of the house opposite, signposted as a restricted byway. There is an orchard on the right and soon a wood on the left with some “Private Land” notices, although this is part of Warren Woods Nature Park? where recreational access is permitted.
2. In 300m, where there is a wide gap into the orchard, turn left off the byway into the corner of an open area. Follow a grassy path with wooden paling on your right, staying just inside the park boundary. In the next corner fork left onto a path into the trees, going past a redundant metal kissing gate.
3. Follow this permissive path down a slope and then along the bottom of a wooded valley. In 150m the path climbs and swings right by another kissing gate, then merges with a public bridleway coming in from the left. Follow this out of the trees and along the right-hand edge of several meadows.

   These meadows are shown as ‘Future Sports Facilities’ on the park's map, so the area might look different in future.

4. In 450m the bridleway goes back into the trees and soon merges with a woodland path from the right. In a further 50m you emerge from the wood onto a driveway, leaving the Nature Park.
5. Go straight ahead on a broad path between Kings Hill Sports Park pavilion and a car park, the continuation of the bridleway. Follow the path up a slope and past some football pitches. In a belt of trees it goes past a jumble of vehicle-blocking rocks and comes to a T-junction with an old lane (Teston Road).
6. Turn left onto this quiet lane. In 75m the suggested route is to turn right onto a track, then in 25m turn left at a track junction. Follow this potentially muddy track through coppiced woodland, initially heading SE and curving gently round to the right.

   This track is a right of way, although a footpath signpost just past the track junction on Teston Road implies that you should instead have taken a heavily overgrown path through a copse to merge with it. The next 500m are through a working wood so be aware that there might be path diversions when tree felling is taking place.

7. In 300m another footpath merges from the left by the remains of a large fallen tree. Continue along the waymarked path, ignoring a side path to the left and another to the right. You then need to fork left at a Y-junction in front of a large tree to stay on the right of way. Follow this woodland path gently downhill, now heading S.
8. At the edge of the wood go past some low posts to continue on a fenced path, with an orchard on your right. In 150m the path veers right and goes around the outside of a copse, still descending. The path curves round to the left to reach a major path junction, with more orchards ahead on both sides.

   At this junction a metal fieldgate in the copse reveals that there was in fact a narrow woodland path cutting through it. This might have been the original right of way but the OS map now shows it skirting around the outside, as described above.

9. Take the grassy path ahead between hedges, heading S again. At the end of the hedge continue down a long straight path with a chainlink fence on the right, behind which a thick belt of trees shields the extensive grounds of Wateringbury Place. At the end keep ahead past some houses to the A26, where there is a Local History Society plaque about PLUTO? on the garden wall.

   If you want to abandon the walk there are frequent buses to Maidstone or Tonbridge along this road. The nearest stops are 250m away, on the left.

10. Cross the main road carefully and take the minor road opposite (Love Lane), which soon drops downhill. At the bottom of the dip it crosses a stream (coming from a waterfall in the garden on the right) in a culvert and comes to a cluster of converted oast houses at an old mill site.
5. Mill Oast House to Medway Wharf Marina (2½ • 1 km)
• For the main route, go up Love Lane to the mill pond and turn left onto a footpath heading south to the B2015 at Nettlestead. Take the path opposite through the churchyard and join a footpath going down across the railway to the River Medway. Turn left onto the riverside path, joining the Medway Valley Walk (MVW). In 800m go up a slope and cross the river on Bow Bridge.
  • For a more direct route turn sharp left onto a byway heading east along the side of a small valley to the B2015 (Bow Road). Turn right and follow the road downhill. Just past the entrance to Wateringbury station turn left and cross the River Medway on Bow Bridge, joining the MVW.

There is of choice of routes for this section. The main route loops out to Nettlestead to pass its interesting old church, followed by the first of several stretches alongside the River Medway. The short cut in [?] goes past an attractive old orchard but then has to go along a fairly busy road.

1. Main route (2½ km)

1. Stay on Love Lane as it bends right and goes up a slope to an old mill pond. Veer left uphill, passing Brooms House? (with blue plaque) on the left. At the top of the slope the lane straightens out, heading S with views across fields on the left to the Medway Valley.
2. In 300m go through a couple of gates by the last group of houses onto a footpath which zig-zags right and left, then continues along the left-hand edge of some large farm fields for a further 300m. In the bottom corner of the last field go past metal vehicle barriers and bear right past a second set onto an enclosed path, with a housing estate behind garden fences on the left.
3. Continue past Nettlestead's recreation ground and more houses to reach the B2015. Cross the road carefully and take the unmarked path directly opposite, which curves to the right and leads into the north-western corner of a churchyard. Go past the church tower and turn left to come to the west door of St Mary the Virgin?, which is worth visiting if open.
4. Continue on the path heading away from the door, which turns left on the edge of the churchyard and leads to an exit in its south-eastern corner. Go down a few steps, through a stone archway and follow a potentially muddy path downhill, with glimpses of Nettlestead Place? and its gardens through the trees on the right.
5. At the bottom cross the railway tracks and turn left onto the path heading N alongside the River Medway, joining the Medway Valley Walk? (MVW). In 500m the path crosses a stream on a wooden footbridge and the final 300m is on a driveway between a caravan park and pleasure craft moored on the river.
6. Go past a wooden fieldgate and take either of two driveways up a slope, passing River Kitchen in the former Riverside Restaurant. Unless you want a refreshment break here (or in The Railway pub off to the left, across the B2015) turn right at the top of the slope.
7. Cross the river on Bow Bridge. The third possible refreshment place here is off to the right inside Medway Wharf Marina, the Ramblers Rest Café.

2. Short cut (1 km)

1. Opposite Mill Oast House turn sharp left off Love Lane onto a signposted byway, a path which curves round to the right above a picturesque valley containing an old orchard. At the end follow the path down to the left and climb up a lane on the other side of the valley to the B2015 (Bow Road). Turn right onto the road and follow it downhill.
2. Unless you are considering a refreshment break in The Railway pub (on the right-hand side at the bottom of the slope), use the pedestrian crossing to switch to the other side of the road.
3. After passing the entrance to Wateringbury station turn left into the minor road (Bow Hill) opposite the pub, going over the level crossing and joining the Medway Valley Walk? (MVW).
4. Unless you want a refreshment break in River Kitchen (down the slope to the right in the former Riverside Restaurant), cross the River Medway …
6. Medway Wharf Marina to West Farleigh (2½ km)
• Follow the MVW across water meadows, along the bottom edge of Waregrave's Wood and up across a large field. At Tutsham Hall leave the MVW and take a footpath heading east across fields. Go through a belt of trees and veer right up a meadow to reach the Tickled Trout pub on the B2010 in West Farleigh.
1. Just past the entrance to the marina turn left off the road by a MVW signpost. Go through a metal kissing gate and across a potentially muddy area to the corner of a fenced meadow. Go through a small metal gate into this water meadow and veer left onto a broad grassy path heading E, gradually moving away from the wire fence on your left.
2. On the far side go through a metal kissing gate in the tree boundary and continue across another meadow. In 200m a plank footbridge gets you across a boggy area. At the end of the meadow a boardwalk and another footbridge takes you into Waregrave's Wood, close to the river on your left. Follow the woodland path along its bottom edge, usually with one or two streams to negotiate along the way.
3. Leave the wood through a metal side gate and go up a small slope into a large field. Follow a faint grassy path curving gently up to the right, passing a footpath marker post by an isolated tree and with increasingly fine views of the river valley as you climb. On the far side go through a metal side gate and straight across a parking area in front of a barn conversion.
4. Follow a tarmac driveway over a small rise and then past some farm buildings and cottages. Opposite the ivied Tutsham Hall? there is a footpath junction where the MVW veers off to the left, through a wooden gate next to the cattle grid on the manor house's long driveway.
   • If you are not planning to visit the pub in West Farleigh you can stay on the MVW (along this driveway for 800m to the B2163). If you take this short cut (saving at least 500m), resume the directions at [?] in §G.
5. For the full walk follow the drive up and round to the right in front of a large barn, leaving the MVW. At the end of a small parking area turn left onto a long straight grassy path between fences, signposted as a footpath. At the end go through a gate and carry on across a field (with no clear path), heading towards a footpath signpost on the far side.
6. Keep ahead at the signpost, across another field. As the ground ahead drops away you will be able to see the exit, a small metal gate in the tree boundary. Follow a short grassy path through the undergrowth, curving round to the left and coming to a pair of metal gates.
7. Go through the right-hand gate and up a slope into a meadow. There is a striking Queen Anne house ahead on the right and the OS map shows the right of way heading directly towards a gate in the boundary wall just to the left of this house, Smiths Hall?.
   • If this direct route is too awkward you could follow an unofficial grassy path curving around the right-hand side of the meadow to the same exit.
8. Go through the gate and turn left onto the B2010 (Lower Road) to come to the Tickled Trout, the first building on the left-hand side.

   There are benches on the small crescent-shaped patch of grass opposite Smiths Hall, making this a convenient picnic spot.

7. West Farleigh to Teston Bridge (1½ • 1 km)
• For the main route, go back along the B2010 from the pub. After passing Smiths Hall keep right at a road junction. Take a byway on the right uphill past some farm buildings, then turn right onto a footpath going downhill across fields towards the river. Turn right onto a lane and follow it out to the B2163. Cross the river on Teston Bridge.
  • For a more direct route, take the footpath heading north-west from the B2010 opposite Smiths Hall to join the lane leading to the B2163.

The original route for this section was the direct route in [?], but in return for a short extra climb there are some fine views of the Medway Valley on the main route as it descends towards the river.

1. Main route (1½ km)

1. From the pub go back along Lower Road, ignoring the gate into the meadow. After passing Smiths Hall keep right at a triangular road junction, signposted to Yalding. Where the B2010 bends left after 100m veer right onto a tarmac driveway and follow this byway uphill past paddocks to a cluster of modernised farm buildings.
2. At the end of the tarmac keep ahead on a gravel drive past the last of these properties. Go out through a metal fieldgate into a large field and immediately turn right to go along its edge, gently downhill with a hedge on your right and views ahead across the Medway Valley.
3. In the field corner go through a small metal gate to the right of the wide gap ahead, in order to go down the left-hand edge of the next field. In 50m keep ahead at a footpath signpost in the wire fence, crossing over your outward route.
4. In the bottom corner go through a metal kissing gate and turn half-right to go diagonally across a meadow, aiming slightly to the right of a prominent white building 1 km away, Barham Court?.
5. In the far corner turn right onto a tarmac lane (via another kissing gate if you want to avoid a cattle grid), rejoining the MVW. Follow the lane past the white-painted row of Mill Cottages and some more houses in a dip, with a large pond on the right.
6. After crossing a stream flowing from the pond towards the ruins of Tutsham Oil Mill? the lane winds its way back uphill past some large old trees. Follow it round a couple of bends to a T-junction with the B2163.

2. Direct route (1 km)

1. Retrace your steps through the gate into the meadow below Smiths Hall. Follow a clear grassy path gently downhill across two meadows, going through a wide gap in the tree boundary between them.
2. At the bottom of the second meadow go out through a side gate and keep ahead on a lane, rejoining the MVW. Follow it round a right-hand bend to a T-junction with the B2163.
3. At the T-junction cross the main road carefully and go up a few steps in the bank opposite. Do not go through the gate ahead but turn sharp left onto a permissive path in the belt of trees beside the road. This avoids a bit of awkward road walking but you soon have to rejoin the B2163 in front of the medieval Teston Bridge?. Cross this narrow road bridge carefully, using the refuges when necessary to avoid the traffic.
8. Teston Bridge to East Farleigh Station (3 km)
• Turn right onto the riverside path on the north bank of the Medway. Follow it for 3 km, past Barming Bridge and on to East Farleigh. Unless you decide to stay on the towpath for the start of the next section, go out onto Farleigh Lane between the station and the medieval bridge.
1. After crossing the river go over a stile on the right onto a broad strip of grassland dotted with trees, part of a long linear area designated as the Maidstone Millennium River Park?. On this 2 km stretch there are occasional gates to negotiate and wooden footbridges to take you across side streams. Eventually you go straight across a track at Barming Bridge?.
2. Continue alongside the river on the signposted Medway Towpath?. In 750m you can see East Farleigh church directly ahead on the far bank as the river curves round to the left. The path goes past caravan sites and a raised footbridge takes you across the entrance to a small marina as you approach the medieval East Farleigh Bridge?.
3. Unless you want to follow the riverside path all the way into Maidstone leave the towpath 60m before the bridge, where there is a gap in the fence with a large sign advertising a nearby pub.
   • If you remain on the towpath you would go under a low arch in the bridge and past the refurbished East Farleigh Lock?. There are gardens sloping down to the river on the opposite bank, then a long stretch of woodland before the main route rejoins from a byway on the left. If you take this short cut (saving 200m) resume the directions at [?] in §I.
4. For the suggested route go up a few steps and follow a series of FOOTPATH► signs to go out between converted buildings to a road (Farleigh Lane). Turn left onto the road, towards a level crossing between the two platforms of East Farleigh station.
   • If you are finishing the walk here, trains to Paddock Wood leave from Platform 1, on the right. For trains to Maidstone and Strood from Platform 2, cross the tracks and turn left (or use the footbridge). If you have a long wait, The Victory pub is just up the road.
9. East Farleigh Station to Maidstone (Lockmeadow Bridge) (3½ km)
• Go over the level crossing and turn right onto a footpath opposite The Victory pub. Follow it past The Oast and then fork right onto a footpath heading north-east. At the end take the byway on the right to return to the riverside path. Continue along the towpath to a new pedestrian footbridge by the Lockmeadow Entertainment Centre in Maidstone.
1. Go over the level crossing and continue briefly up the right-hand side of Farleigh Lane. Opposite The Victory pub turn right through a wooden swing gate in the hedge onto a narrow and potentially muddy footpath.
2. This rather awkward path gradually drops back towards the railway line, then a short flight of steps takes you up to an easier path alongside the stone wall of a house (The Oast). At the end of the property follow the path round to the left and up to a path junction, marked by a telegraph pole with footpath waymarkers.
   • Up ahead on the left refreshments might be available on summer weekends at Sonya's Tea Barn Bakery.
3. To continue the walk fork right at the junction onto the driveway to a house, passing it on your left. Go through a side gate and continue along an unsurfaced track between hedges, climbing gently. In 150m a footpath merges from the left and the track levels off, with views across the Medway Valley as it heads NE directly towards Maidstone.
4. In 500m you pass the first of some substantial properties on the left. In a further 200m, just before the track leads out onto a residential street at a bend, turn right onto a signposted byway and follow this track all the way downhill. At the bottom go under a railway bridge and turn left, rejoining the Medway Towpath.
5. Bydews Wood is across the river at first, but the area gradually becomes more built up on both sides. In 800m you pass a brick support of the dismantled Tovil Railway Bridge? beside a girder footbridge connecting two of Maidstone's suburbs. In the next 1 km an old industrial area has been revitalised with a succession of new riverside apartment blocks, somewhat reminiscent of London's Docklands.
6. Eventually you pass the Lockmeadow Entertainment Centre on the left and come to an elegant new footbridge across the river, Lockmeadow Millennium Bridge?. There is a large metal sculpture The Stag? on the left and a fine view across the river to All Saints Church? and the Archbishop's Palace?.
10. Lockmeadow Bridge to Maidstone Stations (1¼ • ½ km)
• Unless you want to head directly to Maidstone West station (off to the left) cross to the other bank, go past the Archbishop's Palace and up the High Street. Take any route heading north through the town centre, eventually crossing Brenchley Gardens to their north-eastern corner to reach Maidstone East station.
  

The station with direct services to London is on the far side of the town centre, across the river. If instead you want to head immediately to the nearest station on the Medway Valley branch line, follow the directions in [?].

1. To Maidstone East Station (1¼ km)



Any route through the mainly-pedestrianised town centre will take you past many possible refreshment places. If you are tempted down alleyways and into shopping malls you can follow street signs to Maidstone East Station (or the Museum) to get back on track.

1. Start by crossing the river on the footbridge and continue along the other bank, past the Archbishop's Palace and a mooring point for pleasure cruisers. In front of St Peter's Bridge take the path sloping up to traffic lights on the busy main road (Bishops Way).
2. Cross Bishops Way and go up the High Street for 250m, passing a 19^thC Russian Cannon?. Opposite the Town Hall? go through an archway into Market Buildings, passing some eateries in the Corn Exchange arcade on the right.
3. At the end of the arcade turn right briefly into Earl Street by the Hazlitt Theatre, then turn left into another alley leading to Fremlin Walk. Turn left into this shopping mall, which has more refreshment places (some with outdoor seating) at the far end.
4. To complete the walk take an exit from the mall on the north side which comes out in front of Maidstone Museum?. Go past the right-hand side of the building and up a patch of grassland containing a memorial stone to the Battle of Maidstone?.
5. Make your way across Brenchley Gardens? to its top right-hand corner. The Society Rooms pub is on the ground floor of the office building on the right, with the station entrance ahead (watched over by a life-size Iguanodon? sculpture).
6. There is a side entrance directly onto Platform 1 (for trains to London) through a gap in the brick wall behind the small parking area. For the other platforms you would need to enter via the ticket hall.
   • If you want to return on the Medway Valley line there is a signposted walkway across the river on the railway bridge to Maidstone Barracks station.

2. To Maidstone West Station (½ km)

1. To head for this station without going into the town centre, continue along the riverside path past the Law Courts. Follow the path round to the left in front of St Peter's Bridge to join the main road (Broadway). Keep ahead at traffic lights and in 100m turn left by the War Memorial into Station Approach.
2. The station entrance is on the right. Trains to Paddock Wood depart from Platform 2 (on this side); cross the footbridge to Platform 1 for trains to Strood.
   

Walk Notes

1. East Malling Stream has its source in Well Street and flows into the River Medway at Aylesford. There used to be six watermills along this short river.
2. St Mary's Abbey was founded as a community of Benedictine nuns in the 11^thC. It passed into secular hands after its dissolution by Henry Ⅷ but the Anglican order was able to return to the site in 1916 after it was restored by a charitable trust. St Mary's Abbey with the Cascade (an ornamental waterfall flowing out of its stone wall on Swan Street) was painted by JMW Turner in c.1791, as commemorated on a blue plaque.
3. Manor Park Country Park was originally part of the Douce's Manor estate, with the lake in its landscaped grounds created by widening the Ewell Stream. These 52 acres were bought by Kent County Council in 1973 and became a Country Park.
4. Douce's Manor is an 18^thC manor house, listed Grade Ⅱ. In World War Ⅱ it was used as the Officers Mess for airmen based at RAF West Malling; a Heritage Centre in its wine cellar displays artefacts from that period.
5. St Leonard's Tower is believed to be an 11^thC Norman keep, but little is known about its history. The uppermost storey was demolished in the English Civil War to prevent the Royalists using it as a lookout post, and at some point the lower windows were blocked up. It is listed Grade Ⅰ.
6. Warren Woods Nature Park is part of the Kings Hill development. These 46 acres of native woodland opened to the public in 2011.
7. Operation PLUTO (Pipe Line Underwater Transportation of Oil, or Pipe Line Under The Ocean) was a World War Ⅱ project to supply fuel to the Allied forces in Normandy after D-Day. The pipeline at Wateringbury was part of an additional route via Dungeness to Boulogne, added as the troops advanced. It was a major engineering feat at the time but only partly successful, supplying just 8% of the fuel used in 1944-45.
8. Brooms House was the home of the astronomer William Rutter Dawes (1799-1868). Affectionately nicknamed “eagle eye Dawes”, he made several discoveries from his private observatory in Wateringbury.
9. St Mary the Virgin, Nettlestead dates from the 13^thC, although only the square tower survives from that period. In the 15^thC the nave was rebuilt with six great windows to accommodate a collection of stained glass commissioned by the owner of Nettlestead Place, Reginald de Pympe. The originals were badly damaged by a storm in 1763.
10. Nettlestead Place is a medieval manor house dating from the 13^thC, greatly extended by Reginald de Pympe in the 15^thC. The main house and separate 14^thC gatehouse are both listed Grade Ⅰ. After being used as an oast house for two centuries it was restored as a private house in the 1920s and is now a wedding venue. The 10 acre garden is occasionally open to the public on NGS Open Days.
11. The Medway Valley Walk runs for 45 km, between Tonbridge and Rochester. The waymarked route leaves the river between Bow Bridge and Teston Bridge to go via Tutsham Hall, even though there is a public footpath along the riverbank.
12. Tutsham Hall is a Grade Ⅱ listed manor house dating from the late 18^thC or early 19^thC, possibly incorporating part of an earlier house.
13. Smiths Hall (shown as West Farleigh Hall on older OS maps, its name during much of the 20^thC) is a fine example of a Queen Anne country house, built in 1719. The gardens and grounds of this Grade Ⅰ listed private house are open to the public twice a year on NGS Open Days.
14. Barham Court was described by the antiquarian Edward Hasted as “the greatest ornament of this part of Kent”. William Wilberforce was a frequent house guest and Lady Barham is said to have inspired and supported his campaign to abolish slavery. It was refurbished after a major fire in 1932 and subsequently converted into offices and apartments.
15. Tutsham Oil Mill crushed flax to produce linseed oil and cake (cattle feed). It operated until it was partly destroyed by fire in the 1880s.
16. Teston Bridge was constructed out of local ragstone in the 14^thC. The central arch was raised in 1793 to improve navigation for barges. It is a Grade Ⅰ listed ancient monument.
17. Teston Bridge Country Park opened in 1978. It consists of 32 acres of meadow between the River Medway and the railway line.
18. Maidstone Millennium River Park was developed in 1998-2001, part of a project which transformed an area of industrial wasteland in the town. It incorporates the riverside path between Teston and Allington, as well as parks and gardens linked by three new footbridges across the river.
19. Barming Bridge is for pedestrians only, although there are lanes leading to it on both sides. The original wooden road bridge collapsed in 1914 under the weight of a ten-ton traction engine and although it was repaired, it was eventually deemed unsafe and replaced with this steel bridge in 1996.
20. The Medway Towpath is a 10½ km route alongside the river from Barming to Aylesford, which was upgraded to an all-weather cycle track in 2017.
21. East Farleigh Bridge was constructed out of local ragstone in the 14^thC. It provided the crossing point for the Parliamentary forces in the English Civil War, allowing them to make a surprise attack from the south to defeat the Royalists in Maidstone?. It is a Grade Ⅰ listed ancient monument.
22. East Farleigh Lock was completely refurbished in 2017. A new fish pass was incorporated (as at other locks on the Medway) to enable freshwater fish to spawn further upstream.
23. The Tovil Railway Bridge carried a spur off the Medway Valley line to a goods station serving the paper mills across the river in Tovil. A planned extension along the Loose Valley to Headcorn was never built.
24. The Lockmeadow Millennium Bridge opened in 1999, joining the modern leisure complex to the town centre. The aluminium bridge spans from a single pier and is held up by cables from two support masts.
25. The Stag is a massive aluminium sculpture by Edward Bainbridge Copnall, which was located in London's Stag Place from 1963-97. When the area was redeveloped the artist's daughter donated it to Sevenoaks but the District Council was unable to find a suitable site and controversially sold it on to Maidstone.
26. All Saints, Maidstone dates from the late 14^thC and is considered to be one of the grandest Perpendicular-style churches in southern England. It was originally part of an ecclestiastical college but became the town's parish church when the college closed in 1546.
27. The Archbishop's Palace was built in the mid-14^thC as a resting place for archbishops travelling between London and Canterbury. It is now owned by Kent County Council and used primarily as a register office, but is open to the public on regular Heritage Days.
28. The Russian Cannon mounted on a gun carriage near the bottom of Maidstone High Street was captured at the Battle of Sebastopol in the Crimean War and presented to the town in 1858.
29. Maidstone Town Hall is a fine Georgian building dating from 1762-3, crowned with an ornamental cupola. The ground floor was originally used as a market, then as a police court.
30. Maidstone Museum (free entry) opened in 1858 and contains a diverse collection of historical objects, fine art and natural history. It is housed in Chillington Manor, an Elizabethan manor house purchased by Maidstone Corporation.
31. The Battle of Maidstone memorial is inscribed This stone marks the last stand of the Royalist defenders of Maidstone on the storm lashed night of the 1st June 1648. It was one of the fiercest battles of the English Civil War, an important victory for the Parliamentary forces under General Fairfax.
32. Brenchley Gardens were designed and laid out in 1871 by Alexander McKenzie, an influential landscape designer whose commissions included Finsbury Park and Alexandra Palace.
33. The Iguanodon sculpture was installed in 2021 to commemorate the discovery of some fossil bones in a local quarry in 1834. It was one of the first prehistoric creatures to be identified and named (the word dinosaur was not coined until the 1840s).

» Last updated: July 9, 2025

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