Greensand Way 9 : Harrietsham or Sutton Valence to Pluckley walk

Starting from Sutton Valence: 17.7km (11 miles)

Starting from Harrietsham: 15.9km (9.9 miles)

OS Explorer Map : 137

This is the 9th stage of the Greensand Way (GW) - from Sutton Valence or Harrietsham to Pluckley. A very rural walk with delightful walking through 'Darling Buds' scenery of orchards and meadows. A great pub in pretty village for lunch, and a nice pub by the station for tea.

Two possible starts to the walk are given here. By far the most attractive - as well as satisfying Greensand Way purists - is the one from Sutton Valence. But getting to it involves a 13 minute bus ride from Headcorn station, costing £3.50 at time of writing.

The Harrietsham start gives you a railway station to railway station option, and saves you the bus fare, but this is cancelled out by a more expensive train ticket. Scenically it is less interesting, crossing a motorway, arable fields and going through rather dull coppiced woodland (admittedly with a good display of wood anemones in late March and early April and bluebells in late April and early May).

• Fit walkers could combine this stage with the next one, and continue all the way to Ashford along the GW to Ashford - 20 miles in total

• To start from Sutton Valence, take a train from London Charing Cross to Headcorn, then catch bus #12 to Sutton Valance. Buy a return to Pluckley.
• To start from Harrietsham, take a from London Bridge to Victoria (1 hour 15 mins). Buy a return to Ashford International.
• To return from Pluckley, take the train back to London (2 per hour, 1 hour 13 mins).
• If you return from Ashford International (having combined 2 stages), the are also regular high speed trains (with a supplement) to Kings Cross.
• Drivers could park at Headcorn, taking the bus to Sutton Vallance to start, then return 1 stop by train to their car from Pluckley to Headcorn

The Pepper Box inn (01622 842558) in Fairbourne Heath is a possible early lunch stop. It is a popular pub and you probably need to book to be sure of an inside table. But there is also a large area of outside tables that are accessible to walk-up customers in fine weather.

A later option is the Barrow House, Egerton 01233 756 599 www.thebarrowhouse.co.uk 11.8km (7.3 miles) from Sutton Valence, 10km (6.2 miles) from Harrietsham, which re-opened in 2016 under new management with a modern, stylish menu. It is open all afternoon and evening Monday to Saturday but closes at 6pm on Sundays.

If you have had lunch at the Pepper Box, the Barrow House (see Lunch above) might make a mid afternoon tea stop.

Reachable by a 1.2km diversion off the walk route just before Pluckley village (directions given in the written walk directions), the Rose & Crown (01233 840048) in Mundy Bois, is a pub in a delightful rural location, open all afternoon daily. It makes an excellent tea stop, with a pretty garden with a view of the fields and plenty of comfortable sofas.

The Black Horse Pluckley 01233 841 948 www.blackhorsepluckley.co.uk is a traditional village pub, with a pleasant garden by a church. It is open all afternoon daily and serves hot drinks.

The Dering Arms Station Road, Pluckley, TN27 0RR (01233 840371, www.deringarms.com) . Open 11.30am-3pm, 6-11pm Mon-Sat; noon-4pm Sun. Food served noon-2pm, 6.30-9pm Mon-Sat; noon-2pm Sun. Located beside Pluckley station, this former hunting lodge is now an award-winning pub that specialises in seafood, for which booking is necessary. Note that only a snack menu is available on Sunday evenings.