Greensand Way 9 : Harrietsham or Sutton Valence to Pluckley walk
Greensand Way Stage 9 - fine views from a gentle ridge, orchards and nice pubs
Length | Starting from Sutton Valence: 17.7km (11 miles) Starting from Harrietsham: 15.9km (9.9 miles) |
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Toughness | 3 out of 10 with 630 ft (200 meters) of ascent. Gently undulating mainly short climbs. A gentle climb to the Greensand Ridge on the Harrietsham start. |
Maps |
OS Explorer Map : 137 |
Features |
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). |
Walk Options |
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Travel |
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Lunch |
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. |
Tea |
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. |
Greensand Way |
This walk is one of 11 stages of the Greensand Way - a regional long distance path in the Southeast of England |
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Links |
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Profile | |
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By Train |
Out (not a train station) Back (not a train station) |
By Car |
Start ME17 1JA Map Directions Return to the start: Finish TN27 0RT Map Directions Travel to the start: |
Amazon | |
Help |
National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Travelline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234 |
Version |
May-18 Peter |
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Walk Directions
Full directions for this walk are in a PDF file (link above) which you can print, or download on to a Kindle, tablet, or smartphone.
This is just the introduction. This walk's detailed directions are in a PDF available from wwww.walkingclub.org.uk