Hurst Green to Chiddingstone Causeway walk

Long. The Greensand Way through remote wooded hills, passing Chartwell (Churchill, NT), Toys and Ide Hills. Gentle fields to finish.

A view north to Ide Hill
A view north to Ide Hill

Sep-08 • stuleeds on Flickr

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Bluebells 1 Hurst Green to Chiddingstone Causeway
Bluebells 1

Hurst Green to Chiddingstone Causeway

Apr-09 • moontiger on Flickr

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Ide Hill 25.4.15 Hurst Green to Chiddingstone Causeway walk
Ide Hill 25.4.15

Hurst Green to Chiddingstone Causeway walk

Apr-15 • Saturdaywalker on Flickr

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walk_16_pc_Near_Ide_Hill
walk_16_pc_Near_Ide_Hill

Apr-04 • Peter Conway on Flickr

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walk_16_pc_Grave_of_National_Trust_founder_at_Ide_Hill
walk_16_pc_Grave_of_National_Trust_founder_at_Ide_Hill

Apr-04 • Peter Conway on Flickr

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walk_16_pc_View_from_Ide_Hill
walk_16_pc_View_from_Ide_Hill

Apr-04 • Peter Conway on Flickr

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walk_16_pc_Emerging_from_the_woods_after_lunch
walk_16_pc_Emerging_from_the_woods_after_lunch

Apr-05 • Peter Conway on Flickr

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The Greensand Way, The High Chart & Ide Hill

Length

Standard walk: 20.5km (12.7miles), 6 hours 30 minutes. For the whole outing including trains, sights and meals allow 10 hours.

Short walk: 9km (5.6 miles), 2 hours 45 minutes.

Maps

OS LandRanger Map Nos. 187 and 188. OS Explorer Map Nos. 147 and 146 (for part of the short walk). Hurst Green, map reference TQ 400514 is in Surrey, 12km east of Redhill.

Toughness

6 out of 10

Features

This is a long but rewarding walk along the hills of northern Kent, much of it passing through woodland, along the Greensand Way, a popular route with walkers. In the afternoon you can enjoy views over the countryside to the south. A walk particularly recommended in late April and early May when it offers a whole series of bluebell woods and also in the autumn with the beautiful show of colours as the leaves change. The walk also passes Chartwell, (former home of Winston Churchill) and through the secluded upland village of Ide Hill, a possible tea stop.

Walk Options

Shortcuts

You may reduce the length of the standard walk by 12km to 9km (5.6 miles) by following the main route directions as given until [3], then follow the Shortened route directions to finish at Oxted.

Alternatively, you can trim a 1km (0.6 mile) descent and ascent section off the standard and short walks by using the short cut at [2] indicated in the walk directions text.

Start in Edenbridge or Finish in Sevenoakes

The Hurst Green to Chiddingstone Causeway Options pdf (download above) contains an alternate start from Edenbridge (16b) and an alternate finish in Sevenoakes (16c).

Walk Distance Directions
Edenbridge to Chiddingstone Causeway 17km
(10.6 m)
16b + main More out in the open with some woodland walking, NE ascent to Toy’s Hill for lunch, SE descent after.
Edenbridge to Sevenoaks 17km
(10.6 m)
16b + main + 16c Open fields, NE up to Toy’s Hill, after Ide Hill easterly woodland walking.
Hurst Green to Sevenoaks 21km
(13 m)
main + 16c Easterly direction, mainly woodland walking.

Alternate Hurst Green Start

You can also use the Hurst Green start of SWC Walk 79 Edenbridge to Westerham as an alternative start to this walk, replacing some woodland sections with more open country, with fine views.

To to do this follow Alternative Route B of that walk (SWC 79) as far as Crookham Hill, and then switch to the walk's (SWC 79) main directions. You can then switch to the directions for this walk (TOCW2 16) at either Chartwell, the Fox & Hounds pub in Toys Hill, or at Ide Hill (described in the Edenbridge to Westerham walk (SWC 79) as “Ending at Penshurst station”

History

Chartwell (tel 01732 868381, www.nationaltrust.org.uk) the former home of Winston Churchill, is now owned by the National Trust. Churchill lived at Chartwell from 1924 until just before his death in 1965. The house is open from Wednesday to Sunday from late March until early November 11am - 5pm.

Ide Hill was noted for its fine hunting. During the 16th century the old Hunting Lodge became a secret rendezvous for Henry VIII and his future queen, Anne Boleyn of Hever. In times of unrest, a beacon on the hill, transmitted alarm signals from the South Downs to Shooters Hill, Eltham (on the outskirts of London). To the south-east of the village is Hanging Bank, a one time gallows site.

Travel

Take the train nearest to 9.10am (before or after) from London Victoria station to Hurst Green. Two trains an hour (one on Sunday) run from London Victoria to Hurst Green (journey time: 39 minutes/49 minutes on Sunday).

Trains run back from Penshurst to London hourly, most requiring a change at Redhill or Tonbridge (journey time: 57 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes).

For the short walk take the train nearest to 10.30am.

By car

The standard walk is probably the most car unfriendly walk in book 2, as it is tricky to get back from Penshurst to Hurst Green (you can do so via Edenbridge/Edenbridge Town stations). A better option is the short walk: you can park your car at Hurst Green, one stop down the line from Oxted.

Lunch

Standard walk The suggested lunchtime stop is The Fox & Hounds (tel 01732 750328), Toys Hill, 11km from the start of the walk, which serves good enough food from 12 to 2pm Monday to Thursday and 12 to 2.30pm Friday to Sunday. - ref.: Current Issues.
An earlier possible lunch stop is the NT restaurant at Chartwell (tel 01732 863087), 7.5km from the start of the walk, which is open more or less the same dates as Chartwell House (see above) and serves good food from 11 noon to 4 pm.

A late lunch stop is The The Cock Inn, Ide Hill (tel 01732 750310) 13km from the start of the walk, which serves food from noon to 9pm Monday to Saturday and noon to 7pm Sunday. Short walk / Standard walk alternate The Carpenters Arms (tel 01883 722209), Limpsfield Chart, 4km from the start of the walk, which serves good food from 12 to 2pm Tuesday to Saturday, and 12pm to 3pm on Sunday.

Picnic Although you might consider virtually anywhere along the route, there are a couple of recommended spots highlighted in the text. The first is between Toy's Hill and Ide Hill and the second is after Ide Hill looking south towards Bough Beech water.

Tea

Standard walk The suggested tea stop is The Little Brown Jug Chiddingstone Causeway, Tonbridge, TN11 8JJ (01892 870318). Open noon-11pm Mon-Sat; noon-10.30pm Sun. Food served noon-3pm, 7-9pm Tue-Sat; noon-5pm Sun. This pub offers tea and coffee. It is for the main walk.

Short walk - The suggested tea stop is at Robertson's, 42 Station Road West, Oxted (tel:01883 712777), which provides coffee, light meals, teas and is open Monday to Saturday 8.30am to 5pm. The alternate tea stop is the Oxted Inn, 1-4 Station Road West, Hoskins Walk, Oxted (tel:01883 723440).

Current Issues

The Fox and Hounds is closed and for sale.. There is a possibility that this pub may be converted to residential use. Past times.

August 2020

Book

This walk was originally published in Time Out Country Walks near London volume 2. We now recommend using this online version as the book is dated.

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By Train

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Start RH8 0LL Map Directions Return to the start:

Finish TN11 8JE Map Directions Travel to the start:

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National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234

Version

Jan-23 DAC

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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