Length: Main Walk, via Four Elms: 19½ km (12.1 miles). Short Walk 1, via Bough Beech village: 15½ km (9.6 miles). Short Walk 2, with alternative afternoon: 14¾ km (9.2 miles).
Difficulty: 4 out of 10
Trains: From London Bridge, you can take the 9.25 train to Redhill (East Croydon 9.42) arriving Redhill 10am with 9 minutes to spare before the 10.09 Penshurst train departs.
From London Victoria the 9.35 train to Redhill (Clapham Junction 9:42, East Croydon 9.53) arrives Redhill 10.04 with just five minutes to catch the 10.09 to Penshurst, which gets you there at 10.31.
Alternatively, from Charing Cross take the 9:29 train to Tonbridge, (Waterloo East 9.32, London Bridge 9.38) arriving Tonbridge 10.10 where you take the 10.26 train to Penshurst arriving 10.34. The Redhill travellers can wait for the Tonbrige arrivals.
Return trains from Penshurst are at xx:31 via Tonbridge changing to the xx.51 to Charing Cross or xx.34 via Redhill for the xx.11 to Victoria or the xx.15 to Londn Bridge.
This walk starts through low-lying farmland interspersed with patches of woodland. At Bore Place it makes use of the farm's permissive trails to reach one of the few viewpoints over Bough Beech Reservoir. The walk continues across the causeway at the northern end of the reservoir where there are good opportunities for bird-watching,
Lunch: The suggested pub on the Main Walk (after 8¾ km) is the Four Elms Inn (01732-700460), a traditional pub with a beer garden serving good-value pub food to 2.30pm.
For those doing the shorter options, The Wheatsheaf (01732-700100) pub/restaurant in Bough Beech is reached (after 9½ km).
Tea: In Chiddingstone the options are the Tulip Tree (01892-870326)
Chiddingstone Castle Tea Room (01892-870347) is in a quiet courtyard with comfortable seating. It is hidden next to the shop at the back of the castle and is open from 11am - 4.15pm.
At the end of the walk, the Little Brown Jug (01892-870318) in Chiddingstone Causeway is just across the road from Penshurst station; it is usually open all day and serves tea and coffee as well as normal pub fare.
L=swc.300