On the escarpment before lunch

Sandling to Wye walk

24-May-12 • Saturdaywalker on Flickr

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Mid morning

Sandling to Wye walk

24-May-12 • Saturdaywalker on Flickr

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Buttercups in late May

Sandling to Wye walk

24-May-12 • Saturdaywalker on Flickr

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Descending to Stowting

Sandling to Wye walk

24-May-12 • Saturdaywalker on Flickr

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Mid afternoon

Sandling to Wye walk

24-May-12 • Saturdaywalker on Flickr

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Book 3, Walk 24, Sandling to Wye

The mysterious redhead strode the Downs... 1 Sept '07

01-Sep-07 • mew2005b on Flickr

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Book 3, Walk 24, Sandling to Wye

The view was certainly lovely, but the grass was fresh and green... 1 Sept '07

01-Sep-07 • mew2005b on Flickr

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Walk Directions Comments Map GPS Weather Photos Videos History Download Walk (pdf)

North Downs Way : Sandling to Wye walk

Pretty Ridge Walk along the North Downs Way with lovely views. Nice pubs for lunch and tea

Kent North Downs Way North Downs Ridge

History

This is a list of previous times this walk has been done by the club (since Jan 2010). For more recent events (since April 2015), full details are shown.

Updated: Tue, 29-Jan-19

Date # Post
Tue, 15-Aug-17 5

Marcus
Sandling to Wye on the North Downs Way

SWC 24 - Sandling to Wye

 Length: 20.5 km (12.8 miles)
Toughness: 6 out of 10

Either
London St Pancras: 10-08 hrs Margate service
Arrive Ashford International: 10-46 hrs
Leave Ashford International: 11-03 hrs Dover Priory service from Charing X
Arrive Sandling; 11-14 hrs

Or
London Charing Cross: 09-40 hrs Dover Priory service
Arrive Sandling: 11-14 hrs

Return

 Wye to Charing Cross: 15-54, 16-53, 17-52, 18-51 Journey length 1hr 32 mins
Wye to St Pancras: as above plus 21 mins past the hour, changing at Ashford International. Journey length 1 hr

Rail ticket: returns from either Sandling or Wye are usually accepted. You pay a supplement for using the HS1 service from or back to St Pancras.

This walk is a favourite amongst many a SWC walker, being along a lovely section of the North Downs Way which is more akin to the South Downs Way. For large parts of the day you enjoy stunning views of Kent's countryside.

Lunch is taken at the usually excellent Tiger Inn in Stowting, 9 km into the walk. Best 'phone ahead with numbers (01303-862130.

The latter part of the walk up on the lovely Crundale Downs reverses TO Book 1, Walk 53 - Wye Circular, and you descend into Wye for tea at the Tickled Trout pub, next door to the railway station.
T=swc.24
Walk directions here: L=swc.24
Anonymous, 14-Aug-17
The Tiger Inn appears to be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Marcus, 16-Aug-17
3 off the Javelin train from St Pancras, 1 off the service from Charing X, and 1 by car, so I make that 5 on our outing in Kent.
mostly sunny and warm to hot with a cooling breeze on top of the Downs, near perfect summer walking conditions for this walk along a hilly, downs section of the North Downs Way.
3 stopped at the closed Tiger Inn to make use of their outdoor seating whilst eating their sandwiches, leaving 2 of us to walk along the road to the Five Bells Inn in Brabourne, which served us excellent lunches. I can highly recommend this customer and walker friendly pub, with its comfortable internal and external seating areas, good choice of beers and ciders and a good choice of home cooked food from an extensive menu.
One of the sandwichers joined us for the afternoon leg (the other two having continued post prandial along the main route) and the sun came out again after the skies briefly threatened us with a storm during our lunch break.
More lovely views from the top of the Crundale Downs, then the descent to Wye. A swift half in the Tickled Trout, then home on the 17 52, arriving back at St Pancras at 19 00 hrs.
This walk is suitably demanding in length and climbs to give one a really good workout whilst providing walkers with lovely panoramic views along most of its route, and especially enjoyable on a nice summers day.
Sun, 02-Jul-17 10

Mr M Tiger
Sandling to Wye

20.5 km (12.8 miles)
Difficulty 6/10
A lovely walk following one of the best sections of the North Downs Way with fine views for nearly the whole walk.
Trains note change
The simplest and cheapest option is the 9:30 Dover Priory train from Victoria direct to Sandling arriving 11:16.
For a faster journey, take the 10:08 Margate High Speed from St Pancras (Stratford International 10:15) changing at Ashford pInternational onto the same Dover Priory train (11:05 platform 5).
Sandling and Wye are on different Southeastern lines out of Ashford. A return to Sandling, the dearer option, is suggested. In practise this should be accepted to return from Wye but be prepared to pay the difference to Ashford if your luck's out.
Return from Wye at xx:57 (High Speed ticket-holders change at Ashford International).
As well as being on the District Line, Cannon St Station is only a short walk from Bank (exit 6, cross road, to go right, down St Swithins Lane).
Lunch
The Tiger Inn (01303 862130) in Stowting is a charming and friendly pub 9.2km (5.7 miles) into the walk. Open all day from noon.
Alternatively 2.2km (1.4 miles) further up the road you have the Five Bells Inn (01303 813334 in Brabourne. (This requires a detour, adding 800 metres (0.5 miles) to the walk length).
Tea
The Tickled Trout (01233 812227) in Wye is a popular pub stop, with a garden beside the River Stour. It is just across the bridge from Wye station. They have recently taken to hosting live bands on Sunday afternoons. If that’s not your thing, try the Kings Head in Church Street (no garden), or the New Flying Horse, in Upper Bridge Street (has a garden).
Walk Directions here
T=swc.24
Anonymous, 01-Jul-17
Looks like the Cannon Street train is now starting at Victoria at 9.30 NOT CANNON STREET
Mr M Tiger, 02-Jul-17
Thanks I tried to double check train times yesterday but was having problems with journey planner.
JohnL, 03-Jul-17
10 Warm and sunny, Summer is back. For many this is in the top 10 of the SWC walks with very fine views all along the North Downs Way. Looking back towards Folkestone the sea was blue and the sky clear enough to see France. A walker has sensibly booked a table at the The Tiger and we had a choice of inside or outside seating. Food was excellent and promptly served. The staff kindly brought an umbrella to shade the outdoor eaters. We all stopped at the Tickled Trout for refreshment and a few stayed on for a later train.
Sat, 01-Oct-16 8

Walker
Saturday Second Walk - Fine views on the North Downs Way

SWC Walk 24 - Sandling to Wye
Length: 20.5km (12.8 miles)
Toughness: 6 out of 10

9.40 train from Charing Cross (9.43 Waterloo East, 9.49 London Bridge) to Sandling, arriving 11.13

OR

10.08 Southeastern High Speed train from St Pancras International to Ashford, arriving 10.46, to connect with the above train departing 11.02.

Buy a day return to Sandling. This should be accepted between Wye and Ashford, but you may be liable to pay for this short hop.

For walk directions click here.

I had a request for this walk, which had a Sunday outing earlier in the year but has not had a Saturday outing for some time, I think. It is a simple walk along a very lovely stretch of the North Downs Way, - more like the South Downs here, with fine views for much of the walk (the exception being one section in the afternoon when you are away from the escarpment for a while).

Once you climb up onto the downs from Sandling you are following the North Downs Way, so you might be tempted to rely on waymarking. But in critical places it is not very clear and in at least one place open access now enables you to take a simpler route than the NDW - hence the walk directions in the link above.

Lunch is at the Tiger Inn in Stowting, a lovely pub that can be quite popular (hopefully less so now that summer is over). An equally nice alternative, which requires a bit of extra road walking is the Five Bells in Braborne. With either one it might be worth ringing to book a table when setting off on the walk, though both have outside seating too if it is fine.

Tea in Wye basically comes down to the Tickled Trout pub, which does serve tea and sometimes even cakes, and has a wonderful location by the river. Even more wonderfully it is just across the bridge from the train station.

Trains back from Wye are at

- 21 past, direct to Victoria, but slow - 1 hr 48
- 54 past, direct to Charing Cross - 1 hr 28

For both trains you can change at Ashford for St Pancras, the 54 having a slightly smaller waiting time there (13 mins versus 15 mins), both taking 1hr to London
Walker, 02-Oct-16
8 on this walk. The gloomy weather forecast was only part right: we had two very heavy showers but otherwise lots of sun. The second shower was a rather magnificent hailstorm which produced wonderfully misty light effects on the valley below as it passed, also providing a good test for winter walking gear (which some items failed.....). But for the most part this was a fine day out on a fine downland ridge.

The forecast meant the Tiger Inn in Stowting was not as busy as it might have been, though it was still far from empty. It is always a pleasure to eat at this friendly pub. In the afternoon we met two young Swedes who had started their walk at 7.30 am in Dover, which put us in our place. In Wye we optimistically sat in the garden as dusk fell, but were forced inside by the evening chill after one drink. Autumn is here!
Sun, 08-May-16 9

Mr M Tiger
Sunday Walk 2: Sandling to Wye

Sandling to Wye SWC Walk 24
20.5 km (12.8 miles)
Difficulty 6/10

A lovely walk following one of the best sections of the North Downs Way with fine views nearly all the way.
Trains.
It is cheapest to travel from Charing Cross on the 9:10 Ramsgate train (Waterloo East, 9:13) changing at Ashford for the 10:35 to Dover Priory (platform 5). This gets you to Sandling for 10:46.
For a quicker journey, take the 9:37 Ramsgate High Speed from St Pancras (Stratford International 9:44) and change at Ashford International for the same 10:35 Dover Priory train. High speed costs about £5 more on a return. Railcard savings still apply, but not London zone reductions.
Sandling and Wye are on different Southeastern lines out of Ashford. A return to Sandling, the dearer option, is suggested. In practice this should be accepted to return from Wye but be prepared to pay the difference to Ashford if not.
Return from Wye at xx:57 and xx:21.
The xx:57 will take you direct to Charing Cross in 1hr:37
The xx:21 will take you direct to Victoria in 2 hr.
Or change from either at Ashford for the High Speed to St Pancras (total journey time 1 hr).
Lunch
The Tiger Inn (01303 862130) in Stowting is a charming and friendly pub 9.2km (5.7 miles) into the walk. Open all day from noon.
Alternatively 2.2km (1.4 miles) further up the road you have the Five Bells Inn (01303 813334 in Brabourne. (This requires a detour, adding 800 metres (0.5 miles) to the walk length)
Tea
The Tickled Trout (01233 812227) with a riverside garden just across the bridge from Wye station, is a popular pub stop.
The Devil’s Kneading Trough restaurant and the Latte e Miele (both mentioned in the notes) have closed.
Directions here
There have been difficulties reported with the alternative route offered at point 57 (see comments). You now have to keep to the NDW at that point. This is covered in the directions.
T=swc.24
Walker, 02-May-16
By a spooky coincidence I was in the Wye area on Sunday 1 May and took the opportunity to check the directions at point 57. I can confirm that the permissive route that took you closer to the escarpment at point 57 in the directions has indeed been closed. But the NDW route is also perfectly pleasant, if with less striking views, and you soon come to the escarpment edge by this route.

The pdf directions

http://www.walkingclub.org.uk/book 3/walk 24/SWC Walk 24 Sandling to Wye.pdf

have now been updated (2 May version) to reflect this change and give full details of the NDW route.

I can also confirm that the early tea stop at the Devil's Kneading Trough has gone: it is now a wedding venue. The Latte e Miele cafe in Wye is now the Wye Coffee Shop and Kitchen, but it closes at 3pm on Sundays so is unlikely to be of use to any of us. The Tickled Trout pub flourishes, however and its riverside garden is as pleasant as ever.

Fans of oilseed rape might also like to know that the fields along the base of the escarpment as you approach Wye are currently a feast of this lovely yellow crop. See

https://www.flickr.com/photos/46429541@N02/26774468675/

and

https://www.flickr.com/photos/46429541@N02/26749299046/in/photostream/
Marion, 08-May-16
Intend going via Waterloo East
PeteB, 09-May-16
9 on this walk; 6 off the train and 3 others we met up with en route. This is the best NDW walk in the SWC repertoire with glorious views throughout and the countryside looking lush and verdant in glorious hot and sunny weather. Three of us had our sandwich lunch on the hill overlooking the village and it was tough to tear ourselves away to amble down to the village to the Tiger pub to meet the others.

We split up after lunch with 3 enjoying a "long" lunch whilst the rest of us enjoyed the superb ridge views on the way back to Wye. A final refreshing drink at the Tickled Trout whose policy of having live music on a hot sunny Sunday afternoon does not seem to work when 98% of their customers are lounging in the lovely garden by the river. They stopped after 2 numbers of blues rock.

Superb day out in great company. (Finally saw loads of youngsters doing the Duke of Eds silver award and we, ahem, provided a little confirmation of the onward route to one group.)
Anonymous, 09-May-16
Superb walk indeed. The 3 long lunchers eventually made it to Wye, only to be drummed out of the garden at the Tickled Trout by some ghastly band. Most trains cancelled due to signal failure so home on the 18.50 which was packed full with many passengers standing for the duration.
Walker, 09-May-16
I feel your pain regarding the ghastly band. I had the same experience the Sunday previous. Got to the pub, bought my drink and peanuts, settled happily into a chair by the sunny riverside to listen to the evening birds and then BAM! Not one of the TT's more inspired ideas for summer Sundays.
PeteB, 09-May-16
I've e mailed the Tickled Trout very politely suggesting they reconsider their music policy on summer Sundays
Marion, 10-May-16
After enduring the loud rock music with horrible female singer trying to sing Elvis Presley, we found that Signal failure on the line affecting all trains to and from Victoria and Charing X. This meant the 3 Epicureans who had spent 2 hours consuming a fantastic lunch with amazing Yorvale ice cream and coffee had to pile onto the high speed train standing room only as far as Ashford. I used the interchange at Stratford to access the Jubilee line but it involves a long 10 mins walk towards Waitrose and then the whole length of Westfield shopping centre with hardly any signage to guide you! A quicker option if you don't want to continue to St Pancras however.
Anonymous, 26-Jan-17
nice post ty
Sun, 11-Oct-15 9

PeteB
A beautiful stretch of the North Downs way in rural Kent

Download walk 24 Sandling to Wye
Length 20.5km (12.8m); toughness 6/10
Trains: two options:
  1. London Cannon Street 09.45 or London Bridge 09.48 arrive Sandling 11.16. or
  1. HS1 from London St Pancras International 10.08 (Stratford International 10.14) arrive Ashford International 10.46 and then from Platform 5 at Ashford Int take the 11.05 for Sandling arriving at 11.16.
Note for HS1 there is a small extra charge for the train ticket but it is a fast and comfortable service and is your recommended travel option.
Return trains from Wye: HS1 option: xx:57 to London St Pancras International changing at Ashford International (17.03) to pick up HS1 which leaves at 17.16 for London. If you are not using HS1 then you can stay on the original “slow” train back to London Bridge and Cannon Street.
There is also a slow train at xx:21 from Wye to London Victoria with a journey time of 2hrs.
Buy a day return to Sandling
I posted this walk at the end of March this year but on a bleak and miserable day I was the only walker who turned up. I make no apologies for posting it again as it is a lovely walk incorporating the finest section of the North Downs Way with some spectacular views. The pubs are excellent too and the Tickled Trout in Wye just 50m from the station is a fine spot for rest and refreshment whilst waiting for your train.

Although this walk follows the North Downs Way route finding can be a bit tricky but there are full walk directions and these can be found here along with further details about the walk and the various refreshment opportunities.
PeteB, 12-Oct-15
9 on this walk; me and eight women. sunny but with cool breeze at times. After a brief meeting and vote (5 to 3) I was invited to accompany the newly formed SWC feminist, collective walking group and we all enjoyed a glorious day out on this most beautiful section of the North Downs with its spectacular views. 5 of us took lunch at the recommended picnic spot before we all met up again at the Tiger Inn (excellent)for drinks where we managed to bag a large outside table in the sun for all 9 of us.
In the afternoon we enjoyed more fine views of the rolling downs and distant plains in the glowing autumn light. One walker checked out a possible early tea stop but later reported it was not open. The rest of us marched on to Wye where most went straight to the station for the 16.57 train whilst 2 of us had a quick drink at the Tickled Trout (which I have to say needs a bit of a make over as its looking a bit tired) and caught a later train. A superb SWC day out.
Sun, 29-Mar-15 1 Sandling to Wye
Sun, 22-Jun-14 14 Sandling to Wye
Mon, 27-May-13 Sandling to Wye
Sat, 06-Apr-13 22 Sandling to Wye
Sun, 01-Jul-12 Sandling to Wye
Sat, 19-Mar-11 Sandling to Wye
Sat, 05-Jun-10 Sandling to Wye
Sat, 03-Oct-09 North Downs Way : Sandling to Wye
Sun, 30-Mar-08 North Downs Way : Sandling to Wye
Sat, 01-Sep-07 North Downs Way : Sandling to Wye