10.4 miles / 16.8 km
The Greensand Way and Mereworth Woods.


A variation on the original route takes you to West Peckham for lunch at the Swan on the Green.


Trains: Take the 10:10 train from Charing Cross (10:19 London Bridge) to Tonbridge, arriving 10:51, change for the 11:04 to Yalding, arriving 11:18. If you miss the first train or have faith in the punctuality of Southeastern trains, you can also take the 10:15 from Charing Cross, giving 6 minutes to change trains at Tonbridge.
Return trains at xx:18 and xx:46 to London Victoria.
A return to Yalding always seems to have worked for return from Borough Green.


Lunch: The Swan on the Green, West Peckham, (01622 812271), good food and has its own micro-brewery, best to phone ahead. The lunch pub on the original route has long since closed down, but a small detour will take you to the Moody Mare, Mereworth (01622 813038) - follow the Beeches route in the instructions.


Borough Green does not have a lot to offer at the end of the walk. Besides the places listed in the directions, there's a a Costa Coffee on the main road and a Co op supermarket by the station.


Click here for full walk details and directions
T=1.50

Yalding to Borough Green
Length: 16.8km (10.4 miles) Toughness: 3/10

09:42 Dover Priory train from Victoria (Bromley South 09:59, Orpington 10:07), changing at Tonbridge (arr 10:25, dep 10:34) arriving at Yalding at 10:49.

Return trains from Borough Green & Wrotham to Victoria are at xx:36 (journey time 45 minutes). A return ticket to Yalding will cover the return journey.

When this walk was posted last month on a miserable day, the one brave soul who turned up didn’t fancy doing the walk on her own and went home. Let’s hope for better weather today. This is a pleasant walk through the woods and fields of the Kentish Weald, with no dauntingly steep climbs. The morning route follows the Greensand Way before diverting to Mereworth whose church has a remarkably tall steeple. The afternoon route is largely through the vast Mereworth Woods.

The original recommended lunch pub, the Queen’s Head, has permanently closed and is being converted for residential use, so the option nearest to Mereworth is now a short detour to The Moody Mare (01622 813038), a gastropub (formerly ‘The Beeches’), where booking before arrival is strongly recommended. An attractive alternative, also requiring a detour included in the walk directions, is the Swan on the Green (01622 812 271) in the pretty village of West Peckham.
For tea, the only option in Borough Green on a Sunday seems to be the Robin Hood bar beside the station, which a recent walker has recommended.

More details and the walk directions can be found on the walk’s information page.
T=1.50

Yalding to Borough Green
Length: 16.8km (10.4 miles) Toughness: 3/10

09:46 Folkestone Central train from Cannon Street (Orpington 10:07), changing at Tonbridge (arr 10:25, dep 10:34) arriving at Yalding at 10:49.
Note that trains from Cannon Street do not serve London Bridge.

Return trains from Borough Green & Wrotham to Victoria are at xx:36 (journey time 52 minutes). A return ticket to Yalding will cover the return journey.

This is a pleasant walk through the woods and fields of the Kentish Weald, with no dauntingly steep climbs. The morning route follows the Greensand Way before diverting to Mereworth whose church has a remarkably tall steeple. The afternoon route is largely through the vast Mereworth Woods.

The original recommended lunch pub, the Queen’s Head, has permanently closed and is being converted for residential use, so the option nearest to Mereworth is now a short detour to The Moody Mare (01622 813038), a gastropub (formerly ‘The Beeches’), where booking before arrival is strongly recommended. An attractive alternative, also requiring a detour included in the walk directions, is the Swan on the Green (01622 812 271) in the pretty village of West Peckham.
For tea, the only option in Borough Green on a Sunday seems to be the Robin Hood bar beside the station, which a recent walker has recommended.

More details and the walk directions can be found on the walk’s information page.
T=1.50

t=1.50

Length: 16 km (10 m)
Toughness: 3 / 10
Transport: Take the 9:15 from London Charing Cross, change at Tonbridge to arrive at Yalding at 10:19. Return trains from Borough Green at xx:24 and xx:51.

I chose the route via West Peckham since I have good memories of the pub there. They are usually quite busy on a Saturday so booking would be recommended. Let's hope the weather stays as freezing as during the last few days so that the potentially quite muddy sections remain frozen.

From the description:

This is an easy walk through the woods and fields of the Kent countryside, without too much in the way of hills. You will, however, need gumboots in muddy weather. The walk starts beside the River Medway, follows the Greensand Way to Roydon Hall (once the self-styled Maharishi's 'Capital of the Age of Enlightenment') and then goes on to the lunch stop in west Peckham. After lunch, the walk is principally through the vast Mereworth Woods (very muddy in winter) on the Wealdway, then up following a stream to Borough Green.

Book 1 Walk 50 Yalding to Borough Green
Length: 16.8km (10.3 miles) Toughness: 3/10

09:42 Folkestone Central train from Victoria, changing at Tonbridge (arr 10:23; dep 10:34) arriving at Yalding at 10:49.

Return trains from Borough Green to Victoria are at xx:36 (journey time 45 minutes). Buy an off-peak day return to Yalding.

Starting from the River Medway, the route follows the Greensand Way to Mereworth for lunch, and then goes through Mereworth Woods, where a little mud may be encountered, before heading north to Borough Green.

The original lunch pub in Mereworth has closed so the recommended lunch stop is now The Moody Mare (01622 813038) (formerly the Beeches Country Pub), which involves a slight detour that is described in the walk directions. A table for 6 has been reserved for 12:30 in the name of the SWC. Please ring the pub as you set out to confirm the booking.

You will need to download the Walk Directions.

Length: 16.8km
Toughness: 3 out of 10

Transport: Take the 10:15 from London Charing Cross to Tonbridge and change to the train to Yalding, arriving at 11:19.
Return trains from Borough Green are at xx:24 and xx:53 to London Victoria

Directions are here.

There are several lunch options corresponding to various walk options. This walk can be muddy after rain.

This is an easy walk through Kent's woods and fields passing two interesting churches and Roydon Hall, a 16th century country house, remodeled in 1870. Some pictures are here.

There is also an optional small variation in the afternoon from point [34] described by these instructions. This variation contains slightly less road walking and a charming descent into a valley. It also used to pass along an orchard but I'm not sure if it is still there:

34.1. ... to continue straight on, your direction 320deg. In 300m turn left onto a footpath.
34.2. In 300m cross a road.
34.3. In 180m turn right with the path
34.4. In 250m continue in the same direction across a field
34.5. In 190m you come out onto a road where you turn left for 160m.
34.6. Turn right here following a footpath sign.
34.7. In 400m you enter a wood where you follow the path to the right descending into the valley.
34.8. In 100m you rejoin the instructions at [38]