Walk from Lenham to Wye.
🚶️

Parametric data

Route name:

Lenham

Start point:

Lenham.

End point:

Wye.

This route on OS maps:

https://explore.osmaps.com/route/22273640/ ...

OS Explorer sheet ref(s):

149 and 137.

Distance:

11.8 miles walked, 10.2 miles flown.

Duration: 19th Jul 2024 :

5.8 hours.^[1]  

Ascent:

177 metres.^[2]  

Stiles:

0 (zero).

Landmark of note:

The Wye Crown. This shot was taken from two miles away. Brobdingnagian graffiti.

Feasible excursion:

Ramblers more pernickety than me might first walk back to Harrietsham and the point where I branched off Section 8 of the NDW to begin the descent to Lenham. Leave it out.

Waypoints:

East Lenham, Highbourne, Hart Hill, Charing, Westwell, Dunn Street, Eastwell, Boughton Lees.

Refreshments:

Lunch after Highbourne.

Weather: 19th Jul 2024 :

27°C,^[3] ☀️ Certainly warm enough, but atop The Downs I feel a cooling breeze; rather pleasant.

Avoiding roads:

See the text about the NDW itself as a 'Trackway'. Otherwise, excellent.

Footpath construction:

There are stretches of dirt, but Section 9 is largely BLA, albeit a poor, degraded kind. Happily, repair work appears to be underway at Charing. The Lenham and Wye ends lie low by the River Stour. The dirt paths here could be difficult in winter.

Footpath condition:

One problem and a few puddles after Highbourne.^[4] Recent rain was pretty heavy, leaving several stretches in need of a haircut.

Vistas:

^[5] Slightly disappointing. See notes.

Blackberries:

Wait a bit longer.^[6]

Route map.

Walk notes.

To begin at the beginning, however, I should say something about Lenham. Arriving there, at the end of Section #8, from the Detling direction, it appeared to be little besides one street after another of 1960s housing. The start of this section procedes eastward from the station, and runs through the older part of Lenham approaching the church. There are several shops nearby, and if you need anything for the walk today then here is your best opportunity. On the minus side, though, Lenham is a considerable distance south of the NDW.^[8]

Leaving the church,^[9] you should keep left around the field, by the wacko bit of trail sculpture, an example of The Great ARTDOORS, perhaps, and head towards East Lenham - where an attempt to cross the A20 is required. There is a narrow gap in the hedge at the start of the six hundred metre footpath going up Hubbards Hill but it is very overgrown, and the signpost is buried too. As a bonus today, the corn is being harvested, and a line of straw obstructs the path every seven metres or so. The going is hard enough on a day when the temperature has climbed to the high twenties but, in addition, you face a forty metre ascent to reach the highest point on this section of the NDW / Pilgrim's Way 🥵

As with Section 8, most of this leg is designated a 'Trackway'. Save for short lengths, it is unusable in practice by four-wheeled vehicles, but I am passed three times by a precession of trail bikes. Although steep bits are rare, enough of the surface has eroded to make it uneven, so the walk is rather tedious because of the need to watch carefully where your feet are going. On the plus side, it is wide enough to remain passable after the long, wet growing season of 2024. A number of other routes have become completely obstructed of late.^[10]

A random block of concrete at Highbourne proves an excellent luncheon stop. There is also a nice view from the same point. Leaving Dunn Street the NDW begins a descent towards Wye and the Great Stour Valley through Eastwell Park. This is a distinctive end to Section 9, running below The Downs and looking back up to them. Eastwell is far enough from the M20 for it not to trouble the ear, while the eye can rest easily upon the mix of parkland and field. The fine, Georgian era residence off to the left is Home Farm. The walk here is straight and easy, particularly along the driveway between the lake and the Manor. No brambles in my way here, thank you very much.

Onwards to Boughton Lees. My supply of water was exhausted several miles back, and Wye is still two miles away. There is no option, unfortunately. I am forced to stop at the Flying Horse for a pint. This desperate diversion takes me almost seventy metres off the NDW. What choice does a thirsty rambler have? Anyway, once rehydrated, I resume my perambulation eastward. Rarely do I spend time reading information boards, but the new one located near 51.1912,0.901919 is worth the look.^[11] Now fully informed, I stride on through some traditional Garden-of-England orchards but so increased is my pace following refreshment that I miss the right turn at Boughton Corner.^[12] It is no matter; the next right puts me back on track.

Said track takes me across the A28 from Canterbury where rather more care is essential dodging its fast, heavy traffic heading to/from Ashford and the M20. All these great transport links to this part of Kent, yet the evening arrives at Wye before I do.^[13] An 09:00 start and small fortune in train fares can achieve no better. Who can afford rambling? No, I don't give up on the NDW; particularly now the Kent Downs National Landscape beckons. Next time, though, it's off to Canterbury.