Walk from Wye to Canterbury.
🚶️

Parametric data

Route name:

Wye

Start point:

Wye.

End point:

Canterbury.

This route on OS maps:

https://explore.osmaps.com/route/22636879/ ...

OS Explorer sheet ref(s):

137, 149 and 150.

Distance:

12.8 miles walked, 9.3 miles flown.

Duration: 29th Jul 2024 :

6.0 hours.^[1]  

Ascent:

350 metres.

Stiles:

Two (near the start).

Landmark of note:

The Westgate.

Feasible excursion:

This entire 'northern loop' to Canterbury is omitted by the direct, southern variant of the NDW.

Waypoints:

Boughton Corner, Godmersham, Mountain Street, Chilham, Old Wives Lees, Chartham Hatch, Harbledown.

Refreshments:

Packed lunch at School Hill, Chilham.

Weather: 29th Jul 2024 :

24°C,^[2] ☀️ Too warm for all the uphill stretches. Also, less of a breeze than last week.

Avoiding roads:

A mercifully short stretch of A28, but about a mile of Mountain Street.^[3]

Footpath construction:

Noticeably varied. Through Chilham, and at the ends, tarmac (as usual). Elsewhere - a bit of everything. Long stretches of BLA.

Footpath condition:

Completely baked dry, excepting two puddles.

Vistas:

Signage promises your first view of Canterbury Cathedral. It lies. The 'audio seat' near 51.2604,0.98772 provides a better alternative, as well as a few minutes rest and contemplation.

Blackberries:

Coming along nicely now.^[4]

Route map.

Walk notes.

An often repeated remark from the past applies now: "That's a good idea, Stanley". Hindsight isn't needed to understand that a twelve mile walk is best not attempted wearing brand new boots.^[7] The topography of Section #8 deceives me into thinking that the leg to Canterbury will also be a gentle downhill stroll. The above figure given for the total ascent today is nearly double that of last week. The rail stations at each end are, as usual, low lying. On this walk (unavoidably) so is Chilham but, between these points, the NDW again takes the high ground. It would be no great challenge on most days, but it is close to the warmest of the year so far, and walkers who overdo it in the heat have recently made news headlines ⚰️

As my train pulls into Wye, there is a glimpse of the Wye Crown that I noticed last week. I must be on the right one. The right National Trail, however, is 120 metres above the station. Unfortunately, it is now midday, and the Stour Valley has little shade to offer. The breeze down here isn't up to much either. Even before I reach the top, I'm compelled to draw from my ½ litre water ration that I'm able to carry. Naturally, running along the side of the valley are numerous examples of the classic, chalk downland spring. Having been filtered by the chalk, it might be supposed safe to drink. You tell me.

I mentioned last week that vine plantings are spreading rapidly along the NDW's south-facing slopes. Here is the best look for some miles. These ones look as though they were only planted last year, and I doubt that they will crop for a few more to come. Patience is always needed in the wine industry. The label, though, promises good things in future.^[8], Rather a pity, then, that warm, sunny and dry is what we have today. These saplings look as though they could use a bit of rain. Me, too.

I hit the NDW at Soakham Farm and continue uphill for another ten minutes or so. After 51.2105,0.923347 you get the option to fork right and descend all the way back down to use The Pilgrims Way running along the Stour Valley into Canterbury (instead of the NDW). I decline this kind offer.^[9] If the Google Earth image of this point, dated 30 Mar 2021, is still available then compare it with what I see on the ground today. That's just three years of overgrowth. I volunteer to help keep Surrey's footpaths clear, and have some idea of the scale of the work involved. Well, no worries now because the NDW soon settles into the configuration that will continue most of the way to Chilham. Long, straight, flat stretches of easy-walking BLA. There isn't much to see, apart from King's Wood itself, a large area (of mainly deciduous trees) under the Forestry Commission. There are a couple of works within the ‘GREAT ARTDoors’ collection,^[10] and NDW info boards to read.

Thereafter, I descend rapidly towards the Stour and Mountain Street (marking the south-eastern boundary of Chilham Park). Time for a bite to eat, resting on the seat by the castle entrance. My cheese sandwich is no competition for the fare available from the Tea Room, unfortunately. I would normally be tempted by the pub. However, tempus fugit. Another day, perhaps. AFAICS, Chilham seems not to have a corner shop. I therefore fail to replenish my dwindling reserves of water.^[11] This is foolish, knowing that I face a steep climb, leaving Chilham, that won't necessarily be in the shade.^[12] So laboured does my ascent become that I have to be rescued by a passing motorist who drives me to a water supply within her local knowledge. Only after Lower Ensden Road do I resume an entirely self-powered ascent.

The character of Section #13 now changes. The previous section was mostly woodland, but I now pass mile after mile of apple orchards.^[13] My mother was born in East Ham. According to legend, the East Ender of old (in need of a summer break, and thinking that a change is as good as a rest) would travel to Kent where picking hops was a major, if modestly rewarded, activity. Seventy years ago the furiners disappeared, along with most of the hops. The orchards today are maintained by an army of labour imported from Europe. My comprehension of Slovak is inadequate to comprehend the discussions I hear coming out from the trees. What is clear, though, is that the 'working holiday' idea is still going. The farms offering it have constructed small villages to accommodate these twenty-first-century 'workaholids', and lay on transport to ... Canterbury(?).^[14]

After a mile or two of orchards, I go under the rail line to Canterbury East where, on the other side of the tracks, I find ... a couple of miles of orchards. All is well, even for those experiencing apple fatigue, because rest is provided here for the weary. It is conceivable that Chartham Hatch is not destined to become Kent's premier tourist destination. I therefore have no photo before the bridge across the A2. The route of the NDW through Harbledown is clearly given as Mill Lane on the web site. The same is clearly marked on OS paper maps. No power on Earth, however, can convince the OS online route planner to use Mill Lane.^[15]

So, here I am at the end of Section #13: Canterbury. Despite having lived my entire life in South East England, and having made a few visits to Kent, this is my first time in the city. Along the London Road (on the way in) I notice, on the horizon, possibly the first cloud I have seen today. Later, it turns out, this is a crop fire just off the A28 on the other side of Canterbury, in the direction of Sturry. A fire appliance rushes past. The hour has turned five PM and all Canterbury and his wife seems to be using St Dunstans Street. So much of my attention is needed to avoid a collision with the Kent student, tourist, diner, shopkeeper, whoever, that I miss the left turn into Station Road, and sail onwards to the Westgate,^[16] and then have to retrace my steps.

Next week, I tackle Section #14: Canterbury to Shepherdswell.