Canterbury Circular via Bekesbourne and Sturry Walk

Canterbury Circular 22.7km (14.1 miles)

Canterbury to Sturry 18.3km (11.4 miles)

Bekesbourne to Canterbury 16.7km (10.4 miles)

Bekesbourne to Sturry 12.3km (7.7 miles)

Sturry Circular 13.9km (8.6 miles)

Sturry Circular + ending in Canterbury 18.3km (11.4 miles)

Bekesbourne Circular 17.9km (11.1 miles)

Diversion to Ickham Adds 1.2km (0.7 miles)

2 out of 10: almost no hills

Landranger 179, Explorer 150

This is a beautiful walk through a quiet corner of Kent, taking in a series of ancient villages, each with a similarly ancient church and passing a series of charming rural pubs. The village of Wickhambreaux in particular is so quintessentially English that it might be a film set.

The terrain is most flat, with only a few gentle hills, but there are still some good views just after Stodmarsh. There walk has a variety of landscapes, from woods to arable fields, and from a farm growing strawberries in polytunnels to fields with grazing cattle.

Originally a Bekesbourne Circular walk, with a Sturry Circular option added later, this walk has now been extended to allow starting and finishing at Canterbury, though with the two original circular options still included. The merits of the various starts and finishes are discussed in Walk Options below

There are good displays of wood anemones in the woods before and after Fordwich in late March and early April, and these overlap mid April with plentiful quantities of bluebells, which last till early May.

This walk is also a delight for lovers of ancient churches, with no less than four passed on the main walk, and a fifth if you take the diversion to Ickham. Note the immense 13th century tithe barn next to Littlebourne church, apparently originally attached to a monastery, and in Wickhambreaux church don't miss the Tiffany-style art nouveau stained glass window. Stodmarsh church, meanwhile, has a wonderful ancient simplicity, and tiny crosses supposedly carved by knights on their way to the Crusades on the frame of its main door.

The main walk starts and finishes in Canterbury, including a walk through the historic centre of the city on the way out, and an exploration of its riverside area and back streets on the way back. You can either do the whole circular walk of 22.7km (1.14 miles) or end at Sturry, a distance of 18.3km (11.4 miles). Just up the road from Sturry is pretty Fordwich, which has two attractive pubs.

- Starting at Bekesbourne: this isolated rural station makes a good place to start: you get straight into the most attractive section of the walk. But it only has a slow hourly train service. From here it is 12.3km (7.7 miles) to Sturry (the prettiest section of the walk) or 16.7km (10.4 miles) to Canterbury.

- Sturry Circular: this option takes you through all the best bits of the walk in an 13.9km (8.6 mile) circuit. It includes further fine wood anemone woods in late March and early April which are not on the main walk. From Fordwich, near the end of the walk, you then have the option of carrying on to finish in Canterbury, making a walk of 18.3km (11.4 miles).

- Bekesbourne Circular: the directions for the original Bekesbourne Circular walk of 17.9km (11.1 miles) are still preserved in this document. Like the Sturry Circular walk, whose route it follows for a distance in the afternoon, this passes through some additional wood anemone woods in late March and early April, but then turns west through a large commercial apple farm, to Bekesbourne station. When it is open The Barn at Woolton Farm offers a possible drinks or tea stop towards the end of this walk (see Tea below): otherwise there is no refreshment option after Fordwich, the pub near Bekesbourne station having closed years ago (though you could stop off at Canterbury East on the train home and have tea there). The station platform only has a very basic bus-stop style shelter, and there is nowhere particularly nice to wait in the vicinity.

Canterbury is best reached on the high speed trains from St Pancras, which take one hour and which serve Canterbury West station, the starting point for this walk. Cheaper trains run from Victoria or Charing Cross/London Bridge, taking from 1 hour 30 minutes to over 2 hours. The Charing Cross/London Bridge trains serve Canterbury West but some Victoria trains go to Canterbury East: directions are also provided to and from this station

Bekesbourne is the stop beyond Canterbury East on the railway line from Faversham to Dover, and is served by hourly trains, taking 1 hour 40 minutes.

Sturry is the stop beyond Canterbury West on the line from Ashford to Ramsgate, and is served by hourly trains from Charing Cross and London Bridge, taking 1hr 48 minutes. However, you can also reach Sturry in 1hr 16 minutes by taking a high speed train out of St Pancras International, changing at Ashford.

If you want to start in Bekesbourne and finish in Sturry, a day return to one should be accepted from the other, as both are one stop beyond Canterbury and both served by Southeastern.

To have the best choice of lunch pubs, aim to start the walk by around 10.30 if starting from Canterbury West. If starting from Bekesbourne you will probably have no choice but a train arriving at around 11.45 and since this start is closest to the lunch pubs that is probably sufficient. For the Sturry Circular a 10.30 start to the walk gives you a bigger choice of lunch pubs, but an 11.30 start might well do..

The Rose Inn in Wickhambreaux was formerly one of the more charming pubs on this walk. It then became upmarket and rather expensive, and in April 2023 closed. It is not currently clear if there will be another tenant.

That leaves as the most convenient lunch pub on this walk, the Duke William in Ickham (01227 721 308), a capacious pub, with a garden overlooking fields, which is reached by a small extra diversion that adds 1.2km (0.7 miles) to the walk route. It is 11km (6.8 miles) from Canterbury, 5km (3.1 miles) from Bekesbourne and 6.6km (4.1 miles) into the Sturry Circular. A large gastro pub, it is open all afternoon daily (to 7pm on Sundays) and serves food 12-3pm and 5-9pm Monday to Saturdays, and 12-5pm on Sundays and bank holidays.

Set in a tranquil spot in a pretty and tranquil village, the Red Lion in Stodmarsh (01227 721 339) was until recently a very upmarket pub, but it closed in 2022 and was due to reopen in April 2023 as a pub offering "good traditional food". It is 13.4km (8.3 miles) from Canterbury, 7.4km (4.6 miles) from Bekesbourne, and 9km (5.6 miles) into the Sturry Circular.

The best picnic spots are probably on the green at Wickhambreaux (there is a nice bench) or in the churchyard at Stodmarsh.

Whether or not you are finishing the walk in Sturry, the two pubs in Fordwich, 17.7km (11 miles) from Canterbury, 11.7km (7.3 miles) from Bekesbourne, or 12.1km (7.5 miles) into the Sturry Circular, make excellent tea stops.

The more immediately obvious is the Fordwich Arms (01227 710 444) which has an attractive rear balcony and garden overlooking the tranquil River Stour. While it serves tea in proper pots, it does not do food between 2.30pm and 6pm, so you are forced back onto salty bar snacks. It is open Tuesday to Saturdays only, ie not Mondays or Sundays.

If you want a pudding with your tea, a better choice is the George and Dragon (01227 710 661), 120 metres down the road from the Fordwich Arms. It serves food all afternoon daily, and is a cosy and friendly pub with comfortable seating and a pleasant garden.

Canterbury has myriad tea, pub and restaurant options, too many to list here, but the walk route brings you out next to Patisserie Valerie, open tro 5.30pm daily. There are plenty of other options in the vicinity, particularly on the stretch of the High Street leading towards the Westgate (ie on the way to Canterbury West station).

On the Bekesbourne ending, The Barn at Woolton Farm (01227 250151) has a cafe serving tea, coffee, cake, cider, wine, pizzas and salads, open Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and bank holiday Mondays from April to October. Its website gives opening hours as to 11pm Friday to Saturday and 7pm Sunday and bank holiday Mondays, but whether this is for the cafe or other services, I am not sure. 

After the walk, please leave a comment, it really helps. Thanks!

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National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234

Jun-23 DAC Peter