Tonbridge Circular via Tudeley walk

A unique church, orchards and a country park of historical interest in the Garden of England.

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.

Date	Option	Post	#	Weather
Sat, 27-Jul-24		Tonbridge Circular via Tudeley	20	warm sunshine
Sat, 30-Dec-23		Tonbridge Circular via Tudeley	14	grey with some showers and drizzle
Thu, 29-Dec-22		Tonbridge Circular, via Tudeley	15	sun and cloud
Sat, 15-Feb-20	a	Tonbridge Circular via Tudeley with or without Capel extension (formerly Tonbridge to Hadlow)	5	dry to midday then wet
Sun, 23-Jun-19		– Chagall's windows and Hadlow's folly	7	hot
Wed, 20-Jun-18	a	The Medway Valley and Chagall's Windows: Tonbridge Circular or to Hadlow	7	sunny
Sun, 17-Sep-17		– An unusual church and a tall folly	9	dry and mild
Sat, 12-Dec-15	a	Saturday Second Walk - Marc Chagall windows and a multi-tiered Gothic Folly: Tonbridge Circular	10	overcast with bright and damp spells
Sat, 20-Jun-15		Midsummer meanders in the Medway Valley	21	cloudy but warm
Sat, 12-Jul-14		Tonbridge to Hadlow	10
Sat, 12-Jul-14	a	Tonbridge Circular

Sat, 27-Jul-24 : Tonbridge Circular via Tudeley 20

Margaret

Extra Walk 220 – Tonbridge Circular via Tudeley

Length: Main walk: 19¼ km (12.0 miles). Toughness: 2/10

10:04 Dover Priory train from Charing Cross (Waterloo East 10:07, London Bridge 10:13), arriving Tonbridge at 10:47

If you miss this, you could instead get the 10:15 Hastings train from Charing Cross (Waterloo East 10:18, London Bridge 10:24), arriving Tonbridge at 10:58 and catch up with the group along the route.

From south London you could alternatively take the 10.00 Tonbridge train from Redhill, which would get you to Tonbridge at 10:31.

Return trains to London: xx:03; xx:21; xx:33: xx:51 or to Redhill at xx:01

Buy a return ticket to Tonbridge

This gentle walk out of Tonbridge through parkland, farm fields and orchards should be at it's best at this time of the year, with its fields crops and the hedgerows in full bloom - expect blackberries. The beautiful 12 stained glass windows by Marc Chagall in Tudeley Church should not be missed.

Lunch: Poacher and Partridge (01732-358934) in the hamlet of Tudeley Hale is the recommended lunch time pub on the main walk route. It has a large back garden as well as a patio area at the front.

Tea: Lots of options on and around Tonbridge High Street including Wetherspoon'sThe Humphrey Bean, Nancy's Tea Rooms (01732-300401) in Lamberts Yard, Finch House Cafe and Bakery (01732 771775)

You'll need to bring the latest, revised directions from the L=swc.220 page.

Margaret

Sat, 27-Jul-24

It was tricky to count numbers as people scattered in various directions on arrival at Tonbridge, with some waiting for friends on the next train and others doing a short cut, others on even later trains, but at at guess I'd say 20 doing some version of this walk today in warm sunshine. If anyone managed to count, feel free to correct me.
The Poacher and Partridge was busy but had plenty of space outside and inside and people who ate there said food, drink and service were excellent.
I was hoping to catch this walk at it's best and the orchards and hedgerows were in full bloom. A few of the fields had been harvested though so it might be better to do this one in June or early July.
The large lake at Haysden Country Park was busy with fmilies and five of us baulked at walking around it, instead improvising a walk along the river and then back on the other side. I'd be tempted to do the loop out to Capel next time and omit Haysden Country Park next time.
Walker

Sat, 27-Jul-24

20
Walker

Sat, 27-Jul-24

warm sunshine

Sat, 30-Dec-23 : Tonbridge Circular via Tudeley 14

branchline

Length: up to 16½ km (10.3 miles), with shorter options. Toughness: 2/10

Train: 10:08 Hastings train from Charing Cross (Waterloo East 10:11, London Bridge 10:17 , arriving Tonbridge at 10:52 . I f this train is cancelled, then use the 9.59 and/or 10.16 trains to Tonbridge.

Return Trains : xx:07; xx:13; xx:37: xx:44

Ticket: Buy a return ticket to Tonbridge

Walk out of Tonbridge through parkland, farm fields and orchards. The beautiful stained glass windows by Marc Chagall in Tudeley Church Chagall windows should not be missed.

Lunch: Poacher & Partridge is the lunch time pub, but if this is too busy, you can have lunch on your return to Tonbridge which should only be about an hour’s walk from here.

Tea: Many lovely tearooms in Tonbridge, if you arrive in time.

Please see the full walk post for options on extending the walk if you wish and bearing in mind that possible flood prevention construction works in Haysden Country Park may have closed some paths.

You'll need to bring the directions from the L=swc.220 – clicking 'Main' on the Walk Options. This will cut out the directions for the Capel extension, which needs a longer day.

Walker

Sat, 30-Dec-23

Four got the specified train, which was a bit late. When we got to Tonbridge a fifth told us that nine others had got a slightly earlier train (also a bit late) and assumed that any walkers would have got that one instead. So off they shot. But 14 in all, it seems: a good turnout. The weather was less good than had been advertised: grey with some showers and drizzle
We five unwilling laggards decided to do a cunning shortcut to catch up with the others by cutting out the castle. But we became a bit navigationally challenged and only ended up seeing more of suburban Tonbridge than we needed to. Nevertheless two of us caught up with two from the main group mid morning, and we caught up with the others at the Chagall Church. The three other backmarkers caught us up at the lunch pub.
In keeping with the festive season there was no room at the inn - those who tried to book had been turned away. But we were allowed to eat in the bar area, which eight did, while four had drinks. Nice food as usual. We set off en masse after lunch and enjoyed a fine scrumping session in the mysteriously unpicked apple orchards.
Getting to downtown Tonbridge at 3pm there was defeatist talk of going straight to tea. But in the end I think everyone did at least part of the extra loop. Three did a walk round the park and went to Weatherspoons. The rest of us rounded Barden Lake and went to the Finch House cafe in the high street for a nice tea. We then got the busy 17.07 train, being rather surprised to get back to London so early.

Thu, 29-Dec-22 : Tonbridge Circular, via Tudeley 15

Sean

Extra Walk 220 – Tonbridge Circular, via Tudeley

Length: up to 16½ km (10.3 miles), with shorter options. Toughness: 2/10

10:08 Hastings train from Charing Cross (Waterloo East 10:11, London Bridge 10:17, Orpington 10:33), arriving Tonbridge at 10:52. If this is cancelled, there are other trains from Charing Cross to Tonbridge at 09:59 & 10:16.

There are four trains an hour back from Tonbridge (but not evenly spread out), at around xx:07, xx:11, xx:37 & xx:44.

After a rather tiresome trudge out of Tonbridge this is an undemanding walk through parkland, farm fields and orchards, with the world-famous Chagall windows in Tudeley church the highlight of the outward leg. A little further on the ‘Country Pub & Dining’ Poacher & Partridge should be able to provide a pub lunch for those who want one, but if it can't oblige it's less than an hour back to the eateries of Tonbridge.

You could end the walk here if you wish (12¼ km), but the directions include the option of a half-hour circuit around the Racecourse Ground (14½ km) or a longer loop out to Barden Lake (16½ km), where there's a park café. However, I wouldn't advise venturing any further into Haysden Country Park as some of the footpaths at its western end are likely to be closed because of ongoing construction work on the Leigh Flood Relief Barrier.

You'll need to bring the directions from the L=swc.220 – clicking 'Main' on the Walk Options heading line will cut out the directions for the Capel extension, which needs a longer day.

Walker

Thu, 29-Dec-22

Despite the best efforts of the walk creator to put us off by describing it as “not particularly scenic”, 15 turned up on this walk, enjoying a brightish day of sun and cloud , the sun increasing in the afternoon.
Setting off, we were denied the chance to do the loop around the castle, with one walker instead insisting on an urban short cut along the rail line. But once we got into open countryside the scenery was very pleasant - a mansion house, gentle views across the valley. Some slithery arable fields, yes, but nothing exceptional for this time of year.
All Saints Church was duly visited, with its very blue (or in one case, yellow) Chagall windows. They were...err…very nice. Definitely an enhancement to what would otherwise be a very dull interior.
For lunch, the Poacher and Partridge was very busy and initially could only offer two tiny bar tables, but then a bigger table by the window became free. All who wanted to eat inside thus got to do so; sandwichers and one hot mealer sat outside. Food came quickly and there was general satisfaction with its quality.
In the afternoon an orchard (still with a few apples) and a nice stretch along a quiet lane, with the sun dancing along the top of the hedgerow. Then urban paths along the somewhat swollen River Medway. Once in throbbing downtown Tonbridge at least nine of us opted to do the extra loop around Barden Lake. Six of us had a nice tea in the Finch House Cafe.

Sat, 15-Feb-20 : Tonbridge Circular via Tudeley with or without Capel extension (formerly Tonbridge to Hadlow) 5

Thomas G

Length: 25.0 km (15.5 mi) [19.3 km/12.0 mi w/o the extension]

Ascent/Descent: 190m [119m w/o the extension]

Net Walking Time: ca. 5 ½ hours [4 ½ w/o the extension].

Toughness: 5 out of 10 [3 out of 10 w/o the extension]

Take the 10.07 Hastings train from Charing Cross (W’loo East 10.10, LBG 10.16), arrives Tonbridge 10.58.

From Victoria take the 10.12 Ramsgate train via Bromley South, arrives Tonbridge 10.51, and wait.

Return trains : six per hour.

This - recently fully revised - varied walk takes in a low-lying area of parkland, farm fields, paddocks, orchards and a country park of historical interest in the Medway Valley around Tonbridge (pronounced Tunbridge: see Walk Notes). It is not a particularly scenic walk but it does include the chance to visit a unique church.

There is nothing remarkable about the exterior of All Saints, Tudeley: an old guidebook described it as “obscure and unfrequented”. Nowadays the reverse is true, because its twelve stained glass windows were all designed by the great 20^thC Russian artist, Marc Chagall. Initially commissioned by Sir Henry and Lady d'Avigdor-Goldsmid to create a single memorial window after the death of their daughter Sarah in 1963, Chagall was inspired to create windows for the entire church (as he had previously done for a synagogue in Jerusalem and a chapel in France). The final group of windows were dedicated in 1985, a few months after his death at the age of 98.

Tudeley's sister church at Capel is on the Long Walk route (see below). For understandable reasons St Thomas à Becket tends to be overlooked but it has a series of 13^thC wall paintings. The church is no longer used for regular services but is normally open from 10.00-16.00.

After a lunch stop in a country pub the walk loops back to Tonbridge, with the riverside route into the town centre being rather more appealing than the urban stretch at the start of the walk. The remainder of the afternoon is a loop through Haysden Country Park to the west of the town, a popular recreational area alongside the River Medway. Its most obvious features are the large fishing and sailing lakes created after sand and gravel extraction ceased in 1980, but closer inspection will reveal the chequered history of several attempts in the 19^thC to improve navigation on the river by altering its course and building canals.

Walk Options:

The shorter Main Walk has a Figure-of-8 shape and you can easily shorten both it and the Long Walk by cutting out some or all of the afternoon loop through Haysden. Several short cuts are described inside the Country Park but you could omit it altogether, either by looping around the large recreation ground or simply heading directly to the station.

A few other short cuts are mentioned in the directions. In particular you could take a more direct route out of Tonbridge at the start, although the most direct route would be an unappealing stretch along a busy main road.

If you wish to abandon the walk on its eastern loop there is an infrequent bus service (Mon–Sat) along the B2017, passing Tudeley church and the two crossing points on the Long Walk.

Lunch: The Dovecote Inn (9.0 km/5.6 mi, food to 14.00) in Capel on the long walk, or The Poacher & Partridge (8.0 km/5.0 mi, food all day) in Tudeley Hale, on the shorter Main Walk, plus more options for late lunch in Tonbridge before commencing the westerly loop of the route. See the webpage or the pdf for details.

Tea: Plenty options in Tonbridge. See the webpage or the pdf for details.

For walk directions, maps, height profiles, photos and gpx/kml files click here . T=swc.220.a

Swapped with Stargazer...

Sean

Mon, 03-Feb-20

If you would normally travel to Tonbridge via Redhill (eg. from the Croydon area), you probably know that the Redhill-Tonbridge line is out of action for several months because of a landslip at Godstone. The good news is that you can travel via London Bridge on the cheaper "Not via London" ticket while the line is closed. See https://www.southernrailway.com/travel-information/plan-your-journey/ for full information about alternative travel arrangements.
Anonymous

Fri, 14-Feb-20

the link appears to take you to the Bruton walk
Thomas G

Fri, 14-Feb-20

...so it did (that was the walk posting I had drafted b4 doing this posting)... correct now. Ta
Thomas G

Sat, 15-Feb-20

2 off the train, 2 already on the platform, 1 other on a later train, making use of the through-town-shortcut to catch us: 5
Lots of water, in various convenient or not so convenient ways: as the Medway River (muddy-brown and kind of full), mill streams, channels, backwaters, streams, ditches, drainage channels etc. or as standing water on paths or in underpasses, as impromptu lakes in meadows, or even in overflowing reservoirs (see below) or just as rain.
In reality, only one short bit was impassable: close to the start, the Racecourse Meadows, where an alternative route was easy to find. There was some mud of course, especially in the orchards and on arable fields, but neither deep nor clingy. The rain started at 12.45 and kind of didn't stop, the wind was kind of disappointing if you were expecting the hyped-up 'Storm Dennis' danger. There were some gusts that made trees sway and supplied a bit of an exciting soundtrack, but it was a very far cry from 70 km/h-difficult to stand up in-type storm winds, as some forecasts had it.
A record long time was spent at the "Marc Chagall-Church" in Tudeley to allow for diligent study of the stained glass windows. We then split up into 2 walking the Extension via Capel and 3 not doing that. Us 2 paced past the 1st pub on the extension, the George & Dragon, aiming for the recommended Dovecote Inn, studied the excellent wall paintings at the church in Capel and proceeded to the pub only to there find the Landlady tossing out soggy carpets and wet furniture from it: they had been flooded last Sunday when the previous named storm had passed through and were shut. Nearby Pembury Reservoir had overflowed, apparently...
On to the Poacher & Partridge then (fine views en route into the Medway Valley), where we arrived just in time to take over the table from the 3 others in the group. What a nice pub! Fireplace, busy but fast, good food, plenty of choice, capable and friendly staff.
Later the 2 of us somehow got separated and I walked the Haysden Country Park loop west of Tonbridge by myself. Enjoyable, but will be even more so in decent weather! All in, a good workout and nowhere near as bad (the weather) as forecast. In the end, there had been so much standing water that my boots were exceptionally clean! dry to midday then wet

Sun, 23-Jun-19 : – Chagall's windows and Hadlow's folly 7

Sean

Extra Walk 220 – Tonbridge to Hadlow (or back to Tonbridge)
Length: 17 km (10.6 miles) to Hadlow, or 24¼ km (15.1 miles) back to Tonbridge. Toughness: 2 or 3/10

09:55 Hastings train from Charing Cross (Waterloo East 09:58, London Bridge 10:04, Orpington 10:20), arriving Tonbridge at 10:40. Buy a return to Tonbridge.

If you finish the walk in Hadlow you'll need to catch the no.7 bus for the 20-minute journey back to Tonbridge. This runs half-hourly at xx:26 & xx:56 until 17:26. There are four fast trains an hour from Tonbridge to London Bridge and Charing Cross, at xx:07, xx:21, xx:37 & xx:49 (three an hour after 8pm).

This is an undemanding walk in the Medway valley east of Tonbridge, with some unusual features: a church with world-famous windows to visit in the morning, a striking folly dominating the landscape and some (free) landscaped gardens at the end of the walk.

If you don't want a pub lunch at the Dovecote Inn you could have a picnic in Capel churchyard and then take the shortcut described in the text, saving 2¼ km. That would ensure you get to Hadlow in good time for the tearoom at Broadview Gardens, which closes at 4pm on Sundays. Alternatively, you could just get the first available bus and look for somewhere in Tonbridge.

You'll need to bring the directions from the Tonbridge to Hadlow walk page. If you won't be completing a Circular Walk back to Tonbridge you can click the word 'Main' on the Walk Options heading to save a sheet or two of paper. T=swc.220

Anonymous

Tue, 09-Jul-19

7 on a hot day.

Wed, 20-Jun-18 : The Medway Valley and Chagall's Windows: Tonbridge Circular or to Hadlow 7

Thomas G

Length: 24.2 km (15.1 mi) [or 17.0 km/10.6 mi to Hadlow]

Net Walking Time: ca. 5 ¾ hours [or 4 hours to Hadlow]

Toughness: 3 out of 10 [or 2 out of 10 to Hadlow]

10.00 Tunbridge Wells train from Charing Cross (W’loo East 10.03, LBG 10.09), arrives Tonbridge 10.46.

Return trains: plenty .

This walk takes in both sides of the River Medway to the east of Tonbridge (pronounced Tunbridge: see Walk Notes), a low-lying area of meadows, farm fields, orchards and hop gardens. The scenery is pleasant rather than dramatic and features two highly unusual features: a unique church and a striking folly.

Tudeley's sister church is also on the walk route. For understandable reasons St Thomas à Becket tends to be overlooked but it has a series of 13^thC wall paintings. The church is no longer used for regular services but is normally open 10.00-16.00.

Throughout the walk there are occasional glimpses of its other main feature, rising high above the landscape. There can be few stranger sights on a Home Counties walk than this multi-tiered Gothic folly, taller than Nelson's Column. Hadlow Tower was built in 1838 by William Barton May as an embellishment to his equally eccentric father's extravagant house in Strawberry Hill Gothic style (“the most singular looking thing I ever saw” according to William Cobbett). Much of Hadlow Castle was demolished in 1951 but fortunately the Tower was saved; after a local campaign it has now been beautifully restored.

The walk passes Hadlow's other attraction, Broadview Gardens (free entry). This is a collection of small landscaped gardens designed by successive generations of horticultural students at Hadlow College.

Walk Options : You can bypass the recommended lunch stop, the Dovecote Inn, by taking a shortcut which saves 2¼ km, or you can finish the walk in Hadlow and take a bus to Tonbridge (frequent service).

Lunch: The Dovecote Inn in Capel (8.7 km/5.4 mi, food to 14.00). Plus other options, see the webpage or the pdf for details.

Tea en route : Broadview Gardens Tea Room.

Tea in Tonbridge : Finch House Café and Bakery or The Humphrey Bean (Wetherspoon’s).

For walk directions, summary, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here . T=swc.220.a

Anonymous

Tue, 19-Jun-18

Hi. Walk sounds great. New to group and U.K. Any advice on how to buy cheapest train ticket? Have Net Card. Thank you.
Anonymous

Tue, 19-Jun-18

Just use your network rail card and get a return when you buy - all midweek walk trains start after 10am so you can get the network railcard discount.
Rich
PeteG

Sun, 24-Jun-18

7 An enjoyable sunny little outing, with a pleasant pub where we met a granddad & grandchild on a day out. Two lingered over lunch. After tea in the garden centre cafe (lovely setting if you are outside), 2 went off to walk to Tonbridge, 3 went round the gardens & then got the bus.

Sun, 17-Sep-17 : – An unusual church and a tall folly 9

Sean

Extra Walk 220 – Tonbridge to Hadlow (or back to Tonbridge)
Length: 17 km (10.6 miles) to Hadlow, or 24¼ km (15.1 miles) back to Tonbridge. Toughness: 2 or 3/10

09:40 Dover train from Charing Cross (Waterloo East 09:43, London Bridge 09:50, Orpington 10:07), arriving Tonbridge at 10:25. Buy a return to Tonbridge.

If you finish the walk in Hadlow you'll need to catch the hourly no.7 bus back to Tonbridge, at 15:09, 16:11 or 17:11 (last bus). There are four fast trains an hour from Tonbridge to London Bridge and Charing Cross, at 08, 21, 38 & 49 minutes past (three an hour after 8pm).

This is an undemanding walk in the Medway valley east of Tonbridge, with the apple orchards you would expect to find in the ‘Garden of England’ but also some unusual features: a church with world-famous windows to visit in the morning, a striking folly and some (free) landscaped gardens at the end of the walk. There's a nice lunch pub but the tearoom in Hadlow closes at 4pm on Sundays, so you might prefer to get the first available bus and look for somewhere in Tonbridge.

You'll need to print the directions from the Tonbridge to Hadlow Walk page. If you're not planning on doing the extended walk you can click the word 'Main' on the Walk Options heading to save a sheet or two of paper. T=swc.220

Anonymous

Sat, 16-Sep-17

Other pubs on or near the walk route are the Queen's Head (01892-832073) in Five Oak Green (but closed Mon–Wed lunchtimes), the Bell Inn (01732-851748) in Golden Green, and the Two Brewers (01732-850267) in Hadlow.
Anonymous

Mon, 18-Sep-17

9_or_10 dry and mild . A very pleasant walk and dry underfoot so it was easy going, even though some of the fields had recently been ploughed. The windows in Tudeley church are wonderful. Those having a pub lunch stopped in Capel and a few of us had tea in Hadlow, some catching the bus from there while others strolled on into late afternoon sunshine.

Sat, 12-Dec-15 : Saturday Second Walk - Marc Chagall windows and a multi-tiered Gothic Folly: Tonbridge Circular 10

Thomas G

SWC Walk 220a – Tonbridge Circular (via Hadlow)

Length: 24.3 km (15.1 mi)

Ascent/Descent: 150 m; Net Walking Time: ca. 5 ¼ hours

Toughness: 4 out of 10

or
Tonbridge to Hadlow

Length: 17.0 km (10.6 mi)

Ascent/Descent: 125 m; Net Walking Time: ca. 3 ¾ hours

Toughness: 2 out of 10

Take the 09.10 Ramsgate train from Charing Cross (09.13 Waterloo East, 09.42 Sevenoaks), arriving Tonbridge at 09.50;
or the 09.03 Tunbridge Wells train from Cannon Street (09.07 London Bridge, 09.26 Orpington, 09.36 Sevenoaks), arriving Tonbridge at 09.46. (Fast) return trains are 6 per hour.

If finishing in Hadlow, you will need to take a bus (Arriva 7/77/147) to Tonbridge (every 20 minutes or so up to 18.00 hours, then less frequently up to 19.43).

This walk takes in both sides of the River Medway to the east of Tonbridge, a low-lying area of meadows, farm fields, orchards and hop gardens. The scenery is pleasant rather than dramatic but the walk benefits from two highly unusual features: a unique church and a striking folly. All Saints, Tudeley ’s twelve stained glass windows were all designed by the Russian artist, Marc Chagall. The final group of windows were only dedicated in 1985, a few months after his death at the age of 98. Tudeley's sister church, St. Thomas a Becket , is also on the walk route, it has a series of 13 wall paintings.

Throughout the walk there are occasional glimpses of its other main feature, rising high above the landscape, a multi-tiered Gothic folly, taller than Nelson's Column: Hadlow Tower , built by William Barton May as an embellishment to his equally eccentric father's extravagant house in Strawberry Hill Gothic style. Much of Hadlow Castle was demolished in 1951 but the Tower was saved. Hadlow's other attraction, Broadview Gardens, is passed as well (free entry).

The suggested lunch stop is the Two Brewers in Hadlow (16.0 km/10.0 mi).

For walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here. There will be mud, there may be flood: bring your gaiters.

T=swc.220.a

L=swc.220

Anonymous

Tue, 08-Dec-15

You can also shorten this walk by leaving out Hadlow and following the route of walk 3-219 from just after Golden Green to Tonbridge. If you do this, you'll still get good views of the Hadlow Tower over your shoulder as you head back to Tonbridge.
Kelda

Sat, 12-Dec-15

10
overcast with bright and damp spells
Plenty of mud as promised, but not enough to cause distress!
10 off the train at Tonbridge. Lovely morning wandering through paths at fields. The stunning stained glass windows at All Saints Tudeley were admired, as were the wall paintings at St Thomas a Becket.
We attempted lunch at the Bell Inn at Golden Green, but the lovely new landlady informed us the chef doesn't start until January. We had a few light refreshments anyway.
The main group caught up with the short-cutters at the lunch pub in Hadlow having done a brief detour to admire Hadlow Tower.
The remainder of the walk followed the river Medway, leading us back to a very nice tea room on the high street in Tonbridge just before sunset.
Another lovely day out.
Thomas G

Sat, 12-Dec-15

Finch House Cafe and Bakery (and healthy salads and sandwiches etc.) that was. On the High Street. Really nice place. Also in Orpington, apparently: http://www.finchhouse.co.uk/

Sat, 20-Jun-15 : Midsummer meanders in the Medway Valley 21

Walker

SWC Walk 220 - Tonbridge to Hadlow
Length: 17km (10.6 miles) with longer option of 24.3km (15.1 miles)
Toughness: 2 out of 10

9.33 train from Cannon Street (9.37 London Bridge), arriving Tonbridge at 10.16

OR

9.40 train from Charing Cross (9.43 Waterloo East) arriving Tonbridge at 10.20

If you miss the above, get the 9.45 from Charing Cross, arriving Tonbridge 10.27

Buy a day return to Tonbridge.

For walk directions click here.

New walks appear on our website regularly these days and it is a little hard to keep up with them all. This one had an outing last July and appears not to have been given an airing since. (Note that this is not the same walk as SWC 219 Hildenborough to Hadlow and Tonbridge, done last October, though it obviously is in similar territory).

The map shows few contours on the route, so I am guessing it is not demanding in terms of gradients. It apparently boasts lots of meadows which can be rather dreamy at this time of year, and seems to have a fair quota of pubs for those who want to fill up the (nearly) longest day of the year with some pleasant rural drink and chat.

Lunch is a little over 8km/5 miles in, though there seem to be other possible options before and after. Tea, if you can get there before 5pm, at the tea room of Broadview Gardens in Hadlow. The village also has a large tower, built as an aristocratic folly, which you see rising above the fields as you approach, and the walk has two interesting churches, one decorated by Mark Chagall.

The standard version of the walk takes a no 7 or 77 bus from Hadlow back to Tonbridge. These run at 02, 24 and 42 past until 17.42, then 18.35, 18.47, 18.55, 19.43, 20.46, 21.46 and 22.56.

Alternatively if you really want to make the best of the (nearly) longest day, an optional 7.3km (4.5 mile) extension to the walk takes you back to Tonbridge. This is the 24.3km (15.1 mile) version of the walk.

Trains back from Tonbridge are too frequent to enumerate - every 10 minutes or so.

moose4711

Thu, 18-Jun-15

anyone participating? I am thinking of joining in from Waterloo
Walker

Thu, 18-Jun-15

I know several who are going on this walk, don't worry.
Walker

Sun, 21-Jun-15

Saturday 20 June 2015: 21 on this walk, cloudy but warm with only occasional spots of rain. This lowland walk more than once wandered into Essex-like big flat arable fields territory (though with no electricity pylons) but overall had enough charming corners and points of interest to sustain interest.
In particular we were all enthused about the church with the Marc Chagal stained-glass windows, which is definitely worth seeing. I also reflected that the lush meadows and verges on this walk would have looked wonderful a couple of weeks back when the spring flowers were full out.
The lunch pub, the Dovecote, was excellent too, and coped calmly with us all arriving unexpectedly. The Hadlow Tower kept out of sight till the last minute, but there was a fine view of it as one walked away from the village, for those of us who did the full circular walk.
After tea in Broadview Gardens I would estimate that at least a dozen opted to make the most of the (nearly) longest day by finishing the walk back to Tonbridge. Glimmers of light in the western skies suggested we might get rewarded with a fine summer's evening. Alas, the reverse was true, and it started to rain lustily from around 6.30pm onwards. But still it was satisfying to see the slightly parched ground getting a good solid drink.