No need to change at Tonbridge. Stay on the 10.10 train from Charing Cross to Paddock Wood, arrive 10.58. The Yalding train then leaves from the same platform at 11.11

Ten assembled on the platform at Yalding, three or four having done the same platform change at Paddock Wood, the rest the footbridge hike at Tonbridge. Those of us at Paddock Wood experienced a somewhat chilly breeze, but this soon faded away and the day was essentially sunny; lovely golden sun .

After the village of Yalding this walk climbs up onto the escarpment and the lovely views from this were with us much of the day. Apart from some sloes there were no plums to be had, but the branches in the commercial orchards were groaning with plump red apples. One walker boldly picked one in full view of a house; the rest of us sampled more discreetly from an escapee hedgerow tree nearby. Cores were thrown into the hedgerow further on to create more escapee trees.

When this walk was done in similar weather in April, I was cruelly disappointed that no one wanted to stop for lunch at the Bull in Linton, with its terrace perched over a gorgeous valley view. But today I finally got my wish. Seven of us had a leisurely, sun-drenched lunch with very creditable food. Four presumably had sandwiches somewhere and were lost to history.

In the afternoon we made a stop to see the view from Boughton Monchelsea churchyard and were rewarded with a grandstand view of the fallow deer rut going on in the park below. The males with their implausibly large antlers, strutted and roared and occasionally bullied a hapless younger male. The females chewed the grass in apparent indifference.

Later, at the goat sanctuary, the entire flock came over to inspect us, suggesting the “Do not feed the goats” signs on the fence are often ignored.

On we went in the slanting sunshine, the ancient churches ticking by like mileposts. We got to Sutton Valence at 4.45pm, conveniently missing the bus, which gave us time to fluster the staff in the King’s Arms by ordering one tea…no, two…or in fact five, plus beer and wine, before getting the 17.29 bus and 17.45 train from Headcorn.

You think I have forgotten to provide an official tally for this walk, but I have not. One walker arrived at the pub having missed the train and started an hour later. She makes it 11.

You can usually buy special food within the sanctuary to feed the goats, so I guess they are used to being fed by unfamiliar hands.

Great walking options. Cheers. Only one pub (at best) will be open in SV, with basic food. Last time I was there dogs had left deposits in the small garden some time before. No pub these days in Harrietsham.

The Pepper Box, it seems, will be open, but shuts between 3 and 6. Good food.

The Pepper Box is indeed a lovely pub, and it has a generous amount of outside tables. But starting from Yalding it is 12.8 miles into the walk... However, if you started from Harrietsham (for which directions/GPX are provided in the Sutton Valence to Pluckley walk document), you could maybe have a late lunch there and then join the others for the second half of the walk.

I concur that there is nothing to be hoped for on the refreshment front if finishing in Harrietsham. Definitely a member of the "Aylesbury Club" of places with pretty names which are actually more than a bit disappointing... Time your arrival there carefully so as not to be waiting around a long time for the hourly train.

Those for whom "stepping lively" is a bit of a strain early in the morning, might care to get the 9.10 train from Charing Cross (9.13 Waterloo East, 9.19 London Bridge) to Paddock Wood, arriving 9.58, where you have a languid 13 minutes to wait on the same platform for the Yalding train, which departs at 10.11. In fact, I personally see no reason to get the 9.15 (etc) train at all, unless you arrive at the station at the very last minute...

Plenty of good places in Aylesbury...

As the weather should be good and the Harrietsham walk was recently offered I assume most will be doing the full 20 miles?

I have to travel into London to catch trains. I should like to catch the 10.15 Hastings train boarding at 10.18 at Waterloo East changing quickly at Tonbridge to Platform 1 which was the listed train last week for the Yalding to Borough green and allows plenty of time. Would anyone like to join me on the short walk? Am happy to read the instructions but anyone with a good battery for GPS would be most welcome.

I have deviated from the recommendation of National Rail and updated the train times to allow for a longer connection time at Paddock Wood....but if you miss the 9:10 -- the 9:15 should also work, if you move quickly....

Sorry can’t make any trains this weekend due to engineering works

9 assembled on the platform in Yalding from the specified train under beautiful clear blue skies . The day could not have been better for a long walk. The apple blossom was just starting to come out - some trees had a few flowers others were covered with red buds and some further behind....After an initial climb the route spends the day high on a ridge with fine views....For a first, no one ate at lovely Bull Inn....but picnicked instead at various places en route. Two of us felt duty bound to sample the offerings at a new microbrewery a very short distance from the route....Everyone reconnected in the lovely garden of the Queens Head in Sutton Valence for a drink after which 3 caught the bus to Headcorn and six set off onwards...Given the perfect conditions 2 opted for the long haul to Pluckley, arriving at 8pm with time for a drink at the Derring Arms where we met one of the Harrietsham finishers before catching the 8:38. A mighty fine day out!

Nine....of which one was left behind by the others, greyhounds all, who sped off into the distance (To be fair, one later waited for me, but I had stopped to buy an extra sandwich in Yalding, which held me up a bit...)....

Sigh... I had looked forward to happy chat in glorious scenery at a wonderful time of year, but I suppose two out of three ain't bad. As it was, I reflected that no lover of nature is alone in the countryside in April. I enjoyed the company of butterflies and stitchwort and dandelions. I listened to the birdsong. I looked at the different ways the leaves come out on every tree. I found a quite rare little parasitic plant called toothwort. I discovered some nice bluebell woods just off the route that I did not know existed (and I wrote the walk): some good showings of the flowers in these. Only a very chilly Easterly breeze dampened my spirits, though out of it, it was as warm as toast.

The painful part of the walk was passing the Bull in Linton. Reader (does anyone in fact read these things?), never was there such a day for having lunch at the Bull!! It has a huge outside terrace with a mouthwatering view and was sheltered from the wind. I had anticipated a lingering lunch there, putting the world to rights with a group of eclectic SWC-ers under the implacable sun. But there was no great attraction in sitting there alone, and possibly having to wait a while for meal. So I grudgingly, regretfully, trudged on.

On this next section, two of the fast walkers overtook me. I still have not worked out the logistics of this. We talked for a while, but I had an appointment with the rather dry cheese sandwich I had bought in Yalding, and I stopped at Boughton Monchelsea churchyard (where an SWC walk poster's ancestors are buried) to eat it.

Later, in Sutton Valence, I caught up with the group in the much improved garden of the Queen's Head. They were just setting off for their various adventures, however, so I was again alone for the extension to Harrietsham. I had a second tea in the churchyard with the immense carpet of primroses (fading now, but still good) and a little later am 90% sure I heard a bullfinch (it was singing for quite a long time).

Enticing cooking smells were wafting out of the Pepper Pot, one of my favourite pubs as I passed it, but the sun was by now getting a bit low and the temperature dropping. I crossed the coppiced woodland, which looked as if a meteor had hit it due to recent logging, but which had a good display of wooden M's. In Harrietsham, I had to chose between a lovely oilseed rape field, fully out, in the contemplation of which I could have happily whiled away the 50 minutes to the next train very happily, or popping into Ashford on the train and out again to Pluckley hook up with the long walkers. I did the latter. We had wine on the train.

Hi. Where is the microbrewery, and the mystery bluebell wood? Great reports - thank you.

Many thanks Walker for the walk report feedback. I will be doing this walk independently on Friday and will try the outside space at the recommended pub for lunch.

Cracking walk. Fine lunchtime pub.

YALDING TO SUTTON VALANCE OR HARRIETSHAM

24 on this walk (someone correct me if I’m wrong)and cloudy but not cold .

I’ve forgotton what a pretty walk this is with fantastic views throughout. Walked past ever so many apple orchards (as advertised) with trees laden with claret coloured apples, and the ground littered with fallen ones. Another orchard which had been harvested, smelled of cider (due to fallen and decaying apples) and a plum orchard just before the lunchtime pub. Also passed by a huge pumpkin field. One walker mentally calculated that there were 90,000 pumpkins in that field.

I think nearly everyone had either lunch or post picnic drinks in the The Bull in Linton sitting on their patio with more lovely views. A walker dropped their walking pole down from the patio, but luckily it was rescued from a patch of brambles and nettles by another walker and helpful member of staff.

Most of us got the bus from Sutton Valence to Headcorn, where the majority stopped for tea and bear in the George and Dragon, and then onto catch the train. I’m not sure if anyone did the extension to Harrietsham.

This is a really lovely spring and autumn walk.

At least two went on to Harrietsham. The highlights were:a strawberry plantation, two epic yews outside another ancient church, a chat with a spry 91 year old lady, and coffee at the Pepper Box. The barely functional Roebuck in Harrietsham (oddly,neat red napkins on the tables though they don't do food anymore)is soon to cease functioning, to be replaced by an Indian restaurant. If you stop to dine at the Pepper Box (opens at 6),leave an hour to get to Harrietsham train station, unless you're a fast walker. Thanks to Walker for posting.

It is worth mentioning, I think, that this is an excellent apple blossom walk, passing through a number of commercial apple orchards, which should be in full bloom. It also passes a series of ancient churches in the afternoon.

Perhaps the apple blossom will make a difference, but the Sutton Valence to Harrietsham stretch is largely dull, aside from one yew.

I have to disagree with the last comment. You may have done the walk before when it took another route to Harrietsham. I changed it last year to follow the very pretty Greensand Way route to the Pepper Box Inn (a lovely pub if you get to it after 6pm). Only after that is the route slightly less charming - a big area of coppiced woodland and then some arable fields. Harrietsham itself is a bit dull, though the pub there is pleasant enough.

Did anyone do this walk on Saturday?

Hi. Could you clarify, please, if there is a rail replacement bus on the way to Yalding? Thanks for scheduling this walk.

No. The bus replacement is only for the return from Headcorn, if you should chose not to walk to Harrietsham. There is no bus replacement on the way to Yalding

Thank you very much, Walker.

On another gloriously sunny day , a glorious turnout of at least 26 on this walk (“at least” because we had some “pop-ups” joining us after we left the station: I have only counted those I definitely know about). To put this tally in context, this has only twice been exceeded on a Sunday walk since I started keeping records in September 2011. So well done to Stargazer for a stellar performance.

Well done too to Mr Greensand for giving us a wonderful walk along his Way. This is a beautiful slice of Kent at any time with its regular “villages perchés” and ancient churches, with its fine escarpment views and apple orchards, but add in a whole treescape of fresh green leaves, lots of verge flowers and butterflies, fields of yellow oilseed and shy patches of bluebells, plus, yes, quite a bit of apple blossom even if it was not yet full out, and this was a constant delight for the senses.

The same might be said about lunch in the garden of the Bull pub, with its jaw-dropping view of the plains below (the herds of wildebeest, the elegant giraffes...). Not being a Sunday regular, I was entranced by the carvery and the all-you-can-load-onto-your-plate veg. A man could get used to this.....

After a garden tea in the King’s Arms in Sutton Valence, a clear majority of the group, I think, went on to do the extension. Scenically more of the same, with more fine views and an encounter with a truly mountainous yew. Alas, the Pepper Box pub is closed on Sunday evenings but some of us sampled the Rutland in Harrietsham. A smart place with nice seating areas and efficient service, and if we were rather different from their usual clientele, they concealed their surprise at that very well.

Ps:

One minor correction, it was the Roebuck Inn in Harrietsham...

How about some consistency? Last Thursday's walk report called it 5 walkers on that walk when in fact there were 7, but the reporter doesn't count the ones that only did small parts of the route. In total contrast, this walk report counts the 20 people on the platform (the number as told by several usually reliable people that were there), adds all of the 3-4 walkers that had driven to the lunch pub, some of whom are said to have then walked parts of the route near the lunch pub, and pumps it up to "at least 26"...

Scuse me, but I COUNTED the number of people on the platform at Yalding TWICE and WROTE THE NUMBER DOWN and there were 23. The "several usually reliable people" were chatting to their friends when I did this.

I can only speak for the walks I am on, but on those I am the only person who deliberately and specifically counts those present and as anyone who knows me can attest I usually repeat the count two or three times to be sure. Then I put pen to paper and record it.

I said "at least" 26 because I did NOT count those who drove to the lunch pub, only three people who joined us fairly early on during the walk and who I definitely knew went on to walk the rest of it, or at least a significant bit of it.

I take the latter part of the count quite seriously. Joining the walk party for lunch is not enough, but doing the morning walk and then taking a short cut or a bus back to London for an evening event or somesuch is. The question is, did the person turn up with the intention of doing a reasonable portion of the walk. Fyi, back in January we had a long discussion on the way back from the Portsmouth to Hayling Island walk about whether a walker who we recognised at the station but who walked off without joining the group was on the walk or had just happened to be at the station on the same day as us doing his own thing. I argued the latter case but was overruled by everyone else in the group and so added him, reluctantly, to the count.

Whoever you are, I look forward on some future walk to you joining me in the count at the start of the walk and discussing any additions with you. The more data the better. But on this walk there were "at least 26" and I would happily swear to the same in court (where, incidentally notes taken at the time have strong weight in evidence over hearsay).

On the walk comments page there's mention of an alternative to finish at Maidstone. You'll need a map though.

Would anyone be interested in finishing at Maidstone?

10 on this classic Indian Summer day . The walk is primarily along the Greensand (glauconite) Way just to the south of it's big brother the North Downs Way. Walkers were treated to great views of the Weald/Medway Valley to the south and endless orchards of ripened apples nestling on the southern slopes. A huge field of pumpkins provided an interlude, ripened and ready for Halloween I guess. Lunch was at the Bull at Linton with more stunning views from the rear garden and (I think) very reasonable food. Onward to Boughton Monchelsea church and Buttercups Goat Sanctuary after lunch, passing workers picking apples in the later orchards. Some ventured on to do the Harrietsham extension whilst the less intrepid caught buses to Headcorn Station. A great pre-equinox outing on a Golden (dare I say) Autumn day

Just to report back on the route from Sutton Valence into Maidstone, this was much nicer than I expected and mainly along footpaths and into Maidstone Park. The route took me past the impressive building of SV School, through bluebells and pine woods, orchards and strawberry feilds, through to Otham and past Stone Acre national trust then along a footpath to Mote Park in Maidstone. I think this leg would make a nice addition to this walk. I forgot to record the route on my GPS but I think it was about 7KM.

The long walkers must all have been in West Sussex as of the 14 starters only Daisy Roots was tempted to extend this walk (with what sounds like a nice route into Maidstone). The main walk is a scenic stretch of the Greensand Way with more variety than you might expect: not just apple, pear and plum orchards but wildflower meadows, a deer park, goat sanctuary and interesting churches. A cold and overcast morning had brightened up enough by 1.30pm for the pub lunchers to enjoy the views from the Bull Inn's terrace, with efficient bar service and good food. Some of the picnickers who carried on almost made the 3.40 bus and shared a taxi, but most caught the 5pm after refreshment in the King's Head: an unprepossessing exterior but another friendly welcome and tea served in pots.

I'll do a GPX/KML file of the route that I took and put it on the website.

I managed to make this walk an hour after everyone else.It is a lovely walk once you climb up beyond Yalding. However at the time I was passing the orchards the farmer was spraying insecticides. Something to bear in mind.

jfk

With train arriving to Yalding at 11.19 am, do you think it is doable to walk the extended version, so circa 15 miles before the sunset? I would be interested in completing longer walk as long as I don’t have to use torches… Thanks, Bozena

Sunset is at 16:56 so you'd have about 6 hours of daylight before you'd need to use a torch. If you have a one hour lunch stop you'd need to keep up a fairly brisk pace of around 3mph for the whole walk, including hill climbs, stopping to work out the directions, etc. Not impossible, but too much for me!

As the walk instructions advise, I would strongly counsel getting the 10.10 train from Charing Cross, (10.13 Waterloo East) and changing at Paddock Wood (arrive 10.58, depart 11.11 - both trains from the same platform). This saves you having to hare across the footbridge to make the connection at Tonbridge.

Only if you miss the 10.10 is it worth getting the 10.15.

Wonderful walk with almost no mud

Judas Slip

19 on this walk. I confess that I had wondered whether it was a good idea to do a walk along an escarpment on a day of strong wind but no rain but in fact the wind never proved particularly troubling, and for considerable sections there were lines of trees to give us shelter. Otherwise, lovely views to the south and dry paths underfoot - a very pleasant winter walk. Several walkers suggested we do it again in autumn when we could scrump apples from the copious orchards (criminal activity that of course I could not possibly endorse).

Lunch was once again slow in coming. Having been warned of our coming, the Bull in Linton wrapped itself in knots, insisting on taking orders at the table not the bar - which added about 20 minutes to the proceedings - and then taking a long time to produce the food for some of the diners. On the plus side they were friendly and the food was worth waiting for, and we still finished the walk in daylight, so what the hey?

A comprehensive tour of the three pubs in Sutton Valence found that the Kings Arms was the best of the bunch. One senses that tea orders are not something they are used to, but they produced nice pots of the stuff. Some of us also tried the Clothworkers Arms and found possibly the last traditional boozer in the south east - sport on the TV, a pool table and darts board occupying most of the floor space, and no hot drinks. The outside terrace looked like it would be nice in summer, though, with a magnificent view. The Queen's Arm was full of sports fans, though has done tea in the past.

Four of us eventually decamped to the much more congenial George and Dragon in Headcorn for a lovely dinner.

PS As far as I know, no one carried on to Harrietsham, but if anyone did, please post a report.