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The Castle Inn, Chiddingstone
WALK 4 - Chiddingstone to Chiddingstone Causeway Walk
This is our longest circular walk linking Chiddingstone, Penshurst, Charcott
& Chiddingstone Causeway (Penshurst Station)
About 8 miles – 2¾ hours - with break points ‘:^) possible at Penshurst – about 2½ miles, Charcott – about 5½ miles and Chiddingstone Causeway / Penshurst Station -about 6¼ miles.
First head east out of Chiddingstone with St Mary’s on your left. Pass the footpath on the right to the Chiding Stone, unless you fancy a short diversion, and take the footpath on the right just beyond the Rectory drive. The path, fenced on both sides, passes under chestnut trees and rises gently to the sports ground on the left at the top of the hill. Do not take the gated entry into the sports ground on your left but continue straight on to a stile into a field.
Cross the field to a small copse and turn 90 degrees left crossing another stile through a hedge and slightly downhill keeping a small stream on your right until you reach a road. Join the road and turn right crossing the stream on the road then immediately left onto a footpath that follows the stream. Cross two stiles and a ditch before reaching a hump backed footbridge over the river Eden. The other side of the bridge the path bears right for a few yards before turning uphill through the edge of a small copse towards a pair of Dutch barns. Cross a farm track and, keeping the hedge on your right, you will come to a stile and some steps descending to a road. Taking care of the traffic turn right following the road.
½ a mile into Penshurst village centre ‘:^). There are tearooms in the village. Turn left along the road at the T-junction passing the Leicester Arms on your right. Climb the steps to your left into Leicester Square under a half-timbered, tile-hung house into the churchyard of St John the Baptist. This Leicester Square is far more peaceful than its namesake in London and, despite its apparent age, was largely created by the architect George Devey in the latter years of the 19th century. Pass through the churchyard with the church on your right, go through a ‘kissing-gate’ into Penshurst Park with fine views of the west front of Penshurst Place on your right behind the ‘ha ha’ ( a bank and low wall designed to keep animals out of the gardens without obstructing the view ). Keep heading roughly north crossing a driveway with two ‘squeeze’ stiles, and the fenced Penshurst Park Cricket Ground on your right. Turn back here to see the north front of Penshurst Place. Bear slightly right of a new avenue of trees – planted to replace a Tudor avenue and to commemorate the millennium – pass through another ‘squeeze’ stile, turn immediately right and, keeping a newly planted copse and the lake on your right, pass through yet another squeeze stile. To your left you will see the remains of a very old oak, probably some 500 years old and still alive in parts. Turning half right here, and up a slight rise, follow an avenue of Spanish chestnuts to a stile and gate. Passing over, or through, continue up a broad woodland walk to the crest of the hill where there is a fine view back towards Penshurst and across the Medway valley. A number of paths converge here and you should be sure to leave by the path bearing only slightly to the right of the path on which you first climbed the hill – bearing NNE. This path heads downhill through a broad woodland walk with an avenue of elderly London plane trees. At the bottom of the hill the path narrows and follows a rutted track rising gently through conifers to a gate with a stile and holly bush to the left. Go over the stile and turn half left reaching a road in about 100 yards. On reaching the road turn left and immediately right down a narrow lane called Cinder Hill – a relic of the Wealden iron industry. Passing Cinder Hill Farm on your left continue down the lane until it turns sharp right and crosses the railway line. Do not cross the line here but keep straight on down a driveway signed to Little Moorden. At Little Moorden you can keep straight on and save about 1¼ miles by passing through Moorden Farm crossing the road with a slight zigzag right then left following a small stream to the river Eden.
Follow the river upstream to Vexour bridge and then taking the road uphill to Larkins and on to Chiddingstone village. If you do not want the shortcut turn right at Little Moorden, keeping a hedgerow on your left, and rise up to the railway line which is crossed in a slight cutting with stiles either side and steps down to the line. Watch out for trains! Once over the railway line keep straight ahead, with Charcott football pitch on your right, up to a road and stile. Turn left along the road and shortly cross over taking the signed footpath on the right crossing two fields and a stile. On reaching another road turn left and then right into Charcott and the Greyhound pub for refreshment; ‘?’ or keep on this road until you reach another path to your left. This path, which is in Tarmac, crosses what was once Penshurst airfield, London’s first ‘stand-by’ airport when Croydon was fogbound, and last used as an emergency landing strip and spotter plane base in the second world war 1939/45.
This path joins the road opposite St Luke’s church; the only Church of England church designed by John Francis Bentley who also designed Westminster Cathedral. Turn right here down the road to the Little Brown Jug pub on your right ‘?’ and Penshurst station – in Chiddingstone Causeway ( of course ) on your left. Cross the road, watching out for fast moving traffic, and then go over the railway by the footbridge. Leaving the station car park, with the pallet factory and Chase Fencing on your right, you will find a stile and locked gate just beyond the factory entrance. Go over the stile and follow a farm track keeping the factory timber yard on your right and with a field to your left. Go straight ahead when the track passes through a hedge until you reach a small stream. Turn left here and after about 50 yards turn right through an old gateway and over the stream. Keep ahead through another gateway – often muddy – and shortly left over a stile into an abandoned hop garden. Although hops have not been grown here for some years the wirework and poles are largely intact. Pass through this hop garden with the hedge to your right. Keeping straight ahead you enter another abandoned hop garden and almost immediately take a stile on your right leading into a meadow. With the fence line initially on your left follow the path over another small stream by a footbridge, with yellow tape on the rail, and keep virtually straight ahead, passing through two hedges, then slightly uphill to Sandholes, which you see will ahead of you and which you pass keeping the main buildings and barn to your right. Cross the road with care and straight ahead keeping a wire fence and area with round bales on your left. Go straight on until you reach a hedge and stile. Once over the stile turn left, keeping a hedge on your left, and pass downhill with Somerden – the old workhouse - to the right until you reach a metal gate into a small field and a further stile onto a Tarmac path. Turn left onto this path and cross the river Eden on a footbridge, continue uphill with a conifer plantation on your left until you meet the road and turn right back to Chiddingstone.