Walking in Kent. Kev Reynolds

      

      WALKING IN KENT

      by Kev Reynolds

      JUNIPER HOUSE, MURLEY MOSS,

      OXENHOLME ROAD, KENDAL, CUMBRIA LA9 7RL

      www.cicerone.co.uk

      About the Author

      Kev Reynolds has lived in Kent since the late 1960s and when at home he walks his local footpaths almost daily. A freelance travel writer and lecturer, he is best known for his guidebooks to the Alps, Pyrenees and the Himalaya, among which he also worked for many years as a trek and tour leader. The first honorary member of the British Association of European Mountain Leaders (BAEML), and a member of the Alpine Club and Austrian Alpine Club, in 2014 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Outdoor Writers’ and Photographers’ Guild. Among his many titles for Cicerone, A Walk in the Clouds is a collection of short autobiographical stories gathered from his 50 years among the mountains, while Abode of the Gods recounts eight of his major treks in the Nepal Himalaya. When he’s not researching new routes among distant mountains, or enjoying nature at its best nearer to home, Kev may be found sharing his passion for mountains and the countryside through lectures to a variety of audiences throughout Britain. Check him out on www.kevreynolds.co.uk.

      Other Cicerone guides by the author

      100 Hut Walks in the Alps

      Abode of the Gods

      A Walk in the Clouds

      Swiss Alpine Pass Route – Via Alpina Route 1

      Alpine Points of View

      Central Switzerland

      Chamonix to Zermatt – The Classic Walker’s Haute Route

      Écrins National Park

      Everest: A Trekker’s Guide

      Langtang with Gosainkund and Helambu: A Trekker’s Guide

      Manaslu: A Trekker’s Guide

      The Bernese Oberland – Switzerland

      The Cotswold Way

      The North Downs Way

      The Pyrenees

      The South Downs Way

      The Swiss Alps

      Tour of Mont Blanc

      Tour of the Jungfrau Region

      Tour of the Oisans: The GR54

      Tour of the Vanoise

      Trekking in the Alps

      Trekking in the Himalaya

      Trekking in the Silvretta and Rätikon Alps

      Walking in Austria

      Walking in Sussex

      Walking in the Alps

      Walking in the Valais

      Walking in Ticino – Switzerland

      Walks and Climbs in the Pyrenees

      Walks in the Engadine – Switzerland

      Walks in the South Downs National Park

      © Kev Reynolds 2017

      Fourth edition 2017

      ISBN: 978 1 85284 862 0

      Reprinted 2020

      Third edition 2007

      Second edition (in 2 volumes) 1994 and 1995

      First edition 1988

      Printed in Singapore by KHL using responsibly sourced paper

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

      All photographs are by the author unless otherwise stated.

       © Crown copyright 2017 OS PU100012932

      Dedication

      This book is for Billy Moon, in the hope that he too will be inspired, uplifted and enriched by the natural world that is his inheritance.

      Updates to this Guide

      While every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of guidebooks as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an edition. Any updates that we know of for this guide will be on the Cicerone website (www.cicerone.co.uk/862/updates), so please check before planning your trip. We also advise that you check information about such things as transport, accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way can be altered over time.

      We are always grateful for information about any discrepancies between a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by email to [email protected] or by post to Juniper House, Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road, Kendal, Cumbria LA9 7RL, United Kingdom.

      Should you experience a problem on a public right of way used in this book, please contact Kent County Council at www.kent.gov.uk/waste-planning-and-land/public-rights-of-way.

      Register your book: To sign up to receive free updates, special offers and GPX files where available, register your book at www.cicerone.co.uk.

      Acknowledgements

      Wandering through this countryside of ours, I am acutely aware of the debt we owe to so many farmers, landowners, private individuals and members of local rambling clubs, who undertake work to improve the quality of our footpaths, help maintain the numerous stiles and gates, and are vigilant in regard to problems of access. I am thankful, too, to the county’s Rights of Way officers and their staff for ensuring that our footpaths are, on the whole, in pretty good condition and reasonably well waymarked, and to readers Steve Edwards and Ian Yarham, who alerted me to route changes to the previous edition of Kent walks. I am grateful as ever to Jonathan Williams at Cicerone for agreeing to this latest edition, and to his talented staff who put the guide together – it’s always a pleasure to work with such a great team. Once again my wife shared the joy of plotting the walks in advance on our well-used maps, and then checked every route with me in all seasons and in all weathers, making this book as much hers as it is mine.

      Front cover: Orchard country on the greensand hills above Hunton and Yalding (Walk 18)

      CONTENTS

       Map key

       Overview map

       Preface

       INTRODUCTION

       The North Downs

       The greensand hills

       The Weald

       Coastline

       Rivers