Robust Rambles

Herne Bay to Hazelmere Robust Ramble

Section 12 (Out)

Challock to Badlesmere

Walk Details
Map Explorer 137 Ashford, Headcorn and Wye
Total Circular Distance 7 miles/4 hours
Start Parking at the village hall by the cricket pitch or at The Stag by arrangement.
Comment A varied walk with fields and woodland paths This route requires some zig-zagging including crossing the main A251 Faversham Ashford Road. This needs great care. There is also a short stretch of actual road walking on the rat-run road to Charing with fast traffic. Essential to use the rough verges. Several of these paths are little used so need careful mapwork. The Red Lion at Badlesmere is open everyday.
Walk Instructions

From The Stag pub, cross the road by the roundabout and walk along the Faversham road passing a car sales site on your right.

Go along the lefthand pavement and soon turn left into Mill Lane. In some way along, just past new building over on your left, reach a crosspath.

Turn right on this into a field. Go straight across the field passing a wooden telegraph pole on your right as you go.

Reach a hedge at the far side. Go through a gap to drop down onto a cross track. Turn right.

On reaching an open space by a field entrance on the left, bear left through a gap between holly bushes into a field corner.

Go diagonally across the centre of the field towards the righthand end of the gap between two rows of conifer trees.

Cross a stile into a paddock and go forward. Continue through metal gates and further paddocks. Finally weave through the garden of a farmhouse out to a lane.

Turn right along to a main road. Cross to Pested Lane opposite.

Go up the lane to a Y-fork. Here bear left. Just past a house on your right, look for an unmarked gap in the hedge on the left. Go through to a field.

Cross the field, diagonally right, aiming for the righthand end of an assorted treeline in the distance. Find an open field entrance onto a main road.

Cross with great care to an opposite entrance into the field over the road.

Again bear diagonally right across a huge field towards . the distant Broomfield Farm.

In the opposite corner of the field drop down a bank to enter the field leading to the farm. Continue diagonally towards barns.

At the far side reach a metal fieldgate. Go through (possibly having to climb over) and continue diagonally across the farmyard. Go between barns to a metal fieldgate into a pasture beyond.

Go straight ahead from the fieldgate across to another metal fieldgate at the far side.

Enter a wood and go diagonally left, downhill. Keep all the way down to an occasionally busy road.

Turn right and follow the road around and uphill to reach a house on the right. There is a rough verge on the far side and it is essential to use this.

Opposite the house, turn left off the road onto a path into a huge field. Cross, slightly diagonally right, aiming just right of large barns.

Cross the field to the very far opposite corner. Pass an outbuilding on your right just before the corner, then reach a stile in the corner itself, among trees. The barns are just beyond.

Cross the stile and turn immediately left along the hedge on your left to a metal equestrian gate by a metal fieldgate. Continue down a pasture.

Follow a feint tractor track which curves gently right across the corner ahead and drops down to another metal equestrian gate at the very bottom.

Go through. (The PROW goes 200 metres up the hill ahead and then, beyond a stand of trees on the right, turns right onto a path dropping diagonally right, down the field on the right to the bottom edge.).

Otherwise, if the crop allows, from the equestrian gate, turn right along the bottom edge of the field on your right.

Go all the way along to pass a point where telephone wires on wooden poles pass overhead and go on towards power cables and pylons ahead.

Look for a waymark post and equestrian gate in bushes on the right. Go through and steeply uphill towards a pylon.

Enter a large pasture and go slightly diagonally left across to the far side. Pass buildings on your left. Inn the corner by the last building, cross onto a busy main road.

Turn left with care to cross to The Red Lion pub in Badlesmere and the end of the section.