Robust Rambles

Herne Bay to Hazelmere Robust Ramble

Section 13 (Return)

Stalisfield Green to Badlesmere

Walk Details
Map Explorer 137 Ashford, Headcorn and Wye
Total Circular Distance 8 miles/5 hours
Start Parking at the Plough Inn by arrangement or on road. The Inn has accommodation and a campsite but is not open on a Monday.
Comment A varied walk with pasture and woodland paths, great rolling fields although many not reinstated through crops. Red Lion pub is open every day.
Walk Instructions

Leave the car park of the Plough Inn onto the road. Turn left. At a junction turn right along Hillside Road. In 100 metres, just before a house on the left, Turn left, by telegraph poles, through a metal kissing gate into a sloping pasture. Go straight down the field.

Pass through a metal swing gate at the bottom and on by a fence on your right. Just before a wood ahead, turn right through a metal swing gate into the adjacent field. Go straight up towards a corner of hedge at the top.

Continue on with the hedge on your left to a metal kissing gate at the end of the field. Go forward on a grassy path past the house on your left.

Meet a drive and turn left to pass the front of the house. Where the metalled drive turns left, go straight on on a rough stoney track past all buildings, heading towards trees.

Keep on along a more grassy way. Halfway along the wood on your right, keep with the main track as it drops down to the right through the wood.

On finally leaving the wood keep on down the edge to a road. Turn left for 100 metres. Look for a stile on your right. Cross into a sloping pasture.

Turn diagonally left uphill to trees at the top and a (broken) stile into woods.

Cross the stile and go up the bank to reach a cross path. Turn left along this following the edge of the wood down on your left.

The path soon swings to the right up through the wood to emerge into a field. Bear diagonally left across the field.

Keep on across this huge field towards extensive farm buildings and a short run of trees.

At the far side exit onto a road by a log. Turn right along the road passing the farm buildings on your left.

Reach a road junction at Tong Green. Turn left a few paces then right into a field corner. Go diagonally left up and across the centre.

Halfway across, drop down the bank into a further field and turn diagonally right, steeply down to woods below.

Find a tall narrow gap in the trees and go up steep steps to road.

Turn left along the road for ¼ mile through the village of Throwley Forstal (pretty but no facilities except a seat on the green) and keep on to a T-junction.

Cross straight over to a gap in the hedge and enter a rising field. Go straight forward up by a pylon. Cross another huge field.

Eventually drop down dangerous steps to a road.

WARNING ! INTIMIDATING MOMENT.

The public footpath continuous straight across the road and up the side of the house ahead. There is a waymark sign clearly indicating this. However there are tall double vehicle gates across the entrance which are locked. Look on the right for a GREEN BUTTON (confusingly marked ‘exit’). Press this to electrically open the gates. It is illegal to intimidate walker on a PROW in this way.

Through the gates there is a wooden swing gate directly ahead clearly waymarked.

Go through this into a field. Bear diagonally left up to a corner of trees.

On reaching the trees, turn right up the field edge. After the trees and hedge on your left stop, go forward a few paces looking for a gap on the left into the adjoining field.

Go through and turn diagonally right to cross the open field. There is a big expanse of trees running along the far side of this field. In the middle is a rectangular grassy pasture. Head towards the bottom righthand corner of this grassy patch (currently the path is not reinstated).

On reaching the corner, go forward on a clear path winding up through trees. At the top of the wood, go through a metal swing gate and continue up the side of a paddock with a hedge on your left.

At the top go through an improvised gate into a smaller paddock and on to a metal kissing gate. Go up a track to a main road.

Turn right along the main road for 80 metres then carefully cross the road to the Red Lion pub in Badlesmere and the start of the section.