Section 11
Sissinghurst to Cranbrook
Walk Details
Walk Instructions
Robust Ramble – Kent Triangle - Faversham – Wadhurst – New Romney – Faversham
Section 11 Out
Sissinghurst to Cranbrook
OS Map: Explorer 137 Ashford
Total Circular Distance: 5 miles (3 hours)
Start: The Milk House, Sissinghurst parking at the pub if intending to patronise, little other option.
Comment: A short but extremely pleasant walk with woods and fields and views. No stiles but some steep flights of steps.
With the Milk House pub behind, carefully cross the road to go down Chapel Lane opposite. In a few pace turn right along a gravel track by a house called ‘Mylkehouse’.
The track soon becomes a path enclosed between fences. At a crossing go straight ahead. This delightful treelined path continues for some way, emerging briefly along a field edge, to eventually reach a steep set of steps.
These go down to cross a sunken drive then up the other side to a metal kissing gate into a field. Go straight down and across the field to another kissing gate at the bottom.
Enter a wood and go steeply up for some way. Emerge through a wooden kissing gate at the top, onto a concrete track. Go forward on this between hedges for ¾ mile with splendid views.
Eventually emerge down steps to a road. Cross to a similar flight going up into a playingfield. Keep along the bottom edge towards school buildings.
At the far end reach the Parish Church in Cranbrook. Bear left down the paved path passing the church on your left. Emerge into the High Street in Cranbrook and the George Hotel opposite and the end of the section.
Robust Ramble – Kent Triangle - Faversham – Wadhurst – New Romney – Faversham
Section 11
Cranbrook to Sissinghurst
OS Map: Explorer 136 Royal Tunbridge Wells
Total Circular Distance: 5 miles (3 hours)
Start: The George Hotel, Cranbrook, there is a FREE public car park off the High Street at the back of the Co-op.
Comment: A rather devious way back as an obvious route did not present itself. Parts slightly more challenging with cattle, mud and wild garlic. Also short sections of road walking and a couple of poor stiles. Quiet countryside. The paths into and out of Golford are obscure and demanding.
From the George Hotel, turn left along the High Street and immediately left at the bend, passing the White Horse over on your right.
Pass the back entrance to the George Hotel and continue about 30 metres to a left turn down the side of the Royal Mail office (there is a footpath fingerpost). Keep forward to pass some cottages on your right, the roadway now becomes an asphalt footpath.
Follow this down to cross a footbridge then up the other side to a road end. A footpath crosses here. Turn right a few paces on a drive then bear left up man enclosed muddy path.
At the top emerge onto a road, Bramley Drive. Go diagonally left across to another footpath. This is a wide asphalt path but sunken between embankments. Go all the way down, ignoring several paths off right and left up steps.
At the bottom reach a road and turn right a few paces up to a T-junction. Turn left down the road, passing Frythe Close on your right, for some way. Reach a T-junction at the bottom.
Turn right on the pavement along this main road crossing Dorothy Avenue and Tilsden Lane. Soon the road begins to bend right. Here, with enormous care as the visibility is poor and the traffic speed very fast, cross to a concrete drive opposite.
Go up the drive a short way to an old security gate. Here turn right, up in to a field. Follow the field edge around to the left, for some way.
At the bottom of the field, turn left to a footbridge and go steeply up the slope into a field (ignore a path off right). Turn right a few paces along the field edge then right again to drop back down into the wood.
Ignore a path off left and continue down to a footbridge. Cross and go up to a field corner. Continue up the edge of the field with a hedge on your left.
Bear left into the adjacent field through a gap and cross field aiming for a white timber framed farmhouse on the road at the far side. The route emerges onto the road and turns left for 20 metres. However there is no pavement so do not exit onto the road but turn left along the field edge with the hedge on your right.
Soon reach a drive. Turn left down it away from the road. Follow this concrete drive for some way. First between fields then winding down to the left through woods and over a bridge. Continue up to pass a house on your right. Keep up the slope to reach a field. Stay on the track as it bears right and passes two barns on your right.
The track continues between fields. On meeting woods on the left it swings up into the trees. Leave it and keep straight on along the top edge of the field to the top corner.
At the corner, turn right, still down the edge of the field to the bottom corner. Cross a footbridge into woods and go steeply up through the trees ignoring side paths.
Exit over a stile into a field and bear slightly left across the open field towards distant farm buildings. Go down to a stile by a rusty fieldgate. Cross and bear right up the field edge with a fence on your right, a short distance to a stile on the right into an enclosed path between fences.
Go up this narrow path for some way and exit carefully onto a road. Cross to the other side and turn left. No verge to start with but one does appear. Soon reach a crossroads.
Turn left to go up the Sissinghurst road (actually Chapel Lane). In 50 metres turn left off the road on a footpath by a metal fieldgate (unfortunately this is on a righthand bend in the road so again care is needed).
In the field turn immediately left along the field edge to shortly approach another metal fieldgate. Do not go through, but turn right along the field edge with trees on your left.
In the bottom corner go left through a gap and drop steeply down to a stream and footbridge in a muddy valley. Cross and bear right, gradually uphill.
Cross a second footbridge and go on through a sea of wild garlic, and mud, to a third bridge. Continue to eventually emerge into a field. Go straight up a grassy sward. At the top enter trees and go forward over a cross path to continue up a drive. Emerge onto the main road in Sissinghurst.
Turn right along the road a short distance to return to The Milk House and the start of the section.
