East Malling to Maidstone Walk
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Saturday Walkers Club www.walkingclub.org.uk East Malling to Maidstone walk Extensive orchards and 2 fine medieval bridges across the River Medway. Length Main Walk: 18¾ km (11.7 miles). Four hours 25 minutes walking time. For the whole excursion including trains, sights and meals, allow at least 9 hours. Short Walk, finishing at East Farleigh: 14 km (8.7 miles). Three hours 15 minutes walking time. Alternative Walk, starting from Wateringbury: 14¾ km (9.2 miles). Three hours 25 minutes walking time. OS Map Explorer 148. East Malling, map reference TQ702569, is in Kent, 6 km W of Maidstone. Toughness 3 out of 10 (2 for the Short and Alternative Walks). Features East Malling (pronounced Mauling) is the site of a major Horticultural Research Institute, established in 1913 to support local fruit growers. Its research on plant culture led to the widely-adopted modern practice of using carefully selected dwarf rootstocks to produce a compact fruit-laden bush. The success of this venture can be seen as the walk heads south past some extensive orchards: mainly apples but also pears, cherries and plums. In between the orchards there are stretches through woodland and past sports pitches on the fringes of King's Hill, a residential and business development on the site of the former RAF West Malling airfield. The walk then skirts the village of Wateringbury and descends to the River Medway at Nettlestead, passing a fine parish church and a well- restored medieval manor house. The rest of the walk mixes sections alongside the river with short excursions into the low hills on either side, with the first of these taking you to a highly-rated pub in West Farleigh for lunch. There are four bridges on this rural stretch of the Medway and those at Teston (pronounced Teestun) and East Farleigh are splendid examples of medieval design and craftmanship, with the latter claiming to be “the Finest Bridge in Southern England”. The final part of the walk is along a stretch of the Medway revitalized as the Maidstone River Park, into the county town of Maidstone. There are opportunities to explore the shops and eateries in the largely-pedestrianised town centre on the way to one of its three railway stations. Walk A direct link route between Wateringbury and Bow Bridge is described in both directions. Options On the Main Walk it provides a morning short cut saving 1½ km, which is worth considering if you miss a train and want to catch up a group which started earlier. In the other direction it functions as the start of an Alternative Walk from Wateringbury station (next to Bow Bridge), initially heading north in order to include the section through Nettlestead. As the walk route also goes past East Farleigh station on the Medway Valley line (see Transport below), you can cut out the urban section of the walk into and through Maidstone and make a Short Walk finishing there. Transport Maidstone has three railway stations on two separate lines. East Malling is on the https://www.walkingclub.org.uk/walk/east-malling-to-maidstone/ 1/9 Maidstone East line, with an hourly direct service from Victoria taking around 50- 55 minutes. On weekdays there is a half-hourly service back to Victoria from Maidstone East, with the faster trains not calling at East Malling. Wateringbury, East Farleigh and Maidstone's other two stations are on the Medway Valley branch line (Paddock Wood–Maidstone West–Strood), with an hourly off-peak service on this section of the line. For any of these stations you would need to change at either Tonbridge/Paddock Wood or Strood. For all walk options the suggested ticket is a return to Maidstone stations, which is valid to East Malling and stations on the Medway Valley line (although you will need to have a ticket routed "Plus High Speed", or buy an upgrade, if you use those trains from Strood). Maidstone has good bus services. If you want to abandon the walk at lunchtime there is an irregular service (Mon–Sat) through West Farleigh, with the nearest bus stop being on Ewell Lane, about 300m from the pub. There is also a frequent service along the A26 at Wateringbury and Teston. If driving, there is no car park at East Malling station but parking is available in nearby residential streets after 10.30am Mon–Fri and all day weekends. Suggested Take the train nearest to 09:45 from Victoria to East Malling. For the Short Walk you Train could take the train an hour later. For the Alternative Walk take the train nearest to 10:30 from Charing Cross to Wateringbury, changing at Tonbridge or Paddock Wood. Lunch The suggested lunch pub (after 10 km, or 6 km on the Alternative Walk) is the up-market Tickled Trout (01622-814717) in West Farleigh. This refurbished pub has an outdoor patio and beer garden, and serves freshly-prepared seasonal food all day. Earlier in the walk there are two possible lunch places near Wateringbury station. The Railway pub (01622-812911; closed Mon) opposite the station approach road is a traditional village pub; the Ramblers Rest Café (0333-666 6364) in Medway Wharf Marina serves light lunches. Tea In Maidstone there are plenty of pubs, cafés and coffee shops tucked away in the streets, alleyways and shopping malls making up its pedestrianised town centre, some with outdoor seating. There are far too many eateries to list in full, but the directions go via two places in the same arcade which might tempt you: the Italian Vesuvius Café (01622-296767) and the French Café Frédéric (01622-297414). A little further on there are branches of Costa Coffee and Patisserie Valerie in Fremlin Walk. The nearest pub to Maidstone East station is a JD Wetherspoons, The Society Rooms (01622-350910). In the station itself there is a small buffet on Platform 1. In contrast there is not much choice at the end of the Short Walk in East Farleigh. The Victory pub (01622-298234) is just a stone's throw from the station, but if you want tea or coffee you will probably have to trek across the river and climb Station Hill to the Bull Inn (01622-726282). Help Us! After the walk, we would love to get your feedback You can upload photos to the ⬤⬤ SWC Group on Flickr (upload your photos) and videos to Youtube. This walk's tags are: swcwalks swcwalk337 By Car Start ME19 6AJ Finish ME14 1QN https://www.walkingclub.org.uk/walk/east-malling-to-maidstone/ 2/9 Help National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Travelline SE (bus times): 0871 200 2233 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234 Version Oct-20 Copyright © Saturday Walkers Club. All Rights Reserved. No commercial use. No copying. No derivatives. Free with attribution for one time non-commercial use only. www.walkingclub.org.uk/site/license.shtml Walk Directions Walk Map All maps © OpenStreetMap contributors Walk Options M. Main Walk (18¾ km) i. Main Walk, omitting Nettlestead (17¼ km) a. Short Walk, finishing at East Farleigh (14 km) ai. Short Walk, omitting Nettlestead (12½ km) b. Alternative Walk, starting from Wateringbury (14¾ km) Walk Directions If you are doing the Alternative Walk (from Wateringbury), start at §E. https://www.walkingclub.org.uk/walk/east-malling-to-maidstone/ 3/9 A. East Malling Station to Pikey Lane (1½ km) 1. Arriving from London, go down steps near the back of Platform 2 and turn left under the railway bridge. Keep right to go uphill on Chapel Street for 150m. Just before Manningham House on the right, turn right onto an enclosed path beside its driveway, signposted as a footpath. At the end go through a wooden kissing gate into a narrow field, with a choice of two footpaths ahead. For a slightly more direct route you could take the left-hand path across the field, but its continuation (a narrow fenced path alongside a wood) is slightly awkward. If you take this short cut (saving 200m) turn left at the end of the fenced path and resume the directions at [4]. 2. For the suggested route, keep ahead along the right-hand side of the field, going past a pylon. In the field corner veer right into a wooded area (an old orchard), staying on the main path and heading NW. The path gradually approaches the railway line and turns half-left to run alongside it. 3. At a triangular path junction, where the path ahead goes down a slope, fork left to stay on the same level. The path gradually curves left, following the course of a wooded valley on the right. In 250m keep ahead where the short cut joins from a long fenced path on the left. 4. As the path descends you might be able to see East Malling Stream1 through the trees on the right, then a series of small ponds. The path leads into a driveway which goes past a few cottages in the hamlet of Well Street. 5. At the top of a slope bear left onto a lane (also called Well Street), passing a large orchard on the right and a few more houses. In 350m the lane comes to a T-junction, with Pikey Lane on the right. B. Pikey Lane to the old Teston Road (1½ km) 6. At the T-junction go straight ahead onto a footpath, with more orchards on the right and soon with a wood on the left. There are some rather off-putting “Private Land” notices beside the path but this woodland is in fact part of Warren Woods Nature Park2.