Walks you can reach from Birchington-on-Sea by train
MapA day hike is just a simple train journey away — plan your next day of green.
Alternatively, view walks directly from Birchington-on-Sea.
Margate to Broadstairs (Kent)
5 minutes direct from Birchington-on-Sea.
Beginner-friendly: Just keep the sea on your left and follow it to Broadstairs.
Coastal: almost all along the coast.
Broadstairs (2h45 in)
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
1 lunch spot: the Captain Digby (1h30 in)
5 end-of-walk rewards: the Tartar Frigate, the Neptune's Hall, Siam Kitchen, the Magnet Micropub, or the Prince Albert
Warnings: Very popular and busy.
Adapted from: Railwalks.
Ramsgate to Margate (Kent)
15 minutes direct from Birchington-on-Sea.
Recommended: Low chalk cliffs, sandy bays and coves, cliff-top grassland, seaside promenades and historic coastal towns.
Coastal: nine tenths along the coast.
Margate (4h30 in)
Broadstairs (1h45 in)
Kingsgate Bay: A chalk-cliff cove on the Thanet coast near Broadstairs, framed by a natural sea arch (2h45 in).
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
2 lunch spots: the Royal Victoria Pavilion (45m in), or Forts Café (1h45 in)
2 end-of-walk rewards: the Mechanical Elephant, or the Cinque Ports
Warnings: Very popular and busy. Check tide timings.
Source: Trains2Green.
Similar walks: the Saturday Walkers Club and Walking Post (inc. GPX).
Faversham to Canterbury (Kent)
30 minutes direct from Birchington-on-Sea.
Recommended: Really beautiful woodland segments and occasional idyllic countryside vistas. The first segment, closest to Faversham, isn't great due to a busy road, but very quiet beyond that. Quiet and isolated.
Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.
Faversham: Very picturesque medieval market town with many interesting shops and historic sites.
Canterbury Cathedral (5h in)
Canterbury (5h in)
Time: 7h (5h walking, 1h30 lunch, 30m break)
Lunch: No lunch venues en route. There's a playground with picnic tables at Chartham Hatch that makes a good stop for a packed lunch.
7 end-of-walk rewards: the Black Griffin, the Lady Luck, the Old Weaver Restaurant, Marlowe's, the Drapers Arms, the Old Buttermarket, or the Shakespeare
Source: Trains2Green.
Similar walk: Slow Ways.
Faversham Circular via Uplees Marshes (Kent)
30 minutes direct from Birchington-on-Sea.
Flat marshland, creek embankments, farm fields, quiet country lanes, woodland and tidal waterways.
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Rochester to Sole Street (Kent)
1 hour direct from Birchington-on-Sea.
Dickensian Kent and the Medway: Rochester's cathedral and castle, then Ranscombe Farm and Cobham Park to Sole Street.
Woodland: a fifth under tree cover.
Cobham Wood and Mausoleum (National Trust; 3h in)
The Rochester Cathedral: England's second-oldest cathedral, founded in 604, in the heart of Rochester.
The Rochester Castle: A Norman castle beside the Medway with one of the tallest surviving keeps in England.
The Ranscombe Farm Reserve: A nature reserve near Rochester protecting rare arable wildflowers on the Kent downs.
The Cobham Park: A landscaped Repton parkland surrounding Cobham Hall, with the Darnley Mausoleum.
Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).
Teynham to Faversham (Kent)
30 minutes direct from Birchington-on-Sea.
Flat orchards and fruit farms, tidal river seawall, coastal creeks, mudflats, salt marshes, drainage ditches, dykes, windswept grazing marshes and historic market town streets.
Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Faversham to Whitstable (Kent)
30 minutes direct from Birchington-on-Sea.
Faversham is beautiful, and Whitstable nice enough, but the intervening coastal stretch is an extremely monotonous and exposed trudge between an estuary shoreline and a solar power plant. If it were one segment it'd be fine but for 16 km it's gruelling. Quiet and isolated.
Coastal: three quarters along the coast.
Faversham: Very picturesque medieval market town with many interesting shops and historic sites (15m in).
Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)
2 lunch spots: Secret Garden Tea Room (15m in), or the Sportsman (2h30 in; reservations recommended)
Source: Trains2Green.
Similar walks: the Saturday Walkers Club, Railwalks (inc. GPX) and Slow Ways (inc. GPX).
Herne Bay to Margate (Kent)
8 minutes direct from Birchington-on-Sea.
Recommended: Great views of sea. A flat, easy-to-follow coastal walk on a largely concrete path beside the sea and with around 2 km on grass and some steps. Accessible to wheels along much of its length. Follows the Oyster Bay Trail and Saxon Shore Way. There is a section along a road near Westgate-on-Sea.
Coastal: almost all along the coast.
Time: 7h (5h walking, 1h30 lunch, 30m break)
Lunch: Cafes and toilets en route.
Walk details: Slow Ways.
Whitstable to Canterbury (Kent)
15 minutes direct from Birchington-on-Sea.
Recommended: Mostly tarmac or hard-packed gravel, largely traffic-free and following the Crab and Winkle Way cycle path with a few steps and good bridges over the road. A delightful final stretch alongside the Great Stour through Westgate Gardens into Canterbury. Follows the Crab and Winkle Way; services at Blean can be reached via alternative routes. There is a seat at a church en route for a rest or picnic.
Woodland: a fifth under tree cover.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: One road crossing near the Canterbury end needs more care.
Walk details: Slow Ways.
Sittingbourne to Faversham (Kent)
30 minutes direct from Birchington-on-Sea.
Recommended: A flat estuary walk along the sea defences, following the England Coast Path nearly all the way.
Coastal: nine tenths along the coast.
Time: 8h30 (6h30 walking, 1h30 lunch, 30m break)
Lunch: Only one village stop en route.
Walk details: Railwalks.
Gillingham to Sittingbourne (Kent)
45 minutes direct from Birchington-on-Sea.
Recommended: Lovely views out over the marshes. A lovely, varied route through woods, fields, gentle hills, orchards and a river estuary, with small sections of mostly safe road walking. The first half is farmland over very gentle hills; the second follows the Medway estuary on the England Coast Trail, with lovely views over the marshes and mudflats. Quite a lot of tarmac and with some muddy parts and slanted cycle gates. The estuary section is on the England Coast Trail. Optional detour along a causeway to 'Horrid Hill'. Break points at Borden, Newington, Rainham, Riverside Country Park and the Strand leisure area.
Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Lunch: Break points with pubs/shops at Borden, Newington and Rainham; cafes and toilets at Riverside Country Park and the Strand.
Warnings: Steps, stiles and gates throughout, plus slanted cycle gates along the estuary. A field path beyond Newington was not reinstated across crops. Care crossing main roads.
Walk details: Slow Ways.
Gillingham to Rainham (Kent)
45 minutes direct from Birchington-on-Sea.
Recommended: A flat walk along the Medway Estuary.
Coastal: three quarters along the coast.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Railwalks.