Walks near Gillingham by train
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations near Gillingham and plan your next day of green.
Alternatively, view walks directly from Gillingham.
Margate to Broadstairs (Kent)
45 minutes direct from Gillingham.
Beginner-friendly: Just keep the sea on your left and follow it to Broadstairs.
Coastal: almost all along the coast.
Broadstairs (2h45 in)
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.
Eynsford Circular via Otford (Kent)
45 minutes from Gillingham, with one change.
Highly recommended: Secluded valleys, chalk downland ridges, ancient woodland, golf course, chalk grassland nature reserves, riverside paths and farmland.
Shoreham (45 mins in)
3 lunch spots: Shoreham (1h30 in) — the Samuel Palmer (plenty of seating, including outdoors), the Honey Pot, or the Kings Arms
3 end-of-walk rewards: the Castle Hotel, the Five Bells, or the Malt Shovel
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Source: Trains2Green.
Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.
Otford Circular via Shoreham (Kent)
45 minutes from Gillingham, with one change.
Highly recommended: Quiet country lanes, meadows, rolling wooded hills, and two very attractive villages.
Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.
Shoreham (1h30 in)
Otford (3h30 in)
3 lunch spots: Shoreham (1h15 in) — the Samuel Palmer (plenty of seating, including outdoors), the Kings Arms, or the Mount Vineyard
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Adapted from: Time Out Country Walks Volume 1.
Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.
Sevenoaks Circular via Ightham Mote (Kent)
1 hour from Gillingham, with one change.
Highly recommended: Pleasantly rolling hills and dales, fields and vales, oast houses and hay bails. Beautiful expansive views to the South, which make you appreciate well preserved the wooded hills of the Kent Downs are. Wandering through Knole Park is idyllic, especially toward the evening when the humans are gone and the deer are in force. Mostly secluded.
Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.
Knole House: enormous aristocratic estate, associated with the Bloomsbury Group; well worth a visit but consumes a day in itself (National Trust; 45 mins in; 3h to visit).
Knole Park (National Trust; 45 mins in; 3h to visit)
One Tree Hill: A beautiful slice of Kent countryside (National Trust; 1h30 in).
Ightham Mote: Immaculately preserved medieval manor house with idyllic gardens. Touring the house thoroughly takes an hour, and the gardens another 30 minutes (National Trust; 2h15 in; 2h30 to visit).
Deer in Kent Downs National Landscape (National Trust; 3h45 in; 3h to visit)
3 lunch spots: Knole House café (45 mins in), Ightham Mote café (2h15 in), or the Bucks Head (3h30 in)
Warnings: Some mud inevitable.
Source: Trains2Green.
Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.
Borough Green & Wrotham to Sevenoaks (Kent)
1 hour from Gillingham, with one change.
Highly recommended: Greensand hills, apple orchards, woodland paths, streams, deer park, open parkland and historic manor grounds. Mostly secluded.
Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.
Ightham Mote: Immaculately preserved medieval manor house with idyllic gardens. Touring the house thoroughly takes an hour, and the gardens another 30 minutes (National Trust; 2h in; 2h30 to visit).
One Tree Hill: A beautiful slice of Kent countryside (National Trust; 2h45 in).
Knole House: enormous aristocratic estate, associated with the Bloomsbury Group; well worth a visit but consumes a day in itself (National Trust; 3h30 in; 3h to visit).
Knole Park (National Trust; 3h to visit)
3 lunch spots: the Plough (45 mins in), Ightham Mote café (2h in), or Knole House café (3h30 in)
3 end-of-walk rewards: the Chequers, the Restoration, or the Sennockian
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).
Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.
Yalding to Sevenoaks (Kent)
1 hour from Gillingham, with one change.
Highly recommended: Undulating Kent farmland, orchards, bluebell woods, greensand escarpment and deer park.
Ightham Mote: Immaculately preserved medieval manor house with idyllic gardens. Touring the house thoroughly takes an hour, and the gardens another 30 minutes (National Trust; 3h30 in; 2h30 to visit).
One Tree Hill: A beautiful slice of Kent countryside (National Trust; 4h15 in).
Knole House: enormous aristocratic estate, associated with the Bloomsbury Group; well worth a visit but consumes a day in itself (National Trust; 5h in; 3h to visit).
4 lunch spots: the Swan on the Green (1h30 in), the Kentish Rifleman (2h30 in), Ightham Mote café (3h30 in), or Knole House café (5h in)
Source: Trains2Green.
Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.
Chilham to Canterbury (Kent)
45 minutes direct from Gillingham.
Highly recommended
Chilham (15 mins in)
Canterbury Cathedral (2h45 in)
Canterbury (2h45 in)
2 lunch spots: Chilham (30 mins in) — the Chilham Square, or the Star Inn
5 end-of-walk rewards: the Monument, the Unicorn Inn, the West Gate Inn, the Carpenters Arms, or the Old Buttermarket
Warnings: A fifth urban.
Adapted from: The Rough Guide to Walks in London & the South East (3rd edition).
Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.
Ramsgate to Margate (Kent)
45 minutes direct from Gillingham.
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).
2 lunch spots: the Royal Victoria Pavilion (45 mins 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 Gillingham.
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)
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.
Borough Green & Wrotham Circular via Old Soar Manor (Kent)
1 hour from Gillingham, with one change.
Old Soar Manor: Remains of a late 13th-century knight's dwelling (National Trust; 2h15 in; 30 mins to visit).
1 lunch spot: the Kentish Rifleman (1h45 in)
1 end-of-walk reward: the Plough
Source: Trains2Green.
Cuxton to Halling (Kent)
15 minutes from Gillingham, with one change.
Darnley Mausoleum: Restored 18th-century mausoleum, set in peaceful wood pasture (National Trust; 1h in; 30 mins to visit).
Owletts: Family home of the renowned architect Sir Herbert Baker (National Trust; 2h in; 1h to visit).
3 lunch spots: Cobham (1h45 in) — the Ship, the Darnley Arms, or the Leather Bottle
1 end-of-walk reward: Moot Brew Co Brewery and Taproom
Source: Trains2Green.
Canterbury Circular via Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve (Kent)
45 minutes direct from Gillingham.
Flat Kent countryside, arable fields, woods, ancient villages, oast houses, polytunnel farms and riverside.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).