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)
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.
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 (45m in)
Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
3 lunch spots: Shoreham (1h30 in) — the Samuel Palmer (Plenty of seating, including outdoors; excellent), 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)
Time: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)
3 lunch spots: Shoreham (1h15 in) — the Samuel Palmer (Plenty of seating, including outdoors; excellent), 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 (45m in).
The Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio (National Trust; 45m in)
Knole Park (National Trust; 45m in)
One Tree Hill (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 (2h15 in).
Deer in Kent Downs National Landscape (National Trust; 3h45 in)
Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)
2 lunch spots: Ightham Mote café (2h15 in; not bad), 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 (2h in).
One Tree Hill (National Trust; 2h45 in)
The Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio (National Trust; 3h30 in)
Knole House: enormous aristocratic estate, associated with the Bloomsbury Group; well worth a visit but consumes a day in itself.
Knole Park (National Trust)
Time: 6h (4h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
2 lunch spots: the Plough (45m in), or Ightham Mote café (2h in; not bad)
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 (3h30 in).
One Tree Hill (National Trust; 4h15 in)
The Royal Oak Foundation Conservation Studio (National Trust; 5h in)
Knole House: enormous aristocratic estate, associated with the Bloomsbury Group; well worth a visit but consumes a day in itself.
Time: 7h30 (6h walking, 1h30 lunch)
3 lunch spots: the Swan on the Green (1h30 in), the Kentish Rifleman (2h30 in), or Ightham Mote café (3h30 in; not bad)
Source: Trains2Green.
Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.
Chilham to Canterbury (Kent)
45 minutes direct from Gillingham.
Highly recommended
Chilham (15m in)
Canterbury Cathedral (2h45 in)
Canterbury (2h45 in)
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
2 lunch spots: Chilham (30m 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).
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 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)
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.
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.
Time: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Yalding Circular via Yalding (Kent)
1 hour from Gillingham, with one change.
Flat riverside paths, farmland fields, orchards, quiet lanes and a floodplain.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Can be muddy.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Farningham Road to Eynsford (Kent)
30 minutes direct from Gillingham.
Linear middle Darent Valley Path beside the tranquil River Darent, Lullingstone Roman Villa, Eynsford Castle and valley views.
Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Kent Downs National Landscape (tips, photos and local insights).