Walks from Maidstone East

River meadows, chalk downland, wooded North Downs escarpment, open hilltop, farmland, riverside towpath and country park.

Time: 4h30

Warnings: Can be muddy.

Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Reverse direction: Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Orchards, coppiced woodland, water meadows, riverside paths, low hills and pedestrianised town centre.

Time: 4h30

Warnings: Can be muddy.

Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).

Recommended: It's also a glorious route which cuts through Kent farmland. An easy, well-signposted and flat route, much of the made path being concrete, gravel or tarmac, cutting through Kent farmland and crossing a tidal and near-estuarine stretch of the Medway. Crosses a tidal, near-estuarine stretch of the River Medway near Allington Lock.

Woodland: a fifth under tree cover.

Time: 3h30–7h

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Recommended: Gorgeous. A gorgeous, very off-road and quiet route following the River Medway along the Medway Valley Walk, then the North Downs Way and the Augustine Camino before rejoining the river. Well signed throughout and with only a few short bits crossing or going under motorways. Follows the Medway Valley Walk, the North Downs Way and the Augustine Camino. No public transport in the central section, though Aylesford station is about a mile from the village.

Time: 5h–10h30

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Recommended: A scenic route avoiding main roads as much as practical and on mixed surfaces with a manageable amount of elevation change. Some sections may be muddy through winter and the wet months. Passes close to Maidstone Barracks, Barming, East Malling and West Malling stations, allowing the walk to be split. A convenience store at East Malling via a short detour.

Time: 3h–5h30

Lunch: A convenience store at East Malling via a small detour.

Warnings: Can be muddy.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Time: 5h–10h

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A varied route of town pavement walking, parkland, field and copse paths, with the highlight a path around Leeds Castle. Many stiles and gates, some road crossings and several overgrown or hard-to-follow field crossings. Just over halfway, a path takes you round Leeds Castle, giving a view from its rarely photographed side. The route can be split at Leeds Castle.

Time: 4h30–9h30

Warnings: Some road crossings need care, notably across the A20. The route is easy to lose in places (near Chambers Farm above Stoneacre and after Chegworth Court Farm), with signage leading across a waist-high rapeseed field that was inaccessible without diverting. Many stiles and gates.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A route for confident walkers mixing pavement and path walking, dropping into the Loose valley on the Loose Greenway and climbing back out, then through fruit farms on overgrown, hard-to-follow paths, over field paths that get overgrown with brambles in summer. Not direct and with drops and climbs and a river crossing. Follows the Loose Greenway through Loose village. Can be walked in two sections, breaking at Linton.

Time: 4h30–9h

Warnings: The route is difficult to follow between Linton and Marden, with overgrown paths through fruit farms and unclear markings in mid-summer; walkers have lost the route after crossing the Beult river and had to road-walk. Not suitable for beginners.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

The view from Tutsham, back over the Medway Valley. A fairly direct, mostly flat route on gravel or tarmac surfaces, with pleasant sections by the River Medway and higher ground above Yalding. The stretch out of Yalding can be very boggy and there is a hard-to-find field section before Yalding. Suitable for confident walkers.

Time: 5h–10h30

Warnings: The route out of Yalding can be very boggy. Care is needed with navigation near a sharp field turn marked with chicken wire, and the route is easy to lose in places. Can be muddy.

Walk details: Slow Ways.