Walks you can reach from Westenhanger by train

Highly recommended: Coastal cliffs, chalk downland, sea defences, wild landslip area, wartime installations, ridge between valley and sea and town crossing.

Hilly: a third on high ground, rising above the surrounding land.

Coastal: four fifths along the coast.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Western Heights

Knights Templar Church Ruins

Time: 4h–8h30

1 lunch spot: Camping Café (1h–2h30 in)

2 end-of-walk rewards: the Malvern, or the Priory Hotel

Warnings: Cracked sea defences.

Source: Trains2Green.

Similar walks: the Saturday Walkers Club and Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Reverse direction: Railwalks (inc. GPX).

GPX

Steep

Dover Priory to Deal (Kent)

30 minutes direct from Westenhanger.

Highly recommended: Clifftop chalk paths, two significant climbs, level pebble beach coastpath, open sea views and historic town.

Coastal: almost all along the coast.

Dover Castle: A vast medieval fortress overlooking the port and the Channel to France.

Time: 5h30–11h

3 lunch spots: Saint Margarets Bay (3h–6h in) — the Pines Tea Room, or the bay kiosk; plus Walmer Castle and Gardens (3h–6h in)

3 end-of-walk rewards: the Port Arms, the Sir Norman Wisdom, or the Queen Street Tap

Warnings: Mobile may switch networks.

Adapted from: Time Out Country Walks Volume 2.

Similar walks: the Saturday Walkers Club, Walking Post (inc. GPX) and Slow Ways (inc. GPX).

Reverse direction: Railwalks (inc. GPX).

GPX

Steep

Borough Green & Wrotham to Sevenoaks (Kent)

1 hour direct from Westenhanger.

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

Knole House: enormous aristocratic estate, associated with the Bloomsbury Group; well worth a visit but consumes a day in itself.

Knole Park

Time: 4h30–9h

2 lunch spots: the Plough (2h–3h30 in), or Ightham Mote café (2h–4h 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.

GPX

Rolling

Yalding to Sevenoaks (Kent)

1 hour direct from Westenhanger.

Highly recommended: Undulating Kent farmland, orchards, bluebell woods, greensand escarpment and deer park.

Ightham Mote

Knole House: enormous aristocratic estate, associated with the Bloomsbury Group; well worth a visit but consumes a day in itself.

Time: 6h–12h

3 lunch spots: the Swan on the Green (1h30–3h in), the Kentish Rifleman (2h30–5h in), or Ightham Mote café (3h30–7h in)

Source: Trains2Green.

Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.

GPX

Rolling

Folkestone Central Circular via Castle Hill (Kent)

15 minutes direct from Westenhanger.

Highly recommended: Verdant coastal cliffs, rolling hills and suburban streets.

Hilly: a third on high ground, rising above the surrounding land.

Coastal: three fifths along the coast.

Time: 5h–9h30

2 lunch spots: Capel-le-Ferne (3h–5h30 in) — Cliff Top Café, or the Royal Oak

7 end-of-walk rewards: the Royal George, the Harbour Inn, the Kipps' Alehouse, the Samuel Peto, the Pullman, the East Kent Arms, or the Lord Morris

Warnings: Begins, necessarily, with a lengthy suburban segment, but then becomes very beautiful and surprisingly quiet. Particularly lovely on the walk along the cliffs east of Folkestone, where there are also a number of lunch spot choices. The narrow overgrown paths are best. But note that there is a LOT of steep ascents and descents on this walk.

Source: Trains2Green.

GPX

Steep

Sandling to Wye (Kent)

3 minutes direct from Westenhanger.

North Downs escarpment ridge, open downland, woods, sloping fields and fine views over Kent coast.

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

Paddock Wood to Yalding (Kent)

45 minutes direct from Westenhanger.

Flat flood plain, riverside meadows, tree-lined field edges, mixed woods, open countryside, village streets and gentle Greensand Ridge slopes.

Time: 4h

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

Tonbridge to Penshurst (Kent)

45 minutes direct from Westenhanger.

Fairly flat walk along shaded paths through fields and riverside woodland alongside the River Medway.

Woodland: a fifth under tree cover.

The Tonbridge Castle: A Norman motte-and-bailey castle with a 13th-century gatehouse beside the Medway.

The Haysden Country Park: A lakeside country park on the River Medway floodplain near Tonbridge.

River Medway at Ensfield Bridge: Meadow-set river spot suitable for wild swimming and picnics.

Penshurst Place

St John the Baptist Church, Penshurst: Historic village church next to Penshurst Place.

Time: 3h30–7h

1 lunch spot: Porcupine Pantry Café

Warnings: Can be muddy in places when wet.

Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).

Similar walk: the Saturday Walkers Club.

GPX

Rolling

Sevenoaks to Kemsing (Kent)

1 hour direct from Westenhanger.

A National Trust extravaganza; Knole House and deer park, the Greensand Way, moated Ightham Mote, bluebell woods.

Woodland: two fifths under tree cover.

Knole House: enormous aristocratic estate, associated with the Bloomsbury Group; well worth a visit but consumes a day in itself.

Ightham Mote: A medieval moated manor house dating to 1340, cared for by the National Trust.

Time: 4h–8h

Warnings: Steep drops and climbs through the woodland sections.

Walk details: Walking Post (tips, photos and local insights).

GPX

Steep

Leigh to Sevenoaks (Kent)

1 hour direct from Westenhanger.

Rolling Kentish farmland, fields, oasthouses, bluebell woods, steep greensand hillside and deer park.

Time: 4h30

Warnings: Can be muddy.

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

More walks by train