Lenham — Ashford (Kent)
Lenash two
Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Lenash here.
Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Lenash here.
By Daisy C on 04 Apr 2024
Description
This is a shorter route and made easier to navigate by following the Pilgrims Way/North Downs Way. It was also designed to stay on higher land as much as possible because I was there during some extremely wet weather with very high ground water levels, some flooding and frequent waterlogged field in the area, even sometimes on the higher land. This also accounts for sometimes using lanes over footpaths, all were pretty quiet and safe.
The pub in Westwell is closed unfortunately. The new owners are refurbishing at a snail's pace, doing lots of the work themselves. Locals aren't pleased, it's been shut for three years and counting.
Near the midway point there's a small detour into Charing. It's a pretty village with several places to eat, shops and a station. It's a similar size to Lenham. They have the same public transport, you can get to London via both directions of the train service which is useful. There are also some buses but probably not on Sundays. Ashford is a very sizeable town
This is a shorter route and made easier to navigate by following the Pilgrims Way/North Downs Way. It was also designed to stay on higher land as much as possible because I was there during some extremely wet weather with very high ground water levels, some flooding and frequent waterlogged field in the area, even sometimes on the higher land. This also accounts for sometimes using lanes over footpaths, all were pretty quiet and safe.
The pub in Westwell is closed unfortunately. The new owners are refurbishing at a snail's pace, doing lots of the work themselves. Locals aren't pleased, it's been shut for three years and counting.
Near the midway point there's a small detour into Charing. It's a pretty village with several places to eat, shops and a station. It's a similar size to Lenham. They have the same public transport, you can get to London via both directions of the train service which is useful. There are also some buses but probably not on Sundays. Ashford is a very sizeable town
Status
This route has been reviewed by 1 person.
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Information
Route status - Live
Reviews - 1
Average rating -
Is this route good enough? - Yes (1)
There are currently no problems reported with this route.
Downloads - 3
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Geography information system (GIS) data
Total length
Maximum elevation
Minimum elevation
Start and end points
Lenham
Grid Ref
TQ8984152168
Lat / Lon
51.23710° / 0.71813°
Easting / Northing
589,841E / 152,168N
What3Words
salaried.bill.homework
Ashford (Kent)
Grid Ref
TR0129042218
Lat / Lon
51.14384° / 0.87637°
Easting / Northing
601,291E / 142,219N
What3Words
levels.extra.skip
| Lenham | |
|---|---|
| Grid Ref | TQ8984152168 |
| Lat / Lon | 51.23710° / 0.71813° |
| Easting / Northing | 589,841E / 152,168N |
| What3Words | salaried.bill.homework |
| Ashford (Kent) | |
|---|---|
| Grid Ref | TR0129042218 |
| Lat / Lon | 51.14384° / 0.87637° |
| Easting / Northing | 601,291E / 142,219N |
| What3Words | levels.extra.skip |
Sorry Land Cover data is not currently available for this route. Please check back later.
review
Daisy C
04 Apr 2024I started in Ashford and am posting this review over a month late. I designed this route and hoped it would avoid the waterlogging, flooding and mud I'd found over the previous few days of walking locally. It was definitely easier going than some but there were still waterlogged fields near Westwell and several very wide deep puddles on the Pilgrims Way, towards the Lenham end, where I needed to leap and/or cling onto hedgerows. The rain had mostly eased though and I even saw rainbows. And happily had a full complement of waterproof clothing including socks!
It's a nice 4.5 star route overall
The Ashford parts were quiet and /or green pathways and the rest varied between arable fields, grazing woodlands, farm tracks, small lanes and footpaths which kept things fresh.
I was hoping that it would climb higher up the Downs for the views. But the Downs are fairly tame here and the Pilgrims Way only ever runs just above the beginning of the steeper slope.
Between Charing and Lenham I found empty shells of edible snails, I looked this up later and found a few mentions but only within a short distance of where I had been near Cobham Farm. Later there were a couple of places where you can buy fresh eggs using an honesty box, if you have change.
I didn't actually test the Charing detour as I was very keen to keep making good time (early dusk, this was back in February) and wasn't planning to stop there.
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