Maihuc two

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Maihuc here.

This route is a response to the reviews of MaiHuc 1. It hits the same main points but within Maidstone it swaps some of the “paths through housing estates” with Vinters Valley Nature Reserve. Given that I was changing the route I decided to mostly avoid using the North Downs Way. The gradients here are gentler (max around 16% instead of 27%) and there is less total elevation because it doesn’t drop down again after climbing to the top. The N D Way here doesn’t have as many viewing points as you might imagine because a lot of it is through woodland. This route has some fine views, particularly near the junction with Broad Hill Road and near Coldharbour Farm.

Where the route goes through the Hucking Estate (a popular Woodland Trust site noted for bluebells) several different options were tested. This way avoids road walking, is fitted to the path layout so it’s easy to follow, and is the most direct way across to the Slow Ways meeting point.

MaiHuc 2 does have two manageable issues, both shared with MaiHuc 1. There is some non-pavemented road walking which is all very quiet lanes, but Thurnham Road was only moderately quiet and needs more care, it’s wider and fairly straight, so the traffic is faster. And from a MaiHuc 1 review, perhaps the public footpath between Tesco and Ware St is off putting. Perhaps it’d help to know that there are fingerposts but they are, oddly, placed on the opposite sides of the roads within vegetation.

Break points: Tesco (with stops for bus route 9). The Bell pub on Ware Road, Bearsted Station (not quite on the route, 500m further along Ware Rd from the turn off). The Black Horse pub in Thurnham (also has rooms). Coldblow Farm Campsite. The Hook and Hatchet pub outside Hucking village, also a campsite is about 450m from the gate at TQ 8380 5799, paths on both types of map.

Note that Hucking village is very small indeed, with a church but no public transport and no other facilities.

Unfortunately it was tricky to incorporate Weavering Heath Nature Reserve in the route because the road crossings at either end aren’t safe, this isn’t shown on Ordnance Survey maps (OS), it’s labelled Gidd’s Pond Farm. However some locals use those entries, so if you are willing to take the risk they are at TQ 7808 5668 and TQ 7864 5662, again the internal paths are (mostly) shown on Open Street Maps.

For the paths through Vinters Valley - https://www.vintersvalley.co.uk/downloads/ReservemapV4.pdf

This route is a response to the reviews of MaiHuc 1. It hits the same main points but within Maidstone it swaps some of the “paths through housing estates” with Vinters Valley Nature Reserve. Given that I was changing the route I decided to mostly avoid using the North Downs Way. The gradients here are gentler (max around 16% instead of 27%) and there is less total elevation because it doesn’t drop down again after climbing to the top. The N D Way here doesn’t have as many viewing points as you might imagine because a lot of it is through woodland. This route has some fine views, particularly near the junction with Broad Hill Road and near Coldharbour Farm.

Where the route goes through the Hucking Estate (a popular Woodland Trust site noted for bluebells) several different options were tested. This way avoids road walking, is fitted to the path layout so it’s easy to follow, and is the most direct way across to the Slow Ways meeting point.

MaiHuc 2 does have two manageable issues, both shared with MaiHuc 1. There is some non-pavemented road walking which is all very quiet lanes, but Thurnham Road was only moderately quiet and needs more care, it’s wider and fairly straight, so the traffic is faster. And from a MaiHuc 1 review, perhaps the public footpath between Tesco and Ware St is off putting. Perhaps it’d help to know that there are fingerposts but they are, oddly, placed on the opposite sides of the roads within vegetation.

Break points: Tesco (with stops for bus route 9). The Bell pub on Ware Road, Bearsted Station (not quite on the route, 500m further along Ware Rd from the turn off). The Black Horse pub in Thurnham (also has rooms). Coldblow Farm Campsite. The Hook and Hatchet pub outside Hucking village, also a campsite is about 450m from the gate at TQ 8380 5799, paths on both types of map.

Note that Hucking village is very small indeed, with a church but no public transport and no other facilities.

Unfortunately it was tricky to incorporate Weavering Heath Nature Reserve in the route because the road crossings at either end aren’t safe, this isn’t shown on Ordnance Survey maps (OS), it’s labelled Gidd’s Pond Farm. However some locals use those entries, so if you are willing to take the risk they are at TQ 7808 5668 and TQ 7864 5662, again the internal paths are (mostly) shown on Open Street Maps.

For the paths through Vinters Valley - https://www.vintersvalley.co.uk/downloads/ReservemapV4.pdf