B2067 - The official website

The B2067 is a rambling, cross-country route across an unspoilt corner of Southeast Kent and was used for the Tour of Britain cycle race in September 2006. This is not a road for anybody who wants to get anywhere fast; however the Sunday afternoon driver should find it a great route should they wish to experience the true rural nature of Kent.

0m Tenterden is the quintessential wealden town. Situated on the A28 approximately half way between Hastings and Ashford, it would be impossible to do it justice in this small paragraph. The wide tree-lined High Street is over-shadowed by the square tower of St Mildred’s church. Tenterden has all the local shopper could require – book shops, historic pubs, a leisure centre, schools and a full range of stores from chemists to Woolworths to two supermarkets. For the tourist there is the steam railway which trundles slowly up to the town from Bodiam, ten miles to the southwest. The town also has historic links with William Caxton (of printing press fame) and the actress, Ellen Terry.

The B2067 leaves the town centre at a junction by the recreation ground. This road used to be signed 'Hamstreet' but is now signed 'Hythe' instead which rather unwisely encourages longer distance traffic onto the route. The B2067 always used to take a left turn into Golden Square a couple of hundred yards later, but now the motorist is encouraged to continue to the B2080 and turn left and then right to bypass this pinch point. As we leave the town on Woodchurch Road the transition from town to country is instant, with a comforting line of cat's eyes leading down through a long tunnel of trees, winding past the golf course, descending from the ridge of hills upon which Tenterden stands.

2m Brook Street. This is an open and fairly straight section crossing farmland to Woodchurch. You will notice several converted oast houses at various points to the left, their white 'cowls' and conical roofs serving as a reminder of Kent's hop-picking past.

4m Entering Woodchurch, one encounters two ninety-degree bends, so the 30 limit introduced in 2007 seems appropriate. You will pass the former Stonebridge Inn to the right. The village itself is well worth a quick detour left, with two public houses (Six Bells and Bonny Cravat) sited opposite the large parish church - three of the aforementioned bells are still in use today. You will also find a butcher, general store, model shop, garage, estate agent, school, surgery and post office. Woodchurch has a large green at its centre, which is regularly used for cricket matches. On the hillside above the village is its most striking feature – the white painted 'smock' windmill. Also worth a visit, a further half a mile out of the village, is the museum of village life.

6m Kenardington. Having passed the South of England Rare Breeds Centre and undulated gently for a couple of miles in and out of woodland, one reaches this small village with a brief 40 limit. It has its own church, located upon the site of an old Saxon fort that was stormed by the Danes in the ninth century. The World’s Wonder pub, however, is actually within the parish of Warehorne. From here onwards, our route bumps its way up and down the ridge of hills that surrounds the totally flat expanse of Romney Marsh.

7m Warehorne. The next mile of the route was improved in the sixties. You will notice traces of the original route that are now laybys to the left and right. Warehorne is another tiny village and is noteworthy for its smuggling connections. An underground tunnel connects the church with the rustic Woolpack Inn. This is a regular to many locals from Hamstreet, as well as having a good reputation for food throughout the Ashford area.

8m Hamstreet. The gateway to the marsh makes a great base for the long distance walker with three long distance paths: the Greensand Way, the Saxon Shore Way and the Royal Military Canal Path. Useful amenities include a railway station, a small supermarket/post office, a paper shop/farm shop, two DIY stores, garden centre, public house (Dukes Head), Indian restaurant, garage, school, surgery, dentist, antiques shop, dancing school, estate agency and hairdresser. Public woodland covers the hills that surround the village.

The village is famous for its appearance in map form on a set of postage stamps marking the bicentenery of the Ordnance Survey. As you enter the Hamstreet (cue 30 limit), you will pass under two bridges, the A2070 bypass and the Ashford – Hastings railway line. The transition into the narrow street that winds to the crossroads is again instant.

Beyond Hamstreet crossroads you will enter a one way street. A few hundred yards later is a T-junction beside the village green. B2067 turns left and proceeds to leave the village, climbing Cotton Hill. The next section is narrow, winding and undulous. You will also notice the absence of cat’s eyes.

10m Ruckinge. Half way to Ruckinge, you will pass a small industrial estate. Ruckinge itself is a small village with a long 30 limit. The headquarters of the lively 'Ruckinge and Hamstreet Scout and Guide Movement' can be found here, as well as the Blue Anchor pub and the church of St Mary Magdalene. It is believed that the Ransley Brothers, notorious smugglers, are buried in the churchyard.

11m Bilsington. Another small village that, like Ruckinge, joined the 30 limit club in 2005. The public house is the White Horse, and there is a monument near the cricket pitch dedicated to Sir William Richard Cosway, a local landlord, famed for his generosity to his staff, who tragically died in a riding accident. This obelisk was partially rebuilt as a millennium project.

12m Bonnington. The tinyest of all the villages. The former B2069 leaves for Aldington opposite the former school. All the villages from Kenardington to Bonnington are spring-line settlements, situated half way up the clay hills that surround the flatlands of the marsh. As one descends past the scattered houses of Bonnington, the wooded greensand escarpment looms ahead. Before this climb the B2067 gives way to the Aldington to Dymchurch road, with a turn to the right, and another to the left a hundred yards later. Then comes the long, twisty climb up out of the woodlands, now adorned with cat's eyes.

Upon reaching the top one encounters splendid views to the coast on the right hand side, before arriving at Postling Green, where the final turning for Aldington branches left. The church tower of St Martins’ can be seen from here, but the village itself cannot. There is a butcher at Aldington, as well as a post office store, fire station, school, surgery and public house (Walnut Tree). Noel Coward's former abode is also nearby.

This final section is part of the original Roman road, which ran from Lympne to Aldington, Cheesemans Green, Park Farm (Ashford) and beyond. It is therefore much straighter than the preceding section. As the route it now running along the top of the greensand ridge, there are no further significant hills on the route and the scenery consists of flatter open fields.

14.5m Court-at-Street (pictured above). A mere hamlet, which once boasted its own pub – the Welcome Stranger. 'Street' in a placename often indicates location along a Roman road.

15.5m Otterpool Lane. After passing Port Lympne Zoo, to the right, the official route of the B2067 branches left and runs for a mile to meet the A20 near Sellindge. This is a straight section passing Lympne Industrial Estate and the entrance to the zoo, before descending gently from the ridge, with views of the North Downs ahead.

Both Hamstreet and Tenterden have been given the heave-ho at the Otterpool Lane junction where a new sign bills only Aldington. The original route of the B2067 continues unabated however to Lympne and beyond.

16m Lympne is a large village, yet one with few shops. It does, however, maintain a Post Office, a hairdressers, the 'County Members' pub and the all essential 30 limit. Modern suburban housing, (built presumably because Westenhanger station isn't too far away), has not enhanced this historic village, which was once an important Roman settlement. The now ruined Roman castle at the bottom of the hillside is overlooked by the more recent castle, now a tourist attraction. Romney Marsh was once covered by water, hence this was an important landing place. Roman roads radiate from Lympne, the most noteworthy being Stone Street (B2068) to Canterbury.

18m Pedlinge. The former B2067 meanders to its conclusion along the top of the roughs; an open and, in places, barren stretch of land. Upon these stands a 'listening ear' dish, which was constructed to detect incoming aircraft in the days before RADAR.

The road is a single-track with passing places for the remainder of its course. The narrow lane bends acutely to the left, a few hundred yards before its meeting with the A261 at the hamlet of Pedlinge.

Don't believe a word of it. The town has many pubs, a well-endowed traffic-free High Street, a pleasant beach and a quaint steam railway - this time built on one-third scale. The town is sandwiched between the sea and the greensand escarpment, upon which the tower of St Leonards’ church proudly stands.

The Royal Military Canal passes through the town. This stretch of the canal is famed for the annual Venetian fete and a six-mile section of it is now adorned with a cycle way. One can only hope that one day this surfaced section will be extended westward as it currently abandons its course at a dam in the middle of nowhere. - A bit like the B2067 I suppose!