Hamsreet Area Walking Guide

The village of Hamstreet is surrounded by public woodland including Hamstreet woods, an area of special scientific interest renowned for the presence of wild service trees and nightingales. The Weald of Kent was once covered with woodland of this kind and the suffix 'den' on many local place-names indicates a clearing in the forest.

The first two walks in this guide follow the Saxon Shore Way and Greensand Way footpaths through the woods and return along the banks of the area's other striking feature - the Royal Military Canal. Ramblers are free to roam any footpaths within the nature reserve and there is also a hard surfaced circular route of around half a mile in length with a tapping rail for the visually impaired.

Hamstreet is a great base for walkers because of its railway station, shops, restaurant and five pubs within two and half miles of the main crossroads. Details of these appear on the right hand side of the page.

Head towards Hythe along the one-way street from the village crossroads and turn left down the lane signed ‘Bournewood’. At the end of the lane, bear right, through the gate into Hamstreet Woods.

As you enter the woods the Saxon Shore Way bridges a stream and bears sharp left. Then after around a hundred yards it forks right. Stay on the grassy right hand side, as the surfaced path on the left eventually deviates. The trail runs right through the middle of the woods, gradually climbing for around a mile until it reaches a gate at the other end. Go through the gate and continue up to the T-junction with Gill Lane bridleway.

Bear left and climb out of the woods. The Saxon Shore Way then exits right along a farm track, while we continue ahead on Gill Lane. 300 yards later you will reach a junction; turn right taking great care as this lane is narrow and bounded by hedges.

Several hundred yards later, you will reach another junction with a gravel surfaced byway leading straight ahead. Follow this all the way into the woods, around the sharp bend and on for around a mile descending to meet the B2067 near Herne Farm.

Turn right, walking westward along the road for a quarter of a mile to Ruckinge village. This is another settlement with smuggling connections; it is believed that the notorious Ransley brothers were hanged at Penenden Heath, Maidstone and buried in Ruckinge churchyard (St Mary Magdalene).

Turning left at the T-junction just after the Blue Anchor pub; you will pass the chapel and cross the bridge over the Royal Military Canal. It is now just a simple matter of following the canal path back to Hamstreet. When you reach Hamstreet Bridge around a mile and a half later, turn right, and follow the road past the garden centre (which includes a cafe) back into the village.

Follow the route of the ‘Ruckinge Loop’ as far as Herne Farm, Ruckinge. (If you wish to try an alternative route into the woods, head south from the crossroads and turn left down the alleyway opposite the church. Follow this over the little bridge, past the bowling green and straight over the road to pass the duck-pond and climb through a housing estate. Turn left when you reach a T-junction of estate roads, and when the road reaches a dead end, turn left into the woods. This narrow path curves right and soon becomes wider and dead straight (Main Ride). Follow this all the way to the end where it meets Gill Farm Track. Turn right to continue the Ruckinge Loop up to the gate at the top of the woods and on as instructed above).

When you reach Herne Farm, turn left along the B2067 and walk very carefully until the sharp left-hand bend. Take the public footpath straight ahead, across the field towards a house at the top of the hill. Keep to the right hand side of the house and descend the other side, heading for the corner next to the road. Cross the stile into the next field and continue along the left hand side. You will come out onto the road beside a little bridge.

Turn right, following the road up the hill into Bilsington village, taking great care. Here, the pub is the White Horse and the church is of St Peter and St Paul. The obelisk is a monument, built in 1835, to honour a local landowner, Sir Richard Cosway, who was famed for his generosity towards his workers but tragically died in a coaching accident. Bilsington was voted the fifth best postcode area in the UK to live in in 2006.

Turning right at the crossroads, follow the lane down the hill past the cricket field on your right. You will notice a footpath parallel to the road along the field edge, which will bring you back out onto the lane at the bottom.

It is now a simple matter of following the canal path for two and a half miles back to Hamstreet.It is now a simple matter of turning right to follow the canal path for two and a half miles back to Hamstreet. This runs along the north bank as far as Ruckinge (where the Blue Anchor can be found a few hundred yards north up the lane) and the south bank beyond.

Head towards Hythe along the one-way street from the village crossroads and turn left down the lane signed ‘Bournewood’. At the end of the lane, cross the stile and continue straight ahead, with the edge of the field on your left. You will soon reach the railway embankment, climb this and cross the line carefully. This Ashford to Hastings line is one of only two remaining diesel lines in the South-east.

Descend the embankment to the next field, and follow the footpath diagonally across it due north-west. You will soon pass underneath the bypass (opened in 1994) and continue along the left hand side of the next field until a track bears left into Orlestone. There will be a house to your right and tennis courts to your left. Next you will pass a pond behind St Mary's Church.

A few hundred yards later you will reach a crossroads of footpaths. Turn ninety degrees left to take the path across the field and out to the lane. Our walk continues straight across but those wishing to explore the church can detour left at this point. This hamlet with its church of St Mary’s was all Hamstreet originally was. When the flatlands of Romney Marsh were drained, the population decamped to the more southerly location, then known merely as ‘Ham’. It was the coming of the railway in 1851 that ultimately led to the growth of this village.

Our footpath crosses a lawn and passes to the left of a pond to descend across the next field to the old main road. Turn left and return to the village centre down the hill on the pavement, passing the school and railway station. There is a decorative map and some local history in Forge Gardens on the left just before you reach the crossroads.

Head towards Tenterden along the B2067 from the village crossroads. After passing beneath the arched railway bridge and the modern bypass bridge, climb the steps on your left. A short distance along this stony path, there is a stile to your right. Climb over and follow the Saxon Shore Way in a straight line towards the church tower across the fields eventually descending into a dip and gently climbing again. Having walked along the right hand edge of the final field, you will come to a stile surrounded by bushes. Cross this and continue along the drive out to the lane. Turn right.

The sixteenth century Woolpack inn is connected to the church of St Matthew by an underground tunnel. This was built and used by smugglers, a common practice in this area in centuries past.

Take the path, left, into the churchyard and walk around the west side of the building. If you imagine a straight line right through the church, this is roughly the route of the footpath down to the lane. Cross the level crossing and continue down to the Royal Military Canal. This was built as a line of defence against a feared invasion from Napoleon. A footpath follows its banks for the full 28 miles from Cliff End (near Hastings) to Seabrook (near Folkestone).

To return to Hamstreet, take the footpath that heads due northeast across the fields towards a static lorry-back. You will have to negotiate your way around a sheep pen and look carefully for the bridges across dykes and crossing-points over electric fences. The telegraph pole in the middle of the distant sloping field is a good reference point to check you are on course. You will eventually reach the Hamstreet bypass; cross this and continue, descending to the village where the path bridges a dyke and follows a short lane out to the High Street.

Use the previous route to get to Warehorne, but continue along the lane past the church and Woolpack Inn. A drive to a farm bears left, and almost immediately the Saxon Shore Way exits right, across the field. As you descend across the middle of the sloping second field, head for the right hand side of the row of trees at the end. Pass through the swing-gate and head southwest, diagonally across the field towards Kenardington church, lining yourself up with the bridges that cross the dykes. At this low point, it is easy to realise why the Saxon Shore Way is so called, for these fields would have been covered by water many centuries ago.

It is a gentle climb to St Mary’s, which occupies the site of a Saxon camp that was stormed by the Danes in the ninth century. Follow the path around the church and as you leave the churchyard, you will notice a stile to your right. Cross this and head along the fence, eventually you will descend via a series of steps to a lane. Turn right, continuing around the corner and on for several hundred yards.

You should eventually notice a public footpath on your right hand side between two garden fences. Follow this path across the dyke and northeast along the edge of the field, taking care as there are often thick nettles here. You will come out onto a farm track, continue straight across this and through the gap in the bushes into the next field.

If you head for the tree in the middle of this field, you should remain on course for the stile at the other side - look for the ‘hole’ in the bushes. You will cross a concrete drive - if you are thirsty, the World’s Wonder public house can be reached by turning left along this drive!

Continue across the next field; there should be a house just to your left. The path will then climb along the right hand side of a row of bushes until you will reach a familiar swing-gate, with just two fields to cross back to Warehorne, from which you can continue the previous walk via the churchyard down to the canal.

The information on this page may be freely copied for use on walks providing credit is given to the author. Highlight the text, then copy and paste into a Word document and change the text colour to black.

A further three walks (Hamstreet circumnavigation, Stockbridge Loop and Capel Road loop) are available free upon request by emailing Hamcopublishing@AOL.com