Robust Rambles

Section 10 (Out)

Bethersden to Smarden

Walk Details

Walk Instructions

From the ‘George Inn’ turn left a short distance to enter the churchyard. Walk across on a paved path with the church on the left, to a gate at the far side by a large tree. Keep on, by a fence, to a kissing gate and on again by a house to a road.

Cross the road and pass though a metal fieldgate to go on by a fence. On entering the next field, go right, ignoring a path going straight ahead, and continue along by the hedge on the right down to the bottom right corner. Turn left and continue along the field edge to a stile on the right (local walkers go diagonally right across the field and down to the stile). Cross this and go down to a footbridge.

Over the bridge, turn left on a paved way with the stream on the left. At the top of the wood, go over a stile into a field and continue uphill with a strip of woodland on the left to a further stile. Cross and go on again, uphill, to another stile.

Continue on by the woodland on the left. At the top of the rise a line of trees goes off on the right. Here, leave the line of woodland on your left and enter a field. Strike out across the field aiming towards the largest tree ahead. Keep on past the tree and a large pond on your right, to a stile on the right. Cross this and follow a field edge to a further stile.

Cross the field ahead, aiming to a house well concealed in trees. On reaching the hedge in front of the house, with a pond the other side, turn right and follow the hedge around to a gate onto a drive by Tippet Farm. Go forward down the drive to a T-junction.

Cross straight over to a stile and on into a field. Walk straight across to the end of a line of trees and a pond. Keep forward with a hedge on your left, to a gap on the left into and adjacent field. Go through and turn immediately right to a gate and a stile by a road. DO NOT LEAVE THE FIELD but turn left, away from the road. Go along the field edge by a hedge on the right. At a corner follow the hedge around to the left (do not enter adjoining field) and go on down the side of this large field towards a house with a deep sloping roof.

Follow the field edge all the way down to a stile in the very bottom corner by road signs. Cross the stile and a footbridge out to the road junction at Wissenden Corner. Go ahead a short distance down the road signed to Bethersden to an obvious footpath sign.

Turn right into a farm drive and immediately left over a stile into a field. Go diagonally right across the field aiming between the left pair of isolated trees in the centre. Continue to a footbridge and ladder stile over a fence beyond. Keep forward over the next field to a further footbridge and stile. DO NOT CROSS but turn right and walk uphill with a ditch and hedge on your left.

Follow the hedge to a stile at the top of the rise and keep by the hedge to a second stile in bushes. Cross and turn right along a leafy path, unfortunately with a boggy patch, leading to a road. Turn left on this.

In 200 metres, where the road bends right, cross a stile on the left and walk over a field, heading towards farm buildings ahead. Leave the field by a metal fieldgate at the far end. Pass a farm building on the right to reach a junction with a concrete farm road.

Turn left on this towards two large new cattlesheds. Just before the first one, turn right on a broken brick track up the side of the building. At the top meet a tall hedge on your right. Keep forward with the hedge on your right along the field edge to a stile by a tree.

Cross this and the field beyond to a metal gate where trees meet a hedge. Through this, head up by the hedge to a stile leading to a path in a pleasant woodland strip with the unusual brick tower of Romden Castle beyond.

On nearing the house the path bears left to a stile (currently there are several fallen trees to be negotiated). Cross into a pasture and aim to the right of a pond hidden in bushes with farm buildings beyond.

Keep on past the pond and cross the rest of the field to exit via a fieldgate onto the concrete farmyard (the path goes right then left between cowsheds into the field beyond, then turns right to a stile in the hedge to emerge onto a road). The proper route can be difficult and dangerous with deep slurry, so turn right on the concrete track and walk past the farmhouse and out to a road.

Over the road, opposite the farm exit is a metal fieldgate. Go through the gate and look leftwards, across the field, to see the end of a wire fence running away towards a distant treeline.

Walk over to this fence, there may be gates or hurdles here to control cattle, and go along with the fence on your left. At the end, cross a concrete footbridge into a wooded area, with a stile at the far side. Enter a field with the houses of Smarden ahead. Follow the hedge on your left all the way to a car park. At the entrance to the car park, go left, down a short residential close with bungalows on the right.

Pass a large detached house on your left and immediately go left up a footpath to a field. Turn right along the field edge at the foot of gardens. Eventually emerge onto a narrow road by the last house. Turn right and walk along to reach a T-junction in Smarden. The village centre with the Chequers Inn and post office is on the left. This is the end of the section.