Section 4 Out
Warehorne to Appledore
Walk Details
| Map | OS Explorer 125 Romney Marsh |
|---|---|
| Distance/Time | 4 miles/ 2 hours |
| Start | The Woolpack Inn, by the church in Warehorne |
| Comment | A varied walk with undulating country, views and woodland. The Saxon Shore Way sections should be straightforward, but the less used paths need constant attention. There are many stiles, often hidden in hedges and the possibility of a fieldgate to be climbed. |
Walk Instructions
With the Woolpack Inn on the right, go on up the road following the Saxon Shore Way. At a righthand bend in the road, turn left up a farm entrance drive. In a few paces reach a metal kissing gate on the right. Go through into a field and straight across to a second kissing gate in the hedge ahead.
Enter a downward sloping field. Go straight ahead, parallel with the hedge over on the left (do not follow the farm track which curves away to the left). In the hedge at the bottom of the field reach another metal kissing gate.
Through this, enter a large sloping pasture, with Kencardington church on the hill above. Bear left down to the far end of a stunted hedge in the valley below.
From this point, head over, slightly left, to a footbridge. There are actually three footbridges over the Horsemarsh Sewer. Cross them and go on to a metal kissing gate; then on to another kissing gate.
The way is then clearly uphill to the church. Pass the church on your right and continue to the top left corner of the churchyard. Cross into the adjoining field.
Turn immediately right, up the side of the field, to a corner by a house, then follow the field edge around and along to the next corner. Here turn right and go up to a metal kissing gate and emerge onto a road.
Turn left for a few paces, then right, off the road, through yet another kissing gate, into a field. Here leave the Saxon Shore Way and bear left to a stile between two trees.
Enter a large field and go straight ahead to a gap in the hedge at the far side just right of a telegraph pole. Cross a small stile in the hedge and bear left across the next field to a solitary stile in the middle of the field. Here turn right uphill to a gate.
Through the gate go on uphill for a good way passing woods over on the left; do not veer towards them. On the brow of the hill look for a cottage with a red roof ahead and aim towards it. Eventually find a stile in the end hedge and emerge onto a road in front of the red roofed cottage. Cross to go forward up a narrow country road opposite. Pass a smallholding on your left, with stables. Immediately past this turn left into woods (NO WAYMARK) and follow a path which soon bears away right from the stables.
At a Y-fork keep right. Then at a further Y-fork, by a wire fence bear left. Follow this path down to a stile. Cross the stile and bear right, to keep on down through the wood.
On reaching a second Y-fork in a clearing take the righthand upper path. Keep forward to a meeting of paths under a tall oak tree. Here turn immediately right then left to go on in the same direction over a long boardwalk.
At the next Y-fork bear left (disregard woodland trail posts) and soon reach a corner of woodland by a fence and footbridge. Do not leave the wood but continue on along the main path just inside the wood. Where this reaches a bend and swings away to the right, drop down to the left on a narrow path to a stile and gap in the corner leading out of the wood. Emerge into a vineyard.
Turn right down the edge of the field and in the bottom corner join a farm track which leaves the vines and swings away left downhill. At the bottom go through double metal fieldgates (CURRENTLY LOCKED) to emerge onto a road by Hornes Place.
Cross the road with care to a driveway opposite and go up the side of a house to wooden gates. Through these, continue up a grassy track to a corner by a lake on the left. Cross a stile by a metal fieldgate and continue uphill on a narrow and overgrown path. At the top go forward to a junction with the Saxon Shore Way and splendid views.
Turn right on the SSW and in a short distance cross an unusual mound of earth. Continue down the path on the other side to a stile in the hedge at the bottom. Cross into a rough pasture and bear diagonally left to the far opposite corner.
Go through a gap in the hedge to a footbridge. Cross into a large field. Again go diagonally left, across the centre, to a metal fieldgate in the far opposite corner.
Go through onto an access road and a playing field. Once more, go diagonally left, across the playing field, to toilets in the far opposite corner and a road beyond. Turn left on the road and walk all the way into the centre of Appledore and the Black Lion pub (the other pub seems recently to have closed; there is a tea room as well). This is the end of the section.
