Section 4
Brookland to Iden
Walk Details
Walk Instructions
GREATSTONE TO GILLINGHAM ROBUST RAMBLE
Section 4 Out
Brookland to Iden
Map: OS Explorer 125 Romney Marsh, Rye & Winchelsea
Distance/time: 5.5 miles 3 hours
Start: the site of the former Royal Oak pub in the centre of the village (now closed). Just up the road in Boarman’s Lane is the village hall and a car park.
Comment: Many stiles, fields of turf cutting, bridges and ditches, some road walking on quiet country lanes, landmarks are important and many instructions are necessary to follow a route which is rarely evident on the ground. Features are Iden Lock, the Marshline railway and the Royal Military Canal. Be prepared for possible boggy areas.
With the former Royal Oak on your left go ahead along the road. Soon pass Boarman’s Lane on the left and follow the road around to the right. In a few paces turn left through a wooden kissing gate by a metal fieldgate. Go straight ahead along the fence and hedge on your right passing a white weatherboarded house to a stile in the corner ahead.
Cross into the corner of a large field. Ignore a path off left and keep straight ahead along the field edge by a line of trees. At the end of the trees bear right to a path continuing diagonally right across the field towards a small farm and a stile in the fence at the far side. Cross into an enclosed path and follow this out to a main road.
Cross with care and turn left along the pavement. In a few metres reach an entrance on your right into a large field used for turf cutting. Cross diagonally left to a gap in trees at the far side and enter a second turf field.
Walk up this aiming just right of a copse of trees and two houses in the distance. At the top of the field reach a single plank bridge across a stream. Cross and turn left. Immediately past the end of a line of trees turn right, up the edge of a field with the trees on your right. Emerge onto a road.
Turn left on the road to eventually reach a T-junction. Turn right here and continue to a second T-junction at King Street. Go straight across into a large field. Bear slightly right across the open field towards the left side of the buildings of Old Farm.
On approaching the buildings reach a concrete track. Ignore the stile going straight across. Instead turn left on the concrete track and follow it towards another farm and eventually out to a road.
Cross the road and continue up the entrance to Puddock Farm. Go straight through the buildings and on at the far side into the corner of a huge field. Go up the field edge with a ditch and hedge on your right for 1¼ miles.
Eventually pass a barn, cross a concrete bridge in reed beds and reach a railway line. Cross and continue, bearing slightly left, with a stream on your right. Be careful here. In 100 metres, where stream swings right, bear left across the open field to the far corner by a river sized waterway.
Turn left into the next field and go forward along the edge with the river on your right and power lines in the distance. Soon pass a brick bridge but do not cross. Keep on along the field edge to reach a concrete bridge. Turn right over this.
The proper footpath goes straight across the field here but there is no trace of it so follow the farm track diagonally left towards a pylon. Just before reaching the pylon, meet a deep drainage ditch. Do not cross but turn right to go along the field edge with the drainage ditch on your left.
In 150 metres, at a corner by bushes, turn left over a grassy bridge into the next field, and go along the edge towards pylons, with a wide stream over on the right. Soon bear left over another grassy bridge into a large field.
Bear diagonally right across the field aiming just left of a pylon towards a small barn in the far distance. Keep on under the power lines and past a corner of a ditch. Eventually pass the barn on your right and go up a bank to the side of the Royal Military Canal. Turn right along to Iden Lock. Turn left over the lock and out to a busy main road.
Turn left over a bridge over the River Rother and immediately right along a vehicle drive. Go between houses and continue by the river to a pumping station. Here turn left down a bank and follow a field edge to a stile in the top corner. Cross and go up to a second stile.
Now go steeply up the pasture ahead to the highest point. Continue on to the far top corner. Exit through a metal field gate and immediately turn right through a second fieldgate. Turn sharp left to go along the bottom edge of the field to a rusty metal fieldgate.
Through this bear diagonally right across the centre of the field to a stile in the far opposite corner. Cross this to a concrete drive. Turn left along the drive to a T-junction. Here turn right on a road for 50 metres looking for a metal fieldgate on your left.
Go through this into a field and bear diagonally right across the centre to the far opposite corner (it is very marshy in the middle so a detour may be necessary). In the far corner exit through a wide tractor gap into the field ahead. Turn sharp right along the top edge of the field with the hedge on your right.
At the corner ignore the footpath going down left. Bear right through a tractor gap into the field ahead and go straight across the centre towards a prominent oak tree at the far side. At the highest point of the field, bear left to a stile in a gap in the hedge ahead (a red tiled house can be seen in the distance).
Enter a sloping field and head slightly right down and over to the far opposite corner and a stile by a large cream bungalow. Go down an enclosed path to a road. Turn left and walk along to the village centre in Iden and The Bell pub at the end of the section.
GREATSTONE TO GILLINGHAM ROBUST RAMBLE
Section 4 Return
Iden to Brookland
Map: OS Explorer 125 Romney Marsh, Rye & Winchelsea
Distance/Time: 7.5 miles/3.5 hours
Start: The Bell Inn at Iden, limited pub or on-street parking.
Comment: A long return section. There is a dramatic descent to River Rother followed by the vast solitude of the marsh; wind farms are an increasing feature in this open gusty landscape. The route continues to be mostly invisible on the ground hence the many instructions which need careful attention, the Woolpack Inn is a welcome feature with a contrast of farmland towards the end. Allow plenty of time.
The return is initially along the outward section. With The Bell pub on your right, walk forward along the road, going straight across the junction, past the war memorial on your left down the road to Appledore. Look for a large cream coloured bungalow on your right called The Brambles, about 100 metres along.
Turn right here up an enclosed path to a stile. Enter a rising field. Bear diagonally left uphill to a stile in the top hedge. Go straight up the field ahead to the top corner by a trough. Go into the field beyond and follow the hedge on your left to a corner and a junction of paths by another drinking trough.
Ignore the wide gap into the marshy field on your left. Also ignore the path straight ahead over a footbridge behind the water trough. Instead bear right around the edge of the field. Pass a pond in trees to reach a stile in a corner.
Cross into a field and bear diagonally right across the open field towards a house in the far corner. Go through a metal fieldgate onto a road. Turn right along it for a short distance.
Immediately past a garden on the left, turn left off the road over a stile. Continue down the field edge with a hedge on your left. Halfway down go left over a stile and turn immediately right to continue down with the hedge now on your right.
Follow the hedge right down to the bottom corner of the field. Leave the field by two water troughs and go straight across the neck of the field ahead towards woods.
Enter trees and soon cross a single plank bridge. Keep on through woods for some way, down to a second plank bridge then up to a stile at the top of the wood. Cross into a field. Bear right across the centre to a stile at the right of a pond at the far side.
Cross the pasture beyond bearing slightly left to a stile in the fence, with trees beyond, at the far side. Over this stile go steeply down through trees descending rapidly towards a busy road and the River Rother beyond. Cross a footbridge to the roadside.
Cross the road with care (traffic is fast), and go up the concrete access road opposite. Cross the river and turn left still on concrete and walk up to a house. Immediately past the house turn right along a rough vehicle track between fences, directly away from the river.
Follow for some way, eventually crossing a long bridge to a road. Turn right a few paces then cross to a grassy bridge and a metal fieldgate. Cross the field ahead to a railway crossing.
Over the railway continue across a pasture to a metal fieldgate and bridge. Now turn right and keep on to a wooden footbridge standing clear above the grass. Cross and bear slightly right to a yellow pole and stile at a drainage ditch.
Now bear slightly left to a footbridge with bushes beyond. Do not cross but turn left and continue with a stream on your right for ½ mile, going through a fieldgate halfway. Eventually follow the stream as it bends sharp right, and go across to a footbridge.
Cross this bridge. You are now facing a light coloured farm building a mile ahead. The path aims directly to this. Go straight across the field ahead to reach a junction of ditches at the far side. Cross a grassy bridge and continue across a field to a footbridge and on again.
Just before the farm bear right over a footbridge and turn left along the field edge passing the farm on your left to reach a metal fieldgate. Go through and go straight on ignoring a track off on the left. Walk towards a line of wooden poles going straight ahead.
Past the first pole reach a stream. Bear left across to a footbridge. Over this turn diagonally right back towards the line of wooden poles. Reach a track and cattle grid. Turn right over the cattle grid a few paces then left over a new footbridge into Kent (a bridge long missing !).
Go straight ahead, not on the track on the left, but along the field edge with a stream on your left. Keep in this direction for ¼ mile following the line of wooden poles. Eventually emerge onto a concrete farm road.
Turn right for a mile towards then into a wind farm. Eventually the concrete road turns sharp left towards farm buildings. Stay on it. Soon the road swings right. Here leave it (Turbine 217 is just ahead) and walk directly across the field towards a turbine standing exactly between two distant pylons.
As you cross the field bear to the right of the turbine (no. 216) and find a grassy bridge into the field beyond. Turn diagonally right on a path heading towards the farm. Soon reach a footbridge in bushes. Continue on towards the highest farm building.
Just before leaving the field at the farm look for a stream going off left. Turn left along this with the stream down on your right. Over the other side running parallel, is an access track to a turbine. Follow this stream on your right for 1½ miles. The exit is tricky.
In ¾ mile notice a stile into an area of unusual embankments. Pass these on your right. In ½ mile reach the end of the embankments by the last bush before a great expanse of open field and grey farm buildings in the distance.
Turn right over a rough stile by the bush and go up to the embankment. Turn left to find a stile behind the last embankment. Cross into a field and bear diagonally right across to a fieldgate at the far side.
At the fieldgate(entrance to Romney Marsh Nature Reserve) climb up to a track and turn left along it to a road. Turn right on the road for 100 metres passing the Woolpack Inn.
Look for a path down the bank on your left and cross to a rusty metal fieldgate (currently locked). Cross and bear diagonally right across to a house. Pass the house and reach a stile by a fieldgate onto a road.
Turn right on the road for a few paces then left over a stile into a field. Continue along the field edge with a stream on your left to a footbridge at the far end. Keep straight on across the field ahead to a road bend.
Immediately turn left into the corner of a field and go diagonally right across the centre towards a white house at the far opposite corner. In the corner cross a stile into a horse paddock. Pass the house to reach a wooden kissing gate onto a road.
Turn right on the road and follow it around to soon reach Brookland and the start of the section.
-robust-ramble/section-4.jpg)