Section 1
Herne Bay to Herne Common
Walk Details
Walk Instructions
Robust Ramble Herne Bay to Hazlemere
Section 1 Out
Herne Bay to Herne Common
OS Map: Explorer 150 Canterbury & the Isle of Thanet
Total Circular Distance: 4 miles/3 hours
Start: From Herne Bay Railway Station main entrance. The station has a car park and it saves time and effort to pay for a day’s parking.
Comment: Lots of new building south of the station but the paths are all there. It helps to have the OS app on your mobile phone. Beyond Herne village the paths are rough across pasture and the main bridlepath is muddy in places. The Curious Cat at Herne Common is open seven days a week.
From the front of Herne Bay Station, turn right down the Approach Road. Look for a tarmac path going off right and follow it down and under the railway lines. Continue on an enclosed path to a road. Cross and continue up the path opposite.
Soon reach another, busier, road. Cross, slightly left, to Flamingo Drive and go up here.
Pass a pond on the right and, at the end of the road, by Harlequin Close, go forward on a narrow tarmac path between bushes.
Emerge into a close and turn immediately left on a gravel path. Soon cross an unusual metal stile and go on through new building.
Come to a new road. Cross straight over to continue on a tarmac path. Reach the end of a close. Bear right on the road, past a pond on your right.
Stay on the road for some way as it curves left round a playing field on your left. Pass Holness Road on your right then turn right along a gravel footpath between ponds.
Go up and under a bypass, then on across a field (looking ripe for development).
Emerge onto a road and turn right. Soon merge into a second road and keep forward for 100 metres.
Opposite open country on your right, turn left on a narrow path into woods. Reach and go through an equestrian gate and continue forward (ignore path off, back right).
Reach a further equestrian gate into a field. Go through then diagonally right, uphill, past a fenced off conifer tree to a stile in the top fence. DO NOT CROSS but turn right along with the fence on your left.
When the fence ends keep on in the same direction across the open field to a stile by a metal fieldgate. Go forward on a track along the edge of paddocks for some way.
At the end go through a metal fieldgate. In a few paces beyond go left up a muddy bridleway for some distance.
At the top of the hill reach a metal equestrian gate and go through. Immediately turn left with trees on your left and new housing on your right.
At Swallow Court join a road and keep forward all the way to a main road ahead.
Cross with care, slightly left, to the Curious Cat pub and the end of the section.
Robust Ramble Herne Bay to Hazlemere
Section 1 Return
Herne Common to Herne Bay Station
OS Map: Explorer 150 Canterbury & the Isle of Thanet
Total Circular Distance: 4 miles/3 hours
Start: From the Curious Cat pub. No parking except in the pub car park by arrangement.
Comment: Some nice country to begin with followed by some gentle weaving around the creeping development of Herne village. Then quiet road walking from Herne Mill. This is high on the hill so some views as you go. A very long footbridge leads back to a former country lane, Eddington Lane, and the footpath under the railway, to Herne Bay Station.
Leave the Curious Cat pub and regain the main road. Turn left and soon find a footpath on your left just before a Cattery.
Walk down an enclosed path and emerge onto a road. Go straight over to a footpath opposite. Keep down and over a footbridge, then bear left on a narrow and boggy path along the edge of gardens.
Cross a stile into a field and keep on down the edge with a hedge on your left.
Near the bottom corner, turn left, through a gap in the hedge and over a footbridge to a path junction.
Turn left, uphill, with the hedge on your left and a fence on the right.
On approaching houses, cross a stile and continue up to cross another stile onto a road.
Cross to a tarmac path opposite and go down through houses. On reaching Curtis Wood Park Road, follow the road down.
Where the road bears left down to a main road, turn right up a side road, passing a pond on the left. Stay on the road, steeply uphill. At a T-junction, turn left downhill.
Reach a main road and turn right a few paces (no pavement and on a bend – a dangerous moment). Soon turn uphill on a side road to Chapel Row. At the top continue on a path.
At a T-junction with a school beyond, turn right a few paces, then left along an enclosed path. Keep along turning left then right, out to a road.
Cross to go up the road opposite. Bear right at the top then look for an enclosed path off left between bungalows.
Enter and cross an open field to a broken stile at the far side. Continue on with trees on your right.
Cross a stile onto a vehicle drive and turn left uphill.
Reach a main road and cross to go up Hawe Farm Way. Near the top turn left along Charnwood Road. At the top turn right on an enclosed path and follow it out to a road. Notice Herne Mill across opposite. Turn right on the road.
In 200 metres reach a crossroads. Turn left down Pigeon Lane to the very bottom.
Go forward onto a very long footbridge crossing a dual carriageway. At the end drop down to a main road.
Turn right a few paces then cross to turn left along Eddington Lane. In about ½ mile reach a roundabout.
Turn right between business units, still on Eddington Lane. In 100 metres turn right on an enclosed path (used on outward route) and go along and under the railway to reach Station Approach. Turn left up to Herne Bay Station and the start of the section.
