From the village hall in Trottiscliffe, turn left into School Lane, pass the primary school and continue to the T-junction. Turn right up Taylor’s Lane, go past The Plough pub and take the second turning on the right, which is Green Lane, a bridleway. You’ll see fine examples of Kentish tile hanging and weatherboarding on the cottages to the left. Timber was the most readily available building material until the 17th century when the forests began to disappear. Timber-framed buildings often look lopsided because Tudor builders used fresh, green wood that twisted as it dried. Tiles, made of local clay, were often hung onto houses to give extra protection against the elements, particularly during the 17th and 18th centuries. Weatherboarding with wood was an alternative to tile hanging. Pass the allotments on the left and follow the bridleway ahead beside a garden.
At the end of the garden turn left and head north through a field with a high hedge to the left. There are good views now of the North Downs escarpment. Go through two sets of kissing gates and you’ll see Trosley Country Park signed ahead. One of Kent’s first country parks, this was once the estate belonging to Trosley Towers mansion. It covers 160 acres (64.8ha) of the North Downs.
Turn left and continue along the lane to the junction with Taylor’s Lane and Vigo Hill. Turn right just before the junction, bearing right again between hurdles, and take the middle path ahead, diagonally uphill in a northeasterly direction to a kissing gate. Pass through two more kissing gates as you ascend towards the woodland. Continue up through the wood until you turn right to follow the North Downs Way. Keep on this broad path, ignoring offshoots.
Eventually your path bears left uphill and through a kissing gate. Turn right and make your way downhill, continuing to follow the North Downs Way. This is an incredibly atmospheric part of the walk. The lane is deep and the trees form a thick canopy overhead; it feels as if it hasn’t changed for thousands of years. At the foot of the woodland cross the Pilgrims’ Way and join the Wealdway to continue your descent through fields down to the Coldrum Stones.
Return along the track and follow the waymarked path left through fields to join a track that leads to a road. Cross and walk down the footpath ahead to the Church of St Peter and St Paul. This is of Norman origin and boasts a large pulpit that came from Westminster Abbey. Just by the church is a picturesque cluster of buildings that once surrounded a palace of the Bishops of Rochester. Return to the village from the fingerpost in front of the church, by following the footpath left. At the road turn right to go back to the village hall.
The village of Trottiscliffe (pronounced Trosley), sits close to the Pilgrims’ Way and was once a calling point for pilgrims en-route to Canterbury. Yet its history stretches back much further, to the days when England’s earliest farming communities made the Medway valley their home. This walk... leads you to a reminder of those ancient times – Coldrum Long Barrow. Better known as the Coldrum Stones, this is a neolithic burial site dating back to around 3000 BC. Originally there would have been a circle of upright stones on the site, surrounding a large earthen burial chamber. This in turn would have been divided by large stones, creating interior chambers. This style of construction is similar to that of tombs found in northwest Europe, but in Britain is confined to North Kent. It shows that there were close cultural links between the two areas. People have been investigating the site since the 1800s. When the barrow was excavated in detail in 1910, the remains of 22 people were discovered as well as the bones of a deer, an ox, a rabbit and a fox. There are various theories about the site. The skeletons are said to have physical similarities, so they could belong to members of the same family, buried there perhaps over a number of years. Another suggestion is that the grave belonged to a chieftain, and that when he died his family (and perhaps his slaves) would have been killed so as to accompany him on his journey to the afterlife. A female skull has been found to bear the signs that she was murdered, probably by an axe, lending weight to this theory. There appear to have been two phases of burial at the site, with a hundred years between them. The word ‘Coldrum’ is thought to derive from old Cornish ‘Galdrum’, which means ‘place of enchantment’. It certainly still has the power to enchant: on the 1st of May each year the Hartley Morris Men visit the stones to dance and ‘sing up the sun’. Trottiscliffe was once the home of World War II artist Graham Sutherland (1903–80), who lived at the White House for many years and is buried in the churchyard, which you pass at the end of this walk. Sutherland was best known as a landscape painter, who took inspiration from nature and the countryside. In World War II he became an official war artist, working mainly on the Home Front. However he painted portraits as well as landscapes and these were often controversial, as they tended to be unflattering. He is best remembered for the portrait of Sir Winston Churchill, to mark his 80th birthday, which was commissioned by both Houses of Parliament but which Churchill famously detested. The painting was destroyed by Churchill’s wife.
Kent is home to the White Cliffs of Dover, an English icon that marks the point where the Kent Downs AONB stretches from the Surrey Hills down to the sea. Visitors can explore historic parklands, including Knole Park and Sir Winston Churchill’s former home at Chartwell, or beautiful nature reserves, such as the coppiced woodlands of Denge Wood and Earley Wood and the ancient fine chalk woodland of Yockletts Bank.
From the village hall in Trottiscliffe, turn left into School Lane, pass the primary school and continue to the T-junction. Turn right up Taylor’s Lane, go past The Plough pub and take the second turning on the right, which is Green Lane, a bridleway. You’ll see fine examples of Kentish tile hanging and weatherboarding on the cottages to the left. Timber was the most readily available building material until the 17th century when the forests began to disappear. Timber-framed buildings often look lopsided because Tudor builders used fresh, green wood that twisted as it dried. Tiles, made of local clay, were often hung onto houses to give extra protection against the elements, particularly during the 17th and 18th centuries. Weatherboarding with wood was an alternative to tile hanging. Pass the allotments on the left and follow the bridleway ahead beside a garden.
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At the end of the garden turn left and head north through a field with a high hedge to the left. There are good views now of the North Downs escarpment. Go through two sets of kissing gates and you’ll see Trosley Country Park signed ahead. One of Kent’s first country parks, this was once the estate belonging to Trosley Towers mansion. It covers 160 acres (64.8ha) of the North Downs.
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Turn left and continue along the lane to the junction with Taylor’s Lane and Vigo Hill. Turn right just before the junction, bearing right again between hurdles, and take the middle path ahead, diagonally uphill in a northeasterly direction to a kissing gate. Pass through two more kissing gates as you ascend towards the woodland. Continue up through the wood until you turn right to follow the North Downs Way. Keep on this broad path, ignoring offshoots.
3 of 5
Eventually your path bears left uphill and through a kissing gate. Turn right and make your way downhill, continuing to follow the North Downs Way. This is an incredibly atmospheric part of the walk. The lane is deep and the trees form a thick canopy overhead; it feels as if it hasn’t changed for thousands of years. At the foot of the woodland cross the Pilgrims’ Way and join the Wealdway to continue your descent through fields down to the Coldrum Stones.
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Return along the track and follow the waymarked path left through fields to join a track that leads to a road. Cross and walk down the footpath ahead to the Church of St Peter and St Paul. This is of Norman origin and boasts a large pulpit that came from Westminster Abbey. Just by the church is a picturesque cluster of buildings that once surrounded a palace of the Bishops of Rochester. Return to the village from the fingerpost in front of the church, by following the footpath left. At the road turn right to go back to the village hall.
The village of Trottiscliffe (pronounced Trosley), sits close to the Pilgrims’ Way and was once a calling point for pilgrims en-route to Canterbury. Yet its history stretches back much further, to the days when England’s earliest farming communities made the Medway valley their home. This walk... leads you to a reminder of those ancient times – Coldrum Long Barrow. Better known as the Coldrum Stones, this is a neolithic burial site dating back to around 3000 BC. Originally there would have been a circle of upright stones on the site, surrounding a large earthen burial chamber. This in turn would have been divided by large stones, creating interior chambers. This style of construction is similar to that of tombs found in northwest Europe, but in Britain is confined to North Kent. It shows that there were close cultural links between the two areas. People have been investigating the site since the 1800s. When the barrow was excavated in detail in 1910, the remains of 22 people were discovered as well as the bones of a deer, an ox, a rabbit and a fox. There are various theories about the site. The skeletons are said to have physical similarities, so they could belong to members of the same family, buried there perhaps over a number of years. Another suggestion is that the grave belonged to a chieftain, and that when he died his family (and perhaps his slaves) would have been killed so as to accompany him on his journey to the afterlife. A female skull has been found to bear the signs that she was murdered, probably by an axe, lending weight to this theory. There appear to have been two phases of burial at the site, with a hundred years between them. The word ‘Coldrum’ is thought to derive from old Cornish ‘Galdrum’, which means ‘place of enchantment’. It certainly still has the power to enchant: on the 1st of May each year the Hartley Morris Men visit the stones to dance and ‘sing up the sun’. Trottiscliffe was once the home of World War II artist Graham Sutherland (1903–80), who lived at the White House for many years and is buried in the churchyard, which you pass at the end of this walk. Sutherland was best known as a landscape painter, who took inspiration from nature and the countryside. In World War II he became an official war artist, working mainly on the Home Front. However he painted portraits as well as landscapes and these were often controversial, as they tended to be unflattering. He is best remembered for the portrait of Sir Winston Churchill, to mark his 80th birthday, which was commissioned by both Houses of Parliament but which Churchill famously detested. The painting was destroyed by Churchill’s wife.
Kent is home to the White Cliffs of Dover, an English icon that marks the point where the Kent Downs AONB stretches from the Surrey Hills down to the sea. Visitors can explore historic parklands, including Knole Park and Sir Winston Churchill’s former home at Chartwell, or beautiful nature reserves, such as the coppiced woodlands of Denge Wood and Earley Wood and the ancient fine chalk woodland of Yockletts Bank.
