Wealdway: Wrotham Heath to Tonbridge
Start the walk along a drive to the right of the Royal Oak pub. It narrows to a path and passes under the railway. Ignore a left fork and, at the next lane, bear left. After 300yds (275m), fork right on a
narrow fenced path between rhododendrons. Ignore the many side and crossing tracks in this woodland.
At the road on the edge of the village of Platt, turn right and, shortly, left into Potash Lane. To visit The Blue Anchor pub in the village, a few minutes away, go straight on from this point. Otherwise, follow Potash Lane over a crossroads and on to join a wider road. At another crossroads, go ahead between high hedges. After 250yds (225m), fork right. For the next 2 miles (3km), the Wealdway heads south through Mereworth Woods; predominantly coppiced hazel, with a scattering of silver birch. Ignore all side and crossing tracks to reach a road at Gover Hill, a small National Trust area, with broad views southwards over the valley of the Medway.
Cross a road and continue the walk along a track besidea white-walled cottage. After 0.5 miles (800m) turn left, as waymarked. For the next mile (1.6km), the Wealdway is also part of the Greensand Way, and is the continuation, in Kent, of the route described on pages 62–65. At a lane, turn left and,
very shortly, fork right. A few minutes’ walk brings you to West Peckham, where the church and The Swan on the Green pub are delightfully set beside the village green.
Follow the road between pub and church. At a road junction, turn right on a path, enclosed at first. For the next 4.5 miles (7.2km), south to the Medway, the Wealdway follows a series of field paths, subject to cultivation. Most of the paths are waymarked but there are one or two gaps. Care, plus a good 1:25,000 scale map, will ensure successful navigation. On the first path, veer right in the third field. Cross the A26. The start of the next path, a few yards to the right, is not obvious. Cross the verge bank and go ahead on a roughly metalled track. After 0.5 miles (800m), turn right on a track which crosses two streams and continues to Peckham Place Farm. Follow the farm drive out to a lane and turn left.
The next path follows a straight southerly line through an orchard and across a field to a lane. Turn right. At Kent House Farm, a massive converted oasthouse, turn left along Pierce Mill Lane. After 0.5 miles (800m), beyond an attractive house and garden on the right, turn right along the north bank of the River Bourne. Cross the river at the first opportunity, go ahead over a field to a second footbridge, and bear left across the corner of the field beyond to a third footbridge. Turn right to continue beside a field out to the road at Barnes Street, opposite a picturesque half-timbered house.
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Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.
Walking in Safety
Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.
Get an AA guide
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Nearby places to stay
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- Total units: 1
- Private garden
- Washing machine
- Sky or freeview
- Private garden
- Washing machine
- Sky or freeview
- Linens provided



