Blossom, Bluebells & Bucolic Beauty

Starting out on this circular route from Neames Forstal, a tiny hamlet surrounded by orchards, we will make our way along lanes to Perry Wood and a steep climb uphill to The Mount. Here there is a wooden viewing platform that offers superb views over the trees to the surrounding North Downs.

Making our way through orchards, the cute clapboard cottages of Shottenden village, and across rolling farmland we will approach King's Wood, an extensive coppiced woodland. Coppicing provides the perfect environment for bluebells that thrive in this wood. We will stop for lunch at the top of Soakham Downs where there are fine views of the village of Wye in the Stour valley below. 

After lunch we will walk along the periphery of King's Wood, with a distant view of Canterbury Cathedral some 8 miles away. Following the quiet lane of Mountain Street downhill, and past Chilham Castle, we will arrive in the exceptionally handsome village of Chilham, where we are booked in to Shelly’s Tea Rooms for afternoon tea.

The final leg from back to Selling is almost entirely through orchards that at this time of year are likely to be full of blossom. On our way back to Selling station we will pass by the White Lion pub where, time permitting, we can stop for a drink whilst waiting for our train home. 

This is a new route that approaches Chilham from a different direction to a walk I lead from Wye in May 2018. 

Image credits: Fields in the distance, Shelly’s Tea Rooms, Chilham, Oast House, Sun coming through the trees at Kings Wood by Andrew Bowden; all licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0; Other pictures are public domain or taken by event leader.